Developed by Authenticity Consulting, LLC
How to Design Management Development Programs
© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting,
LLC.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business
and Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.
Simply put, management development is an effort (hopefully, planned in nature) that enhances the learner's capacity to manage organizations (or oneself). Very simply put, managing includes activities of planning, organizing, leading and coordinating resources. A critical skill for anyone is the ability to manage their own learning. The highly motivated, self-directed reader can gain a great deal of learning and other results from using the guidelines and materials in this library topic.
The following topics are very closely related to this topic: Management, Leadership Development and Supervisoral Development.
Sections of This Topic Include
Preparation for Learning
Optional -- Suggested Previous Reading
Before Management Development, Get Impression
of What "Management" Is
What Does Management Development Look Like?
Informal Activities to Learn About Management in Organizations
Attempt to Go Beyond Reading Books...
Ideas for Activities to Learn About Management
Customizing Your Own Management Development Program
Preparation for Designing Your Management
Training Plan
Identifying Your Overall Goals in Management Training
Determining Your Learning Objectives
and Activities
Developing Any Materials You May Need
Planning Implementation of Your Management
Training Plan
Evaluating Your Management Training Plan
and Experiences
Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan
Basic Guide to Leadership and Supervision
Free Basic Guide to Leadership and Supervision (html)
Also see
Related Library Topics
Also See the Library's Blogs Related to Management Development
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Management Development. Scan down the blog's page to see various posts. Also see the section "Recent Blog Posts" in the sidebar of the blog or click on "next" near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.
Library's Leadership
Blog
Library's Supervision
Blog
Library's
Training and Development Blog
PREPARATION FOR LEARNING
Optional -- Suggested Reading as Preparation
To gain broad perspective on management development, the reader would benefit
most from first reading the following information.
Introduction to Organizations
(read the section titled the "Basics")
Basic Definitions and
Roles in Management
Informal Versus.
Formal Training, Self-Directed Versus Other-Directed Training
How to Get More (Learn More) From Training and Training Education
Before Management Development, Get Impression of "Management"
The first place to start learning about management is to get
some sense of what management is -- in particular, understand
get an impression of the areas of knowledge and skills recommended
for effective management in organizations. Review information
in:
Management
(Introduction)
Skills
and Practices in Organizational Management
What Does Management Development Look Like?
Let's Look at Some Programs
If you read the information in the section Training Basics -- Understanding Learning and
Development listed above, you learned about training programs
that are informal and formal, and other-directed or self-directed.
Management development programs come in all of these combinations,
as well. You can learn about management in informal "programs",
for example, by reading some articles, discussing management with
a friend, etc. You can attend formal training, for example, a
course, seminar or workshop. At this point, it might help you
to get some perspective on the nature of management development
programs by looking at some. See
Examples
of Management Development Programs
History of Management Development
It might be interesting for you to get a brief overview of
the history of management development, in order to give you broader
perspective and understanding of current management development
methods.
Historical and Contemporary Theories in Management
What the Future Holds for Management Development Programs
As organizations have faced a new paradigm (see New Paradigm in Management), management development organizations
must embrace a new paradigm as well. To get an impression of changes that must
be made, read
Leaders'
Often Unmet Needs from Training and Development Programs
INFORMAL ACTIVITIES TO LEARN ABOUT MANAGEMENT
Informal Activities to Learn About Management
Attempt to Go Beyond Reading Books ...
There are a wide range of everyday and on-the-job activities from which you can learn about management and even enhance your management skills. Informal methods can include, for example, reading books, having discussions with friends, on-the-job training, keeping a diary with thoughts about management, etc. One of the more insidious ways to avoid learning to manage is by reading lots of books about management, rather than actually implementing any of the advice offered in any of them. You're not likely to develop much for management skills merely by reading, talking or attending a course unless you actually apply new materials and methods, and continue to reflect on what you're learning along the way.
Ideas for Activities to Learn About Management
One of the most effective and reliable ways to learn is to
do so consciously, in a planned fashion. Therefore, be sure to
consider customizing your own management training plan. Complete
guidelines are provided in the next section, Customizing Your Own Management Development Plan.
The following table includes numerous ideas for activities from which to learn about management, including planning, organizing, leading and coordinating resources.
|
(Get guidance and assistance:) (Readings to consider:) (Skills to practice:) |
(Some workplace activities for learning:) (Other sources for learning:) (Capturing your learning:) · (also consider Ideas for Activities to Learn About Supervision) |
CUSTOMIZING YOUR OWN MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Your are much more likely to learn useful skills in management if you develop and implement a training plan. The following sections will guide you to develop your own complete, highly integrated (and performance-oriented) management development plan. Each section includes reference to particular sections in the Complete Guidelines to Design Your Training and Development Plan (hereafter called the "Guidelines"). That document includes guidelines for you to identify your overall training goals and the learning objectives and activities to achieve the goals. Guidelines are also provided for carrying out the learning activities and evaluating your entire learning experience.
Preparation for Designing Your Management Training Plan
Read the following two initial sections of the Guidelines (up
to "Determining Your Overall Goals in Training") and
then return to the next section below.
Directions
to Use "Complete Guideline ..."
