Far more than ‘Stand & Deliver’!

I’m not saying that the training world is full of Dandy Highwaymen but there can be an overemphasis on training being about just the Stand and Deliver.

Whilst this is an important stage, our clients choose us for the careful attention we give to the whole learning cycle.

The ethos we hold for our leadership development programmes is: define it, design it, tailor it, deliver it, measure it. By carefully paying attention to each of these stages we are able to ensure our programmes meet the needs of our clients and those we are developing. An example of this is can be seen below:

We are currently working with one of the leading sporting bodies in the country to develop the leadership skills of their managers across all disciplines. This is the journey we have taken together:

Define it: We worked with the organisation to create a Capability Framework based on the Leadership Pipeline methodology.

For each level of leadership we assessed what ‘Excellence’ looked like. We then looked at the challenges these managers must face up to, if they are to succeed in leading others at this level in the organisation. Finally, we looked at the managers’ role in supporting the organisation’s values.

Design it: We designed a programme to develop managers against the skills and behaviours identified in the Capability Framework.

Tailor it: At the beginning of the programme, we asked managers to assess their confidence and ability to demonstrate these skills and behaviours and asked them to specify particular areas they would like to work on. This allowed us to tailor our delivery accordingly.

Deliver it: We carefully constructed the content to include interactive learning and practical solutions to the challenges they face. We then gave the managers the required skills to carry out peer-to-peer mentoring. This was aimed at giving them time to think about how they could transfer what they learnt back into their role.

Measure it: At the end of each module we asked them to self-assess again, and then once more 3 months after the programme, without referring to their previous assessments.

15 cohorts of managers have now attended the programme. And these are the results…

Learners assessed themselves to be up to 24% more confident and able to carry out their leadership role after the programme.

And here are some of their comments…

We continue to adapt and tailor the experience to each group of managers we develop and have now developed programmes for 2 further levels of leadership within the organisation and provided Masterclasses to the alumni of the original programme.

Define it, design it, tailor it, deliver it, measure it….how it should be!