Training - KeynesYouDigIt/Knowledge GitHub Wiki

Why leadership training fails - and what to do about it

Corporate training doesn't stick because individuals have less power to change the system than the system has to shape them.

Education and training gain the most traction when coupled with big, highly-visible organizational change championed by senior leaders. Organizations aren't just collections of individuals (who need to be individually hired and trained)- organizations are systems of interacting elements. The responsibility for failure to change organizational behavior lies with the policies and practices of top management, not individual deficiencies.

"Silent killers" (blockers for organizational change):

• Unclear direction on strategy and values, which leads to conflicting priorities
• Senior executives who don't work as a team and haven't acknowledged their role in this
• Top-down or laissez-faire style by the leader, which prevents honest conversations about problems
• Lack of coordination across the organization due to poor organizational design
• Inadequate leadership time given to talent issues
• Employees' fear of telling the senior leadership about obstacles

Steps to talent development:

1. The senior team clearly identifies values and an inspiring strategic direction
2. After gathering candid, anonymous observations and insights, diagnose barriers to strategy execution and learning. Then redesign the organization's roles, responsibilities, and relationships to overcome the barriers and motivate change.
3. Day-to-day coaching and process consultation help people become effective in the new design
4. The organization adds training where needed
5. Success in changing behavior is gauged using new metrics for individual and organizational performance
6. Systems for selecting/evaluating/developing/promoting talent are adjusted to reflect and sustain the changes

You need to assess each part of the organization's capacity for change, as well.