An earlier version of this piece first appeared in Slowness, Speed and Structure: On Management #31; I’ve made some minor edits. You can subscribe to my newsletter here.
So, you’re going to a manager training. You may/may not be stoked. How can it be a success? Spoiler alert: set some goals, for yourself.
That said, let’s start with your organization’s goals.
Here’s a not-secret about management development programs.
The list of skills you need to learn, and master over time, is not long. On theme with my chat with Bethany Crystal: this list is not evolving terribly fast.
This stuff is not brain surgery.
“Setting mission-aligned goals, using 1:1s to create relationship and accountability, giving actionable feedback, developing and coaching team members, and so forth.” (- one of my own recent descriptions of best practices *)
When your bosses send you to training, tbh, they aren’t always thinking about where management development fits into the organization’s strategic goals.
They’re thinking about how much time. How much money.
And they hope. They hope you’ll learn the practices and processes of management.
Mostly, they hope you will change.
There is a space between what you’re already doing, and what they hope. This gap can look like a performance shortfall. This may/may not be fair.
Mind the gap.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: figure out how you need to change. Because training won’t “install” a gap-fixer on you. You’ll have to do some work, with your community, by practicing.
1. Inquire. Ask your boss, your team members, “I’m setting goals for what I need to learn in manager training. What do you suggest?”
You may not get a good answer. Persevere.
Unearth feedback about your performance as a manager. Are there results from employee engagement surveys? Your last review?
You may need to read between the lines. Persevere.
Form a hypothesis about what you want to do differently after completing the training. Share this with others. Ask for feedback; revise as necessary.
2. Prepare. Preview the subject matter to be covered. Consider how the topic comes into play in your work. Develop questions around each topic.
Decide what you want to learn. Write it down. Share, ask for feedback, revise.
3. Engage. Use the instructor: bring your questions with you. Ask them.
Take notes, by hand.
Unless there’s an unfolding family emergency, stow your devices during the session(s), and mute your notifications.
4. Integrate. After the session, review your notes. What was new, or surprising? What do you disagree with?
What are your questions, now? Write them down.
Discuss your questions with a peer, your boss, or another manager in your life. (Hi, mom.)
The most important question: what will you put into action, in your work, starting today?
5. Mind the gap. If one could learn to manage people in a classroom, every MBA would be a great manager. #truth
So if you didn’t learn what you wanted to learn, it might be because you have to practice, in real life.
Or maybe you weren’t stoked, and tried to look like you were taking notes on your laptop. No shame, no blame.
Review your notes and materials from the training again. Get some direction from a manager or a mentor.
What can you put into action, right now? Figure this out, and then start to practice.
6. Check yourself, before you wreck — well, everyone.
You know what? After you’ve been managing for a while, you may start to feel that being a manager isn’t working for you. You don’t like it. You don’t want to improve.
You would not be the first.
Maybe you took the promotion, without understanding that the job requires a lot of previously invisible work. It just might not be for you. That’s not your failure.
The failure would be to continue along in the role, faking it. You’ll be miserable, and so will your team members. This is one of those “call a lifeline” career moments. Talk this one through with someone you trust.
Photo: wocintech (microsoft) – 173, by WOCinTech Chat on Flickr, under CC BY2.0.
Anne Libby 