DEVELOPMENT…NOT TRAINING

This blog entry from Forbes expresses my sentiments exactly.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemyatt/2012/12/19/the-1-reason-leadership-development-fails/

The real challenge in large companies is how to scale up a development process without creating a routinized program.  Think mentoring.  Think peer learning.  Think project debriefs.  Think about ongoing dialogues.  Think effective supervision that goes way beyond monitoring projects.  Get outside of the training mindset.  It simply has no lasting impact on getting the best out of people.  But it sure makes a company feel good when they fill out those Best Company surveys when they can check the boxes for professional development.

PS.  Development costs much less than training.  But it takes the involvement of senior leaders.