Management Development

Similar to the logic behind leadership development, not all staff are naturally poised to be good managers. In fact, there are often line-staff who perform at very high levels that struggle when given supervisory or management responsibilities. All organizations should clearly define the required management competencies and expectations of the organization. Once these standard are in place, training protocols can established and performance management tools implemented that track performance and ultimately screen existing staff for their management potential. The work of Peter Drucker has greatly informed our thinking on this topic.

Assessment Questions: Does the organization understand the fundamental differences between management and leadership? How do we identify a management need within our organization? How do we identify management talent from within our organization to meet this need? What criteria do we use when recruiting managers from outside the organization? What do we expect of our management level staff in terms of their job performance and do these expectations evolve over time? Do we have generally have clear measures of accountability for our management staff? What training do we provide for new and existing managers to ensure their success? How much non-programmatic training do we provide our managers? What is the career progression track for a management talent within our organization? What are the characteristics of managers who seem to thrive or fail in our organization?

Intervention: A management development plan that audits existing management needs and matches them against existing talent and/or identifies the support needs/challenges of given managerial roles. In addition, training protocols will be established for current, new and future management levels. Moreover, specific management focused evaluation tools and measures will be established to gauge performance.

Miscellaneous: The key with this intervention is to clarify the difference between management and leadership. Management is much more of a “nuts and bolts” responsibility that deals with tactical day-to day issues and is very bottom line driven. The problem many non-profits have is that existing managers may be ill suited for this type of role, but assume the responsibility for compensation or status reasons.

Approach:  

• Review and assessment of existing organizational structure and management positions within the organization 
• Review and assessment of each management position and job description within the organization? 
• Review and assessment of overall management needs of the organization including values, experience and skills to identify existing strengths and gaps within the organization 
• Review and assessment of existing performance management process as it pertains to management level personnel (1) Assess characteristics of who thrives and who fails within existing culture 
• Review and assessment of the existing hiring and succession planning practices of the organization including professional development opportunities available for existing and future managers and supervisors 
• Conduct a 360 degree survey of all management level personnel and/or workplace survey to solicit feedback on management performance 
• Facilitated discussion with management level staff on assessment finding 
• Where appropriate conduct basic training management development workshops for existing managers and supervisors 
• Create a management development plan for the organization with both short and long term goals and objectives