Training Senior Leaders?

[Jennifer Schulte]

We have a whole load of material (training, communications, etc etc) for the direct-line manager level on engagement, but I also am responsible for content that goes into our senior leader programs.  For them I focus on the importance of Trust in Senior Leaders, and how they need to focus on creating the right environment / climate in the organization and remove systemic barriers to engagement (ex., use conversation/dialogue as a means to involving people in a strategy).

 

If anyone in this group has useful examples of training content for Senior Leaders, I could really use them!

[David Zinger]

Jennifer:

I don't pretend to have an answer to how to educate senior leaders but I do have my own responses:

First - Remind senior leaders that they are employees! Therefore everything that applies to all other employees can also apply to them.

Second - I would not use the word training with senior leaders and I am not sure "training" is suitable for any employee. I prefer education and leaders need to know education is as much about what they give as about what they get.They are not trainees they are part of a learning community brought together to make a difference in learning, engagement, and performance.

Third - I wrote a popular piece: 21 Sure-Fire Ways Leaders Can Energize Themselves for Work. You are welcome to use it.

Fourth - Crucial Conversations is a good methodology for them to achieve mutual purpose and mutual respect leading to results that matter to all. I so much appreciate the compelling evidence that Jane Dutton and Ross School of Business have gathered to show the most powerful contributor to organizational energy is high quality interactions or connections. Leaders may need help knowing how to show up, be present, and engage so that is is real, valuable, and has impact.

Fifth - I would be tempted to have them experience a little bit of the invitational conversation that Peter Block offers in Community - The Structure of Caring. Pages 177 to 185 are a very good summary and Peter encourages people to copy and distribute.

Fifth - I think about my work teaching The Influencer and getting Senior Leaders to focus on the 2 or 3 vital behaviours that will get the measurable result they are after and then stacking the deck to ensure this occurs. We need to keep our efforts small and significant and most leaders already have a plate that if overflowing and we don't want them to experience engagement as one too many meatballs.

Sixth - I would introduce them to the work of Sandy Pentland and show them how technology now allows us to monitor and measure honest signals and that our honest signals play a huge role in communication and change. They don't need to wear a sociometer or wocket but they should understand how important it is for them to model and express congruent integrity.

Seventh - They need to know that engagement is not a fluffy extra or a soft skills. (How I detest the word soft skills because it makes our human skills seems mushy and fluffy - I would prefer that we use fixed and fluid skills and communication and people skills are the fluid elements that keep the fixed pieces working) I believe that engagement is how we work in 2010 with: co-creation, conversation, social media, strategic improvisation, postmodern management, etc.

I am glad you asked for this as it just made me realize that my approach to leadership engagement is taking a more articulated form when I can write this off of the top of my head and from the caring of my heart to reach out and get results that matter to all.

David

[Jennifer Schulte]

Thank you David - this is really helpful! I am familiar with Crucial Conversations, Influencer and also Peter Block ... will see what I can do on those tips. I am not familiar with Sandy Pentland so will also be doing some homework on his perspective!

[Kate Nasser]

From: Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach
Hi David,
I am loving this discussion and it caused me to join this group after I found it through a Google search. Will be putting it out on Twitter for others to value.
I fully agree with your point #7 - I hate the phrase "soft skills" for their nothing soft about it. These are the skills that allow people to connect for tangible results in business. I call them people-skills others call them influencing or interpersonal skills. All are more descriptive than soft skills!
Engaging employees for maximum benefit takes skill as well as belief that it's important and a true desire to make it happen. I train Sr.. leaders to start with a completely different definition of teamwork and I share that with you all in this post. I welcome your comments there as well.
Teamwork Gems Create Startling Results

[Kate Nasser]

Here's the corrected link for Teamwork Gems Create Startling Results. Sorry for the mistake.

[Jennifer Schulte]

Hi Kate,

I'm not having luck with either link ... could you go for a 3rd try please? I would like to see your examples.

