Maybe a few of you reading this had the goal to one day become a manager. Unfortunately, acquiring the management mantle for most came in the form of a promotion either because of previous good work, or they were next in line, or someone was too lazy to go through the hiring process. None of these are a recipe for management success. So how can organizations improve the odds of success for their management team? Let’s look at two scenarios, 1. before promotion and 2. after the fact?

1. Before Promoting to Management

Does your organization have a good management, leadership training, or mentoring program? No? Get one. If budgeting and staffing are an issue, then you may find one outside the organization that fits your needs. Here are some elements to look for…

1. Do the topics meet the management level you require? For example, beginner intermediate, or advanced.
2. Does the curriculum fit your strategic business goals? Do the topics meet the business acumen needed to achieve your future vision?
3. Does the program provide any follow-up? Does it at least provide a series of courses so that the participants can practice new skills and receive feedback?
4. Does the program offer an optional six-month to year coaching program? This can take the place of a mentoring program freeing up your current management/leadership team while allowing collaborative and real-time learning with that team during coaching.

Finding a plethora of information on leadership is easy. The difficult part is that you can read about it, watch videos on it, study it, observe it and still not come away with a definitive definition of it. Further, a topic that often generates energetic discussions is whether a manager is