Participate in external management development programs or tailor to the organisation's needs?
DThere are different opinions about what is best, but theyThe best answer is probably that "it depends". The quality of both the external and internal programs obviously plays a significant role, as does whether they are adapted to the needs of the individual manager and the organisation. But say that it is in place, then the advantage is withexternal programs
that the organization does not become so vulnerable, as many managers are not away at a development seminar at the same time. Something that is difficult in many organizations when business is to continue as before
lead to some managers not being fully present during the seminars and then constantly having to answer important phone calls and make decisions.
Another advantage of external programs is when you work on personal development. Many people find it difficult to share personal development needs and challenges with other managers in the organisation. If there is development in the management team the manager is part of, then it is an advantage if they are willing to share, but in internal management development programs managers from different units and departments participate and not necessarily managers who always have so much to do with each other.
A third factor that speaks in favor of external programs is that sharing
personal experiences can often be difficult in internal programs as confidentiality becomes an issue. Even if names are removed in the exchange of experiences, it will often be recognizable to the other participants.
When we work with company-specific management skills such as "this is how we do employee interviews at us", internal programs are of course applicable. The big advantage otherwise with internal leadership development initiativeis that we can tailor the programs completely to the organisation's own needs and link it to the organisation's values and strategies. Where do we want to go, what is important for us to get there and how should that affect the leaders' behavior and leadership style.
How to tailor leadership development to the organisation's needs?
For the best learning effect, we recommend leadership development programs to consist of different modules over a period of time, where for example some learning will take place at seminars/gatherings, some can be self-study, some is private and some practical on the job training. At seminars, we recommend a varied learning mix that includes lectures, group assignments, exercises, reflection and discussions about what you have experienced and learned.
We recommend the use of personality and preference tests, and possibly a 360 degree survey, to promote self-insight and understanding of how others experience one's behavior and leadership style. This is used to support the managers in developing in their own leadership role linked to both the business and the team a manager needs, but also linked to one's own personal style and preferences. Training and cases in the "difficult conversation" are recommended for most management development processes we run.
The organisation's values and strategic goals are recommended to be "woven" into cases and group assignments. Regarding the use of a tailored 360 survey, it is recommended to link it to the organisation's values.
