#1 -Peer Learning and Outside Exposure

A critical piece of a leadership development program is the experience of peer-learning. People learn incredibly well from peers. It fosters the exchange of ideas, creates dialogue, and can produce more open discussions.  We listen to peers differently than we do to others in our lives. There are those moments when conversations with peers open our perspectives to see things differently. A well-structured program design should create peer experiences.

If the program can go even further and bring that peer-learning outside of an organization, that is significant, especially for certain people and roles. It allows individuals to gain insights into the challenges of other businesses and organizations and helps participants recognize that they are not alone when it comes to many of the leadership issues they may face. Often, we hear from a participant, “you’re in a such different industry and yet experience such similar challenges.” That makes one stop and think that they are not alone, and the leadership challenges they face are not all unique.

#2 -Sustainability: Reinforcing Leadership Development

In addition to the peer-learning effect, a program will have sustainability if it is conducted over time. This is a critical factor in growth and sustainability. Each of us need chances to learn and experiment with new leadership ideas and concepts. We need the opportunity to practice in a variety of situations. Then, we need the chance to regroup and debrief. A well-designed program will be structured to maximize development and allow for the practice and debrief cycle to occur. Leadership development occurs over time and a program should leverage and enhance that.

#3 -Manager Involvement

A third key feature of a leadership development program is manager involvement. Any good development effort should have some level of manager involvement, but a program demands more of it. Throughout the program, formal and informal touchpoints with the manager provide opportunities to align on goals, gather feedback, and make progress visible. It naturally builds in accountability.

For any organization, it is important to remember that any leadership development program is a true investment in its people. The three must-haves described here enable and setup your people to grow their leadership capabilities in more effective ways, and to provide that competitive advantage every organization is looking to create.

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Turns out the same thing happens in the development world. We know that we should have good professional development goals, we should write them down, and we should practice, practice, and practice them some more. At least, we should all know these steps -right?!

However, what we see happen over and over on executive coaching engagements is that a good definition of leadership and management is missing or poorly defined for that particular organization. It often comes out in little snippets and after something unexpected or contrary happens. In essence, we need to go back to the beginning and develop a good problem statement. In this case, it’s establish a good definition of leadership and management. Our professional goals are always within the context of our organization. The goals are not in a vacuum. We must have a good definition of leadership.

Ask what does capability X look like here? For example, what does good decision making look like? One organization may describe it as “we are data driven and look at alternatives.” Another, might describe it around speed -“we have a bias for action.” One client had, as part of the definition of communication effectiveness, that one is good “up, down and across” with communication. This phrase clearly shows an emphasis at being good at communication in all directions. Different organizations will define their leadership and management styles and approaches differently. That is what we need to clarify -for each organization.

Five Activities to Define Leading and Managing Well

So, how do we tackle this? Here are five activities that will help you define leading and managing well in your organization.

1. Define it -For any particular capability or competency, describe it well. Answer, what does it look like? What are the key words that describe it for us? Get the descriptors and write them down.
2. Get some examples – Another good way to define things well, is to gather some examples. These examples should be from your organization. Take something like team work. Ask for and find some good examples and illustrations of teamwork taking place in the organization. Asking an individual what do they think, do and say with regards to teamwork? This is a terrific way to understand how someone who is skilled at something does it; how it manifests in actions and attitudes.
3. Observe counter examples -Another good way to define something is to know what it is not!
4. Talk with others -Your manager, key colleagues, and HR. Tap into what they think and see that describes leading and managing well in your organization.
5. Leverage existing work -Your organization may have an existing definition of leadership like a competency model, good job descriptions, etc. Utilize these to the fullest. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

With a good definition of leadership, your ability to describe and write-up your own professional goals will be greatly enhanced and become richer. A good definition within the context of your organization will help ensure your goals fit your organization better. Ultimately, as you practice and work on your goals based on a great definition of leadership and management, your efforts will be more visible and recognizable to others, leading to more success.

Getting better at feedback matters -research shows people don’t get enough feedback and they certainly do not get enough positive feedback. This is one of those capabilities that many of us avoid or delay. Unfortunately, that rarely helps!

Delivering regular feedback well makes a difference in performance and results. It lets people know they are on or off track. When they are off they can adjust.

We should make delivering and hearing feedback much easier so that it happens more often and is less of a “big deal.”

5 steps to improve your feedback capability

1. Prepare Don’t walk into a feedback discussion cold. Figure out what you need to say and discuss. Gather your thoughts and of course any information, notes, or data you need. Practice for a bit. Prep pays off and is easy to skip. Don’t skip it.
2. Be specific and timely When you give feedback you need to keep it specific. And, it must be timely. Waiting months to give feedback is a no-no, and, quite frankly, not fair. Making it specific is a good test during your prep. It should describe specific behaviors.
3. Set the Environment Remember to set the environment when giving feedback. Make it a good one. If you are rushed, get interrupted, or are impatient, you are setting a bad environment.
4. Actively listen Many of us ask some good questions and then forget to listen to the other party’s response. So, when it’s appropriate, don’t forget to actively listen -engage with the other party on what they are experiencing. You may just learn something that can help improve things. This is often an over looked part of feedback.
5. Practice Bring it all together with practice. In fact, make it practice, practice, practice. Feedback is a capability that gets easier with lots of practice. It is also one of the capabilities that is much harder if you don’t use it regularly. Find a couple of easy places to give some feedback each week. Do a quick after-action-review -what went well and what to improve next time. Work that into your prep.

By putting these ideas in place and practicing giving feedback, your ability to deliver and, ultimately, receive feedback will get easier and be more effective.

Finally, recognize where people are doing things well! This week, find two instances where you can give some good positive feedback to a colleague or employee. Things to comment on can be as simple as “thank you for taking the time to triple check the numbers” or “you did a great job explaining the process in today’s staff meeting.” They are in front of you if you look.