by Sharon Billings

Most managers become managers because they’re good at something else.  

If you’re good in sales, your reward is to manage a sales team. The same is true for most fields. But the skills that make people successful in an individual contributor role are vastly different from the skills required to be a good manager. Which is why so many managers (at all levels) struggle. 

Understanding this, companies often invest in Management Training. It’s an important investment, but all too often the ROI is disappointing. Even with excellent training design and delivery.  Even when participants have a positive experience. Even when the organization fully champions the training. 

The problem is that results are short lived. The training doesn’t stick. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Through my experience designing and delivering multiple Management Training programs from inside organizations as well as for clients as a consultant, I’ve learned that the key to optimizing sustainable ROI for Management Training lies in the ecosystem in which managers operate. 

BEFORE investing in Management Training, ask these 5 questions:

1. Does your organization have a shared definition for excellent management?

If not, start here. Often stakeholders throughout an organization operate with different assumptions that go untested, making it difficult to identify and develop truly relevant management skills. A shared definition should directly inform what skills your training program prioritizes.

2. WHY are these skills important to be an excellent manager in your organization?
   

Did the definition come from a book someone read?  Is it a personal opinion of senior leaders? Did someone in HR decide? Being strategic and getting buy-in across key stakeholders is critical!  The skills you’re training should explicitly reflect what’s relevant to achieving your most important business goals.          

3. Are these manager skills consistently represented throughout your talent cycle? 

Are they included in every manager’s job description?  Are these expectations made clear when onboarding new managers? Are they reflected in performance management? Do these skills inform succession planning?  When manager expectations are clear and consistent, manager’s behaviors are more likely to reflect expectations. Misalignment in talent systems is one of the biggest mistakes I see!!! Management Training goals should be explicitly aligned with your wing-to-wing talent cycle.   

4. How will you measure results?

Too often this question is not considered until after the training (if it’s considered at all!). You can’t measure results authentically unless you’ve defined what success looks like before the training. You should assess manager’s skills prior to training and again in different intervals after the training. Managers are often motivated to demonstrate progress when they know how it is being measured. When training is explicitly aligned with performance management, measuring results becomes even easier!    

5.  Do the manager’s of training participants know what’s included in the training? And that they play an active role?  

Skills stick when they are reinforced both in conversation and within the flow of work. Positive reinforcement for observing any directional improvement.  Productive feedback when skills fall short. The more managers are continually coached to the desired skills after the training, the more sustained progress they are likely to achieve. 

The payoff of Management Training can be a game changer for business.  Manager success translates to business success. But it’s rare that managers intuitively demonstrate the most important manager skills to produce the best results.  The right training can significantly shorten your manager’s learning curve which ultimately saves time while improving results.  It’s a worthy investment.  But ONLY when you create the conditions are created to make it stick!  

Strategic investments in your business can make a massive difference.  These five steps can ensure your investment pays big dividends.  

Could you use help creating these conditions in your organization?
Click here to set up a free call.  Let’s see what’s possible.