Preparation
for Designing Your Training Plan
Identifying Your Overall Goals in Management Training
Purpose of this Section
This section helps you identify what you want to be able to do as a result of implementing your training plan, for example, qualify for a certain job, overcome a performance problem, meet a goal in your career development plan, etc. Learners are often better off to work towards at most two to four goals at a time. There are a variety of ways to identify your training goals, depending on what you want to be able to accomplish as a result of implementing your training plan.
Begin Identifying Your Training Goals
Consider Performance Gaps, Growth Gaps or Opportunities Gaps
Performance gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to improve performance and are usually indicated during performance reviews with your supervisor. Growth gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to reach a career goal. Opportunity gaps are areas of knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity.
Conduct Self-Assessments
The following online, self-assessments may help, as well, by helping you assess
certain areas of your own management abilities.
Blake and Mouton Management Grid - Self-Assessment
Change Project:
Robert Blake Interview about assessing styles
The Entrepreneur
Test - an interactive quiz Are
You Ready To Be A Manager?
The merit of
assessing management and leadership separately
How To Tell If You Are Management Material
Collect Input From Others
Ask others for ideas to improve your management skills. Try get their input
in terms of behaviors you can show. Consider input from performance reviews.
See
Performance
Reviews / Appraisals
Reference Lists of Areas of Knowledge and Skills Needed in Variety of Roles and Function
Competencies are lists of the general abilities needed to perform a role. Consider
the following lists for managing yourself and carrying out major functions in
management.
List
of Knowledge Areas and Skills Associated with Management Activities
Caution About Using
Competencies in Management Development
Reference Books and Other Materials About Management
There is a vast amount of information available regarding management and management
skills. However, much of it is in regard to character traits that managers should
have. When determining your training goals, translate these character traits
to behaviors that you and others can recognize. See
Various Suggestions
for Knowledge and Skills Needed in Management
Look at Goals and Objectives of Management Development Programs
These programs can offer good ideas about traits and characteristics needed
by managers, and methods to achieve those traits and characteristics. Be careful
not to simply adopt suggestions and methods without first considering if they'd
really be useful to you.
Free, Self-Directed,
Online Micro-eMBA
Free, Self-Directed,
Online Nonprofit Micro-eMBA
Don't Forget to Manage Yourself!
Developing skills in management involves changing yourself, stretching yourself.
Therefore, you may want to include developing skills in
Managing Yourself
On to Refining and Writing Your Training Goals in Your Plan...
The Guidelines provides additional advice for identifying your training goals.
Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines until you come to
its section titled "Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities
" and then return to the next section below.
Determining
Your Overall Goals in Training
Thoughts About
Improving Management Training and Development Programs
Determining Your Learning Objectives and Activities
Purpose of this Section
The purpose of this section is to identify the various learning objectives you should achieve and learning activities you should undertake in order to achieve the overall training goals in your plan.
Identifying Your Learning Objectives
Carefully consider each of your training goals. What specifically must be accomplished
(that is, what objectives must be reached) in order for you to reach those goals?
Which of these objectives require learning new areas of knowledge or skills?
These objectives are likely to become learning objectives in your training plan.
To get a stronger sense for learning objectives, see
Designing Training
Plans and Learning Objectives.
Identifying Your Learning Activities
Learning activities are the activities you will conduct in order to reach the
learning objectives. The activities should help you work toward your training
goal, accommodate your particular learning styles, be accessible to you and
be enjoyable as well. The following link might help you.
Change Project:
Robert Blake Interview
Leadership
Training and Development Outline
Ideas for Activities to Learn About Management
On to Refining and Writing Your Learning Objectives and Activities in Your Plan ...
The Guidelines provide additional advice for identifying your
learning objectives and activities. Follow the steps in the following
section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled
"Developing Any Materials You May Need" and then return
to the next section below.
Determining
Your Learning Objectives and Activities
Developing Any Materials You May Need
Developing materials might include, for example, getting books,
signing up for courses, reserving rooms, getting coaches, etc.
The Guidelines provides additional guidance to develop any materials
you may need. Follow the steps in the following section of the
Guidelines until you come to its section titled "Planning
Implementation of Your Training Plan" and then return to
the next section below.
Developing
Any Materials You May Need
Planning Implementation of Your Management Training Plan
During implementation, you should think about whether you're
really understanding the materials or not, need additional support,
etc. The Guidelines provides additional guidance to you during
implementation of your plan. Follow the steps in the following
section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled
"Planning Quality Control and Evaluation of Your Training
Plan and Experiences" and then return to the next section
below.
Planning
Implementation of Your Training Plan
Evaluating Your Management Training Plan and Experiences
Evaluation includes assessing and making value judgments on
whether you achieved your training goals or not, and on the quality
of the process to reach those goals. Follow the steps in the following
section of the Guidelines until you come to its section titled
"Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan" and then return
to the next section below.
Planning
Quality Control and Evaluation of Your Training Plan and Experiences
Follow-Up After Completion of Your Plan
Follow the steps in the following section of the Guidelines.
Follow-Up
After Completion of Your Plan
For the Category of Management:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may
want to review some related topics, available from the link below.
Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been
selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.
