In today's evolving workplace, managers are expected not only to stay on top of the latest functional developments in their field, but also to find ways to boost their management skills and be better leaders. When organizations do invest in training and professional development activities, more often than not, those offerings leave leaders and managers bored and uninspired. Even worse, sometimes companies shrink training and L&D budgets to refocus attention on other issues.
So let’s forget the traditional notion of training and development as occasional events; it's time for new approaches. Managers and leaders can take charge in developing themselves—and then impart that knowledge to those on their team—so that they actively participate in building a culture of ongoing learning and growth. In this post, we lay out some starter tactics managers can take to ensure that learning becomes a continuous part of their careers, and how our methodology can help them build a sustained leadership development practice.
Check your baseline:
The first step to building a strategy for your own training and development is assessing your current state of affairs. What kind of feedback are you getting from your team? What are you doing well? What needs improvement? How do you feel about the work that's being done, and what can be improved? The more information you have, the better decisions you'll be able to make moving forward.
Set your goals:
The next step is thinking about where you would like to be in six months to one year. This will help with identifying goals and milestones for your plan. Make sure these goals are feasible - they should align with the company or departmental objectives, as well as your own personal career aspirations.
Choose your game plan:
There are many approaches and possibilities for your game plan, including a vast array of online courses and professional development coaches. When choosing, things to be mindful of are...How much time can you commit, each week, each month? Will this be sustainable for me over time? Is it affordable? What is the quality of the curriculum?
Take control of your own leadership development
So here’s where the Rising Team approach comes in. We have coalesced the latest and greatest research around key leadership skills and created micro-training content that will help you learn what it takes to be a great leader and immediately put it into practice with your team. Instead of hours in multi-day workshops, we have crafted short 90-minute sessions that you schedule with your team at a monthly cadence. You learn and they learn! We make the team workshops fun by including interactive activities and fun extras. We also provide tips and reminders to keep you accountable and inspired in between sessions. Once you’re completing sessions consistently, those goals you’ve set soon become highly achievable.
Developing the skills and insights needed to become a more effective manager requires commitment, and no matter what, the process will take time. Stay focused on an approach that works for you and keeps you motivated. This type of self-guided development for managers is a fresh way of taking the initiative to build the leadership success you want and spark positive change for yourself and your organization.
