Senior Management Development

The Best Development; is it Reactive or Proactive?

Posted on by Janet Webb

There was a really interesting discussion on Twitter on the morning of Friday 5th Jan under the handle #LDInsight.*  We were discussing up skilling. One of the threads was about proactive versus reactive development and learning.  What has the most impact? It got me thinking about the management development that I am most happy delivering.

A Twitter chat that gave me the insight into the best management development.
#LDInsight Twitter chat

 

When we learn to drive we are given instruction, we have a go, we get feedback, we reflect and we try again. Instruction, practice, feedback, reflect, repeat. Eventually we are deemed competent to do it alone but the skill of being a good driver carries on being refined in the crucible of time and experience. (Of course, eventually, without care, we can become rubbish at it again!)

We learn best by being both proactive and reactive; by learning new “things”, applying them, reflecting and implementing new ways of working.

My Eureka Moment!

I was thinking about how this applied to training managers; what gives the best management development?

You can go on a course; there are plenty. There are courses for all levels, though you will find that the more senior you are, the more likely it is that the course is called Leadership Development. (And will almost certainly cost more.)

You can have a coach to help you through and refine your skill. Again, there are plenty. And again, you will pay more for a Leadership Coach and even more for an Executive Leadership Coach!  (There are various definitions of what is leadership and what is management. It does seem to me that leadership development costs more!)

And?

But how do you get both training and coaching in one place?

And then I realized that this is what I do.

In fact I would go so far as to say that this is what I am called to do. To mentor.

My Mentoring Service

To proactively give people input on:

  • how to do things differently
  • what makes our brains work the way that they do
  • how to support staff
  • how to be assertive  etc.

But also, to act as a coach. To help them:

  • reflect on what is currently happening for them
  • apply new techniques and learn from that
  • gain insight and alternative perspectives
  • develop their own coaching skills

Good managers need to be refined in the crucible – either one-2-one or, better still, with others in an Action Learning Set. For me this would be the best management development.

I genuinely think that is what I am here for.

 

* This is a weekly discussion, on Friday’s, hosted by @LnDConnect. We (and by that I mean anyone) discuss learning and development, it’s impact, it’s best practice and how to do it really well. Also organisational development, HR, life, the universe and everything. Join us?

 

 

 

 

Working With Fear and Intent

Posted on by Janet Webb

I work in fear. I don’t mean I’m frightened, I mean I work in arenas where anxiety stops people performing to their best. Also, I work with intent; both my intent and the intent of those I am working with. I’ve discovered over the years that being clear about your intent and challenging your fears are pretty good ways to start dealing with things.

New Managers – what stops them excelling in supporting their staff or sorting out problems? Fear of getting it wrong, or being seen as weak and so being unclear about what they are trying to achieve.

Middle and Senior Managers – what stops them being great leaders? Facing the pressure from both directions; juggling expectations coming up and demands coming down. This leads to worrying that they might not be cutting it and even imposter syndrome.

Communications – what stops people being effective in their communications? Not deciding what outcome they are after, fear of what others are thinking and fear of stuffing it up.

Dealing with change – what stops people handling this well? Fear of the unknown, not facing those fears, not exploring what choices they have available and not reaching for a positive future state.

In many situations asking two questions of ourselves and others can open up a new perspective and so move things along swimmingly:

  • what are you frightened of?
  • what are you hoping to achieve?

I’ll spend my days helping people to answer these two questions. I didn’t set out to do this work; it came and found me when I started to address my fears and wonder what my purpose was.

Welcome…

Posted on by Janet Webb

… to Janet Webb Consulting. I’m an independent learning & development consultant, specialising in developing leadership and management skills, in the secular and in the spiritual arena. I help people find poise – that characteristic of being balanced, secure, sure-footed. It comes from having confidence in self, mastery of skill and inner strength. It allows humility, resilience, authenticity and wisdom.

Streams of how I provide development include:

  1. Mentoring senior leaders who don’t need management training but do need some help.
  2. Developing new managers who are exploring a whole new skill set.
  3. Helping individuals tackle whatever is daunting – presentations, giving feedback, networking.
  4. Working with those called to spiritual ministry, who have been trained well in interpretation of spiritual texts but struggle with being assertive, running a meeting or managing staff.

I am interested in how our brains work, where emotions come from and what has an impact on how we behave.

I help people to think better.

A photo of Janet Webb, leadership and development trainer, coach, mentor.As your in-house training department, my job is to help you and your team to do your stuff, by doing my stuff.

And so what is my stuff?

  • Supporting leaders and managers at all levels through transition
  • Facilitation
  • Team building and strategy days
  • Coaching people in public speaking and other high octane situations
  • Psychometric testing for development and stretch
  • Sometimes, it’s helping people to do the things that they thought that they couldn’t.

You can find out more about me here.

My LinkedIn profile will give you more information about my professional background.

Here you’ll find a different sort of CV with the words of those who have worked with me in many ways, not just leadership and management development.

You can find my blog here on my Damp Ink Page.

And my occasional spiritual blog you can find here.

What do you need? Share your story with me and let me help you explore where you are and where you are going. Call me for a chat and let’s see where it takes us.