Managerial Skills

Developing Skills Formal process Changes in job content Development process within a job Activities external to the job Self development

Developing Skills Formal process Changes in job content Promotion to a new job Movement to a job at a similar level but in a different function (Job Rotation) Stretching the boundaries of the job with additional responsibilities (Job content) Secondment: movement outside the organization to a different job Special projects Involvement with committees or task groups Making him a member of junior boards to preview decisions required by the board proper

Developing Skills Formal process Development process within a job Coaching: Being deliberately taken through problems and issues that are generally encountered in his job Counseling: Normally done in the context of performance review or appraisal and about a particular aspect of performance Monitoring and Feedback: Usually done by the boss on specific action plans Mentoring: This is a advisory relationship between a manager and a senior individual who provides guidance

Developing Skills Formal Process Activities external to the job Internal courses External courses Work on external committees, associations, voluntary or charity organizations Reading (providing books and facilities to read)

Developing Skills Formal process Self development Modeling on boss, colleagues or outsiders Participation in groups of managers from different organizations Reading (Obtaining books and reading material or acquiring knowledge through internet)

Developing skills Formal Processes Planned and often away from normal managerial activities Explicit intention is development Clear development objectives Structured for development by developers Planned beforehand and reviewed subsequently as learning experiences Owned more by developers than by managers

Informal process Informal learning is a byproduct of the variety of managerial tasks, the dynamic nature of managerial priorities, changes in the working environment, changes in colleagues and bosses, all provide new opportunities and stimuli Occurs within managerial activities Explicit intension is task performance No clear development objectives Unstructured in development terms Not planned in advance Owned by managers Developing Skills

Many managers prefer informal processes because: The content of development programs, especially courses which is experienced as unreal, irrelevant to the manager’s priorities, or difficult to transfer from a course to a managerial job Processes of learning which too often reflect the interests of course designers and tutors rather than managers Processes do not take into account different individual learning preferences Developing Skills

Informal accidental learning (Type 1 learning) Problem solving Project management Presentation Redundancy Selling Committee meeting Business Visit Observing Developing Skills

There are some major deficiencies in a total reliance on informal processes. They include: Idealization – Attitudes and behaviors which say that past experience is so valued and appropriate that there is nothing more to it. Effective learning involves building successfully on properly understood past experience, not treating it as only process of merit Narrowness – Work experience may be narrow in terms of jobs, functions, kinds of organizations, and sizes of organization. Effective development needs to be more specific than the general Obsolescence – Acquired experiences of doing a job may become out of date. Attitudes and behavior towards customers have undergone a sea change Behaviors – Relationship between boss and colleagues vary significantly even in the same organization. Bosses may be excellent providers of advice and good models of behavior or they may be neither Skills – Acquired skills may not be the most appropriate. Developing Skills

Retrospective learning (Type 2 learning) It is defined as the process of integrating learning and managerial work Look back over your last four weeks of managerial work. Pick out the most crucial, highest priority, the most significant things with which you have been involved. What results were achieved from the managerial work by you Have you learned from the results achieved, or from the processes by which they were achieved Consider the list of learning opportunities you had in your present or past job Whether you learnt something significant from one of these activities Developing Skills

Prospective learning (Type 3 learning) You think of some different managerial activities with which you are going to be involved over next three to four weeks, from which you might think to acquire new knowledge or understanding, or you might test out a new skill You can significantly benefit from prospective learning if you plan in detail as to what your learning objectives will be and how you propose to take advantage of the opportunity Developing Skills

Who can Help in type 2 & type 3 learning Boss Mentor Peers Subordinates Network contacts Developing Skills

Development skills Action learning Learning to take effective action Does not mean analysis of problem or recommending action Best action learning is to work on a defined project of reality and significance to managers themselves Managers have responsibility for all actions and resulting achievements The process is achieved through regular meetings of managers to discuss their individual projects The role of people who help is not to teach but to help manager learn from exposure to problems

Learning culture of an organization Encourages managers to identify their own learning needs Provides regular review of performance and learning Encourages managers to set challenging goals for themselves Provides feedback on both performance and achieved learning Assists managers to see learning opportunities on the job Seeks to provide new experiences from which managers can learn Provides or facilitates the use of training on the job Tolerates some mistakes, provided managers learn from them Encourages managers to review, conclude and plan learning activities Encourages managers to challenge traditional ways of doing things Developing Skills

Learning Cycle Having the experience (Activist) Planning next step Reviewing the experience (Pragmatist) (Reflector) Concluding from the experience (Theorist) Developing Skills

Activists: Try anything once Tend to revel in short-term crises, firefighting Tend to thrive on the challenge of new experiences Are relatively bored with implementation and longer term consolidation Constantly involve themselves with other people Reflectors: Like to stand back and review experiences from different perspectives Collect data and analyze it before coming to conclusions Like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move Tend to be cautious Actually enjoy observing others in action Often take a back seat in meetings Developing Skills

Theorists: Are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models, and systems thinking Prize rationality and logic Tend to be detached and analytical Are unhappy with subjective and ambiguous experiences Likes to make things tidy and fit them into rational schemes Pragmatists: Positively search out new ideas or techniques which might apply in their situation Take the first opportunity to experiment with new applications Respond to problems and opportunities ‘as a challenge’ Are keen to use ideas from management courses Like to get on things with clear purpose Developing Skills

Effectiveness triangle in management development Developing Skills Development focused on effectiveness Effective management behavior Effective learning process

Developing Skills Virtuous learning sequences Effectiveness focus Perceived relevance Immediate application Rewards from application Enthusiasm for further learning

Vicious learning sequence Generalized knowledge / skills Transfer to own situation Difficulty in application Absence of rewards for learned processes Full stop Developing Skills

How do you start? A review of priorities and objectives Area of significance and novelty A job description When in a new job or changed responsibilities An activity list Reminders, Note on actions to be taken Follow ups to be done A work diary Important events on daily basis Significant activities Developing Skills

Contd… A development plan Developed through an appraisal or previous exercise A learning log Manager keeps a review of learning experiences and opportunities Discussion with colleagues One or more colleagues identify similar activities and experiences that provide learning Individual discussions with boss Discussions regarding some specific activity that provides learning opportunity Learning review Review of activity and learning as in type 2 Developing Skills

What stimulates learning on the job? New Job Recognition of significant problems in performance Problems in relationships Unsuccessful attempt to influence others Failure of others to respond to your initiatives Failure to meet managerial targets Developing Skills

Three factors that are important in work context. Freedom: The extent to which managers’ activity contained opportunities for self initiative Support: How far rewards communication and feedback encourage learning Structure: Boundaries, limits and constraints that affect managerial effort and energy Developing Skills

Conclusion Managers are not born, they are not made, but they can be developed Managers should carry out their responsibility for the development of other managers Organizations must set up systems for management development through which the process of developing managers are organized and planned Effectiveness of such systems depend to a large degree on the commitment of top management Management must encourage both formal and informal process for development of managers Effective management development is clearly vital to the success and continuing prosperity of the group, and to the security and quality of employment and morale of its staff.