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Entered
05/06/03
MY
PROGRAM IS ABOUT TO BE CUT !
Kesner, I. (2003) Leadership
Development: Perk or Priority
Consultant Panel Case Study. Harvard Business Review. May P.29-35
You
know the essentials of your business with what you keep in a recession.
Do you keep your leadership development program ?
This
consultant panel hypothetical case study looks at the main protagonist,
Karen. Her support service has been advanced people development
programs (executive university training programs) that can well
be applied to KM services. Her predicament may be familiar
to you. Due to a recent merger her HR department services are
likely to be cut by 75 % of last years budget because to date
little hard evidence on ROI has been shown from it. Her manager
quoted below thinks its a "perk" rather than a priority
!.....
"Listen,
Karen. When you have been in the business as long as I have,
you can spot a perk a mile away....
Yeh,
I read the comparison report (the value of having program developed
and delivered in-house versus outsourcing it). You highlighted
a lot of qualitative advantages, but the analysis was woefully
short of quantitative benefits.
If
you can put together data that show how much executive education
can add to the bottom line, I'm willing to listen.Welcome to
the real world, Karen. I have to do that (type of thing) at
every budget meeting !"
Her
manager's background and attitude:
"No-nonsense leader" "Bulldog energy and tenacity"
Methodical, detailed and devoted.No
leadership development programs himself. One divison lifer.
Wants bottom-line impact, but "reasonable guy -make a case"
"You must be willing to fight for resources like the rest
of us."
__________________________________________________________
CONSULTANTS'
PERSPECTIVE
AND
ADVICE
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Mike
Morrison
Dean, Toyota University.
Los Angeles
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'Demonstrate
how it can improve business results. Run it like
a business !'
1.
Read the Drivers !
Determine the pressing needs. In this case, it is merger
issues: Leveragement, Inculturation, Global Integration.
Talk up the centralisation of the global training. Talk
up the necessity of re-orienting global leadership styles.
2.
Link any Business Case to Drivers.
Speak increase in skills transfer, competitiveness and/or
profits.
3.
Customise all Arguments.
Tailor arguments to each buisness unit's specific needs
to the point of skills transition measurements.
4.
One-Stop-Shop Versatility.
Promote and use numerous training delivery modes. Develop
a repertoire of methods.
5.
One Year Wins.
Develop tangible short-term proposals. Involve key clients
with programs that 'will produce return in the next year
!'
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____________________
Susan
Burnett,
VP, Workforce Development and Organisational Effectiveness.
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______________________________________________
Always
link your activities to business drivers.
'Executive
development is not about creating a university or a line
up of great speakers. It is about bringing new knowledge,
new practices and new thinking to the challenges of the
day.'
1. Company
Stategy.
Fully understand the company's strategy.
2.
Respond to Strategy.
Develop an optimal set of interventions to achieve the company
strategy faster.Use the following model to assist your CEO
where they want their leaders to actually be.
"What is the desired level of competitive leadership
competencies you really want ?"
"What is the desired level of succession planning /
depth of bench you want ?"
[So...Depth of Skills, Depth of Bench]
3. Convince
CEO of Speed.
The CEO must see how you are the premier catalyst process
to essential change. Convince them of optimal intervention
strategies.
4.
Metrics Clear.
Find the agreed business measures to intervention effectiveness.
It could be Speed to Merger Integration or Speed to Productivity,
etc.
5.
Customised Services.
Involve key consumers of your services in both the planning
and evaluation of your services. They are your voters.
6.
From the Top.
Find, nurture and/or develop senior leaders as vocal advocates
to your service initiatives.
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____________________
Noel M. Tichy
Professor of Business, Michigan Business School.
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______________________________________________
1. Seniority
Level.
You must be directly reporting to the CEO. 'Otherwise find
another company.' You seniority level in the company tells
you whether your services are strategic or not. Currently
your chances of program survival are grim.
2. Classroom
On The Job.
Focus mostly on action learning methodologies, not textbooks
and momentary programmed learning events.
3. Succession
Planning.
Develop apprenticing strategies for long-term leadership.
4. Educate
Leaders on ROI
Provide a balanced perspective of Investing versus Returning
parameters. 'Create the right mindset in the organisation.'
There are 'too many intervening factors' to make safe cause
and effect relationships in leadership development initiatives
let alone more technical training.
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____________________
David Owens
Chief Knowledge Officer, VP
Bausch & Lomb University, New York.
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______________________________________________
1. Have
Evidence.
To wait till a mega-merger to play catch-up in justifying
your existence is suicidal. You should have been accumulating
solid quantitative papers internally and externally on the
ROI business case regardless of circumstances.
2. Company's
Business Issues.
You should be fluent in company drivers and strategies.
3. Company's
Talent Pool.
You should be fluent in the depth of skills in employees
and skill gaps.
'Unfortunately
many HR departments only have a superficial understanding
of both (their business issues and staff competency profiles).'
4. One-Stop-Shop
Versatility.
Avoid
a reliance on classroom training. You must present a robust
set of instructional methodologies.
5. Metrics
Design new valid metrics if you have to so as to provide
long-term justification for your program interventions.
For instance, develop a Service Guarantee indicator levels
or retrospective metrics like the percentage of business
unit revenues attributed to executive development by actual
unit managers.
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HUMAN LEARNING -
NATURAL DRIFT TO LOOSE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
