Training of new managers can be a great boost to organisations who are keen to improve their bottom line. Not only are good managers more productive than their counterparts, but an effective manager who also shows good leadership skills, can have a major impact on both their direct reports and indeed their peers.
Copyright (c) 2008 Bob Selden - Author, What To Do When You Become The Boss
The difference to the bottom line in monetary terms between a new manager with extremely poor performance and his or her counterpart who performs at an outstanding level, can be as much as $100,000. This difference can increase to a staggering one million dollars for a middle manager - as reported by Professor Nikos Bozionelos of the Durham Business School in Management Issues, Sept 07.
Do organisations realise this?
Despite the obvious impact an ineffective manager has on the organisation's profitability, many still pay little attention to training and supporting supervisors and managers, particularly in their first managerial role. The general contention seems to be that because the new manager was probably an excellent technical or professional operator, they will automatically make a good manager.
However, organisations that do spend money on management training, tend to allocate it to their middle and senior managers. Yet it is the new manager who is most motivated and ready to learn. He or she is only too fully aware of the challenge facing them, whilst often managers at a higher level see management training as a waste of their time.
Do organisations have to spend a fortune on highly tuned development training programs for new managers? No.
For starters, new managers generally start at different times, so waiting to get a suitably sized group together for training is both inefficient and ineffective (often the new manager can be in the role for sometime before attending the training).
There are three factors that are most important when training new managers. Firstly, the training must be timely - ideally started before commencing in the new role, but at latest as the person takes up their role.
Secondly, the training must suit the new manager's learning style. So for instance, if the new manager is a detail minded person, then a good book could help. Big picture type people on the other hand, might find it easier to talk through their challenges with colleagues.
Thirdly, the best person to do the training is the new manager's manager. It is he or she who knows the real challenges of the role and what the new manager must do to become fully competent. Make sure your managers are trained in how to train their managers.
Training of new managers can be a great boost to organisations who are keen to improve their bottom line. Not only are good managers more productive than their counterparts, but an effective manager who also shows good leadership skills, can have a major impact on both their direct reports and indeed their peers.
Training and developing new managers can be a lot cheaper and more productive, and certainly more motivating, than many of the endless cost cutting measures organisations seem to often embark on.
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