[David Zinger]

Hi Jennifer:
I happened upon this request. I put the title into Google and here was the link I found for Kate's post on gems and leadership: http://katenasser.com/teamwork-gems-create-startling-results/
David

[Carol Harris]

I have just started our Division EE work. What I did at our first 3 hour all director session was to provide some background/research data on what engagement means, why it is important, what is important to people as employees of the organization, etc. We then reviewed our results from the latest survey and brainstormed what key areas to focus upon and what might be done to impact. Then I introduced the concept of establishing EE teams--one at the Division level and then at each of the business unit levels ( some have multiples) Each EE team has key categories of focus based on results and have begun building a plan to dig deeper into each , gain more insight from associates and build some workable solutions. All of the work funnels into the Div team as each member is also a member of one of the BU teams. We have our directors as champions and our SVP as the overall Sponsor--and she is highly engaged. Our HR dept does not lead any of this and only adminsters the survey although we will be partnering with them as we work through some of the solutions that involve work they are doing on development etc. We have established monthly leadership review meetings for educations purposes and updates ( recently we viewed a you tube by Bob Kelleher on the 10 steps to engagement) and the SVP will talk with her own Direct Reports during one on ones . We just started in Nov and have developed stationary for use by leadership in communications monthly as well as EE team stationary for them to communicate out to their own associates--just starting points. Huge undertaking, lots of work, time, energy, yet as the vision of this comes to fruition it will be worth it!

[Lisa Sibley]

Hi there Jennifer - I am the Employee Engagement Manager at Essex County Council and under my umbrella I am responsible for delivery of the senior leadership group events and membership comms - we currently have 170 senior managers. These events provide the ideal vehicle to raise awareness of employee engagement at a senior level which I use to full advantage! I can highly recommend a great motivational speaker - Paul McGee aka Mr SUMO - he has helped to inspire our leaders to engage.
We are just about to launch an Essex Leaders On-Line portal in partnership with an excellent organisation called goodpractice.net - this will have a wealth of engagement resources. Our HR Business Partners are also great ambassadors to help spread the engagement word.
Today saw the launch of the Council's first official "employee engagement network" which we've called the Our Voice Forum, a good spread of employees from across our organisation and is sponsored by one of our directors who is engaged, authentic and genuine, his presence meant alot to the employees at the launch event today - it demonstrated our senior leaders commitment to engagement. The event was inspiring, exciting and engaging, a very promising start.
We also provide a wide range of learning and development interventions. So, a range of activities, no one size fits all but as the Tesco saying goes here in the UK, every little helps - I see a top priority of my job being to create opportunities for as many conversations as possible, upwards and across - as long as we're talking, we are at least on the road to engaging. Lisa

[Jennifer Schulte]

Fantastic examples, thank you ... there are a few gems in here that I will be following up on! I appreciate the insightful input.

[Carol Harris]

Do you have anything you use on managing Change? We are pulling together some sort of booklet for our division to follow anytime we have a change facing us yet it is very difficult to determine exactly what is most helpful. We do not have a change process here ( nor is HR developing anything at this point due to other projects)so our division is attempting to put something in place. Also what other types of materials do you use when you say you have lots of materials out there on communication etc? Thanks,

[BrittneyMaxfield]

For change management, I recommend you consider Influencer book and training (http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ISB...).

The change management approach outlined in Influencer was named the Change Management Approach of the year by MIT Sloan Management Review. You can read the change management article in MIT Sloan Management here: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/articles/2008/fall/50113/ho.... If you don't want to purchase the article, a similar version is available on the VitalSmarts Web site at: www.vitalsmarts.com/influencerreport.

More than the accolades, the model provides a step-by-step strategy for managing change. MIT applauded the approach because it goes beyond finding magic-pill solutions to fix entrenched problems and introduces a multi-faceted approach for securing lasting change.The model in the book alone will open your eyes to an effective way to manage change.