Management Development: Approaches for Developing Managers
Managers are responsible for overseeing multiple aspects of a business’ functionality, from the productivity of employees to monthly expenditures for departments. In many cases, managers rise through the job ranks to oversee the positions that they once held, but experience is not the only requirement for being a good manager. The candidate also needs management development training – a specialized training that is available from a provider of leadership development resources.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a classic development technique in which an experienced employee advises a less experienced one on the professional and personal aspects of the job. Mentoring relationships can be professional or casual, and often occur over an extended period of time to maximize the growth of the person.
Coaching
Coaching is similar to mentoring, but the focus is on reviewing the person’s performance, and providing advice for improvement. Like mentoring, coaching is typically an ongoing process, which helps the person adapt to new situations and meet new challenges as they arise in the workplace.
Upward Feedback
Sometimes the people who appraise a manager’s performance the best are the people that he or she oversees. In upward feedback, employees who work with the person comment on his or her strengths, and identify areas for improvement. Participants in the feedback process maintain their anonymity.
Job Rotation
Job rotation is a management development technique in which a trainee is assigned to different job departments over a period of years. The various assignments give the person inside experience with the departmental needs and operations that they may one day oversee.
Professional Development
Professional development is also an important part of developing as a manager, especially at companies that require candidates to have degrees in certain disciplines. Some companies offer leadership development resources that help trainees pay for education, making it easier for them to climb the corporate ladder.
Executive Education
Depending on the level of management, the trainee may attend executive education classes and seminars at institutions of higher learning. Although executive education is seldom degree-oriented, it often provides the student with certificates that are valuable resume builders, and help the person reach higher pay scales.
Dysfunction Analysis
To put it bluntly, dysfunction analysis assesses whether a candidate has a psychological disorder, by testing his or her mental stability. If the analysis reveals that the person needs to fine-tune certain aspects of his or her mentality to succeed in a position, he or she may undergo a psychological training program.
Supervisory Training
Supervisory training is often performed in the initial stages of management training, such as when a recent graduate embarks on his or her first managerial opportunity, or an experienced employee moves to a position that presents new challenges. Similar to coaching, supervisory training provides feedback about the person’s performance, with the person often receiving the feedback in real-time.
Conclusion
Management development is a discipline that has several sub-disciplines, including but not limited to mentoring, coaching, job rotation, professional development, executive education, and supervisory training. For more information about development techniques, contact a provider of leadership development resources today.