LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT EDUCATIONAL TOOLKIT

 

 

 

Marx and Demby (1998) found that that standard development programmes still prevail in most companies, with senior managers rewarded to a certain extent by attendance at prestigious Business Schools. However, more individually tailored development such as executive coaching is likely to be more effective. They found a growth of group programmes designed to broaden the thinking of senior managers by bringing them into contact with people from other organisations.

 

Alimo-Metcalf et al. (2000) points to some of the same trends in leadership development: emphasis on feedback (including 360 degree feedback), action learning, cross-functional teamwork and the involvement in senior people of delivering development themselves (e.g. as coaches or mentors). Mentoring and coaching have received a lot attention in recent years, especially for more senior people at one extreme and new recruit at the other. Ford (1991) argues that executive coaching can transform performance by allowing executives to establish their own criteria for improvement.

 

Some organisations have used formal mentoring ‘schemes’ mainly for either graduate entrants or senior managers. Clutterbuck and Megginson (1999) identify mentoring as covering a wide range of different support to individuals. Three common roles are defined as executive coach (a short-term help with specific skills), elder statesperson (sounding board and role model), and reflective mentor (increasing self-awareness through constructive challenge).

Carter (2001) in a review of the use of executive coaching shows that this approach is very popular with large organisations and quite attractive to many managers of organisations. However, extending its use to wider populations of managers is limited by its cost and the restricted supply of high quality coaches.

 

 

Hirsh and Carter, (2002) reviewed the following trends in management development and included thefollowing findings:

• Management training still needs to provide a coherent view of what managers need to learn, but delivery needs to be more flexible and to fit into the busy working lives of managers, for example through shorter or more modular training courses.

• The development of inter-personal and leadership skills is a high priority and not easily accomplished through conventional formal training.

• There has been a huge growth of interest in more personal forms of development support such as coaching and mentoring.

• Most managers are now told to manage their own careers, but do so with little effective support or information.

• Leaders have been given a number of important roles in the development of their subordinates, but they may not yet be equipped to carry these out, or really be encouraged to develop others.

• Career development is a vital form of management and leadership development. Proactive career management is mainly used for very senior managers or populations of special interest such as high potential managers or graduate trainees.