Great employees don’t become great managers automatically, by osmosis. It takes strategy, focused development and training.
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Great employees don’t become great managers automatically, by osmosis. It takes strategy, focused development and training. Shelly Wallace Johnson at Workology.com says managerial training should include leadership development – holding effective meetings – communication, along with conflict resolution; performance management, such as building strong teams; and diversity, like examining workplace biases.
Today’s leaders want personalized training, says Forbes’s Kevin Kruse, citing a 2018 survey of 25,000 executives. Personality assessments can reveal more about each managerial candidate. “Are you using that data to personalize your training programs? When training on delegation, do you explain to highly conscientious managers that they need to be careful not to micromanage? Does your training explain to managers low in conscientiousness that they need to delegate, not just dump?” he asks.
Focus on content. The Society for Human Resources Management reminds companies managers need knowledge, skills and abilities in many areas. Abilities are innate, but knowledge and skills – such as leadership, supervision, communication and technology – can be taught. New managers “need to be familiar and comfortable with finance, marketing and operations regardless of their particular area of expertise. And they need to clearly understand the organization's culture, philosophies, policies and procedures,” according to SHRM.org.
Training should be long term – more than a one-time class – says Workology’s Johnson, as students learn best via repetition. Just as the professional development is ongoing, feedback should be, as well, from managers receiving training and the employees of those managers. It’s all a continuous cycle. “The better a manager is trained, the better job he or she will do, and the higher the bottom line will be,” she says.
