TRAINING TRAINING FUTURE LEADERS
n this article EMCOR UK’s Caroline Joy, Learning & Development Manager, discusses that, amongst many new initiativesin the way leaders are being prepared to take on global challenges, the future of effective leadership development should focus on how to embed the learning back into the organisation. Therefore, reverse engineering the design of leadership and executive development programmes starts with preparing the organisation. According to a recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), following global shifts in the ways we work, the demand for leadership development has changed. Succession planning and employee retention are often seen as paramount for the continued success of a company and, of course, employers should provide a career-progression path, particularly for key employees. However, the challenge for many companies lies in creating successful leadership programmes that tick all the boxes, both business and personal. As a company, our approach has been to try and ensure that personal growth is inextricably linked to business success through careful selection of expert trainers, and hand-picking in-house mentors who add significant value in translating learnings into improved business performance. The mantra of our company CEO is that any successful future leadership training programme must deliver benefits for the company, as well as the future leader, but only to the extent that both commit time and effort to make the most of the opportunity. Mentoring and coaching support has many advantages and, as such, is a critical component of our leadership development philosophy. That is why the company has invested in development programmes for its future leaders. It provides the mentee with impartial advice, encourages reflection on practice, and assists with problem solving. In the past, we often assumed that because someone is a successful senior manager they will also be a great mentor. However, over time it became clearer that, while this is frequently the case, more often than not mentoring is a skill that needs to be learned. For this reason, we provide our senior managers with the skills needed to help them become a good mentor. By working with our training partners - Training in Action and the Institute of Leadership and Management - we are able to help ensure our mentors are more fully equipped to help our course participants on our future
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leaders development programme achieve an internationally recognised qualification. This, in turn, has resulted in great feedback from our mentees on the quality of the mentoring they’ve received. Another challenge to organisations developing future leadership courses is how to help ensure employees are motivated throughout the length of the training programme. This is particularly the case if the course runs alongside participants’ day-to-day jobs and over an extended period of time. We have found that clearly defined programmes, as well as training locations outside the office environment, can help to overcome this problem. As an example, we are currently 12 months into a 13 month high-impact learning experience for future leaders. The programme consists of five modules, each of which explores a variety of key skills that we have identified as crucial: Module 1: Helps course participants understand leadership styles, receive and provide feedback and develop networking skills. Module 2: Instills the principles of customer excellence, managing performance and improving communication skills. Module 3: Teaches successful business development and understanding, and improves organisational and behavioural skills. Module 4: Includes motivating and developing others, problem solving and decision making. Module 5: Covers personal commitment and leadership development.
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We conduct the training modules in three month intervals, at off-site specifically designated training facilities, for two days. This has proven to be particularly successful as it allows participants to fully focus on the task at hand. Facilities Management (FM) professionals are ideally positioned to balance competing demands and manage their time efficiently, because they tend to have two employers: the FM company that employs them, and the customer to whom the FM company delivers the service. According to one of our current course participants, who has already risen from Supervisor to Assistant Facilities Manager having successfully completed our First Line Managers Development Programme, the experience has helped him to set personal goals within the context of his day job. Further, to help ensure successful passage through the programme, participants may complete written assignments for their qualification during work hours - another example of our leadership development philosophy of bringing learnings into the world of work. The mentor then helps participants by acting as a ‘real time’ sounding board for translating learnings in the context of ‘live’ work issues and challenges. To conclude, future leadership courses, if they are designed from the outset not only to enhance a participant’s personal development but also to build in the right level of participation and support from the organisation, dramatically increases the prospects of a truly ‘win-win’ situation for employees and employer alike.
PSS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
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