Reference no: EM131541728
A TYPICAL DESIGN
To illustrate a program focused on individual development, we use the example of a leadership course designed for a manufacturing company. The company had a long history of promoting leadership development and had recently become concerned about building a cadre of "change-agent" leaders capable of coping with the accelerating pace of innovation in the industry. Two professors from a leading business school, experts in leadership, were called in to design a program around the leadership competencies required to effect organizational change. Together the professors and company sponsors produced and delivered a four-day learning experience structured around three distinct modules: the leader's role in change, skills for implementing change, and motivational and empowerment practices.
Developing the Individual Leader
At the start of day one, participants received survey feedback from a dozen of their workplace colleagues (superiors, peers, and subordi-nates). This feedback was structured so that the competency categories that were reported corresponded with each of the course's three
themes. This ensured that participants could personally gauge their strengths and weaknesses against the competencies described in the
modules about to be taught. It was assumed that feedback early in the course would stimulate the participants' desire to learn.
Following this feedback and a personal review session with an on-site coach, the program began with a module on leadership vision and change. Using a series of case studies from companies such as General Electric, Microsoft, and the Virgin Group, participants learned lessons
about core leadership concepts such as strategic vision, unconventional market perspectives, and environmental scanning for opportunities.
During course discussions, the professors encouraged participants to share their own experiences. This created dialogue that allowed the core concepts to be applied to the individuals' own leadership challenges and personal work situations.
A second module was presented in days two and three that emphasized skills required for implementing change. Another series of case studies illustrated how effective leaders at several companies had successfully orchestrated large-scale organizational change. For example,
participants explored the successful turnaround of the international advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather by its senior leader Charlotte Beers.
This case study taught lessons about the process of developing a strategic vision and ways to implement the vision once it was defined. Experiential exercises were used to teach communications and influence skills. A portion of day three and all of day four explored the remaining themes of motivation and empowerment-again using experiential exercises and case discussions as the principal vehicles for conveying lessons and insight. Participants learned about the personal philosophies that leaders often draw on in their efforts to empower
others, and about the importance of leaders demonstrating their values and beliefs in day-to-day actions. Throughout the program, participants were continually required to reflect on their own actions.
They were encouraged to think about the extent to which they embody the skills and worldviews they were being taught, and they were asked to discuss their own personal challenges. There were also opportunities to practice some of the skills and to receive performance feedback.
ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT
Such is the design of a fairly typical in-company program aimed at developing individual leadership capabilities. A carefully tailored assessment tool gathers feedback from colleagues prior to the course and provides detailed input on the developing leader's effectiveness along course dimensions. This gives the individual a good sense of specific strengths and weaknesses and motivates the need to learn.
Case studies, practice sessions, and reflective exercises convey and teach essential ideas, frameworks, and techniques. In the end, partic-
ipants learn about the characteristics of effective leaders and learn what these leaders actually do. Individuals are compelled to contem-plate these leadership characteristics in light of the beliefs and behavior they demonstrate in their own jobs. With this knowledge, it is presumed that participants will return to their workplaces and implement the skills and worldviews they have learned.
Though the course meets a larger organizational need around change leadership, the experience is geared toward the individual learner. There may be limited attempts to address some of the leadership challenges facing the organization itself, but the emphasis remains on the individual. Moreover, participants may or may not attend the development program with colleagues they work with on a regular basis (in this example, they did not). In programs where participants attend individually from different parts of the organization, they are likely to have greater difficulty applying their learning when back on the job due to a lack of common understanding and support among the members of their work group. As a result, learning often remains an individual experience built around the one-time learning event. This is particularly true with open-enrollment university programs where participants may be the sole representative from their company