Developing New Managers: More Than Dealing with Tattoos and Piercings - Steve Grubbs - MediaBizBloggers

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I asked some former business associates recently, if their companies offered any management education development. Their most common response was, "Are you kidding?" Fiscal belt tightening has forced nearly every corporate workforce to accomplish more tasks with fewer resources. Corporations are also re-prioritizing their expense lines and cutting non-essential programs. It appears people no longer have the time to commit to development programs, nor are many employers inclined to fund them.

Actually, I think employee development programs were on the wane before the financial travails of '08 and '09, because there are not short-term pay-outs from these programs, and it's not easy to measure their long-term impact and success on a corporation. Also, there's a bit of hubris involved, because many executives don't believe THEY need any further training… just their subordinates.

When you mention "training" or "development" most people think of those programs that teach employees the basic fundamentals of their business: "How to write a media plan" or "How to make a sales call" or "Presentation skills", etc. Most organizations still offer some truncated version of these training programs, and that's a good thing for junior level development.

However, what's in short supply these days is management education development. Specifically, programs designed to groom the next generation of corporate leaders for their future roles. Fewer companies are offering these programs, and the long-term consequences of their demise will yield a work environment where innovation and employee motivation will both be seriously stifled.

There is a direct correlation between corporate innovation and the work environment created by top managers. Innovation dies when people are not exposed to new ideas and experiences. Senior managers need to step off their daily treadmills and re-assess their businesses from time to time, and it is the responsibility of their companies to enable that step by encouraging personal development programs. Years ago some corporations offered their employees sabbaticals, so that they could "re-charge their batteries" and generate a fresh perspective upon their return to the workplace. That won't happen today, but if senior execs don't expand their knowledge base beyond their comfort zone, they will ultimately flat-line on innovation and new concept creation.

In my last role at Omnicom I encouraged my senior leadership team to seek learning experiences outside their core areas of expertise… my definition of "knowledge development". I did not exempt myself, so one year I chose to attend E3, a Gaming Industry convention, for my learning experience. After I stopped gawking at the piercings, tattoos and colorful hairstyles of my fellow attendees, I was blown away by the size, scope and sophistication of that business. Had I stayed on the daily treadmill, had I stayed in my comfort zone, I would have missed an opportunity to carry this learning back to my clients and co-workers.

The other area where our industry needs more training is management education development… leadership skills. We have lots of senior managers these days who aren't leaders. Actually, they're un-leaders… people in positions of authority, who cause harm to their organizations by their absence of leadership skills (there are some more colorful descriptors of these types, too). Few, if any, organizations ever achieve best-in-class status without superior leadership at the helm.

There is an interesting parallel to be drawn between today's political leaders and business leaders. They are losing the support of their constituencies and workforces because they are not behaving as leaders. Great leaders may be born with certain natural skills, but many of these skills can be developed by those willing to study and learn them. Mediocre corporate leadership leads to low employee morale. Poor morale leads to higher employee turnover, and then higher salary costs are necessitated by outside recruitment. Also, the work output from an unmotivated workforce is sub-standard in comparison to those companies where employee motivation is strong.

One place that still provides lessons on leadership is Omnicom University. Omnicom U is an intense 3-5 day series of programs available to senior Omnicom company execs, that if you're fortunate, you'll attend up to 3 times in your career there. It's held at Babson College in the summer months. It's taught by Harvard Business School professors and other inspirational instructors. Some of the case studies are specific to Omnicom companies, but others focus on people like Lincoln, Ernest Shackleton, Oprah and Bono. Anyone aspiring to be an effective leader can learn much from studying the lives of these extraordinary people.

"You don't know what you don't know" is a popular phrase these days (or maybe I just use it often). If you don't step off the treadmill and out of your comfort zone occasionally to observe and self-educate, you'll never learn what you don't know. If you're a senior manager, and you don't believe training will help you become a better leader, then you're likely the person who needs educational development the most… and you're probably doing your company, yourself and your team a disservice by dismissing it.

Steve Grubbs is President and founder of Second Act Media consultancy. Second Act Media is an advisor to companies working in the media, marketing, entertainment and sports industries. Steve can be reached at steve.grubbs@secondactmedia.com.

Read all Steve’s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at My Second Act - MediaBizBloggers.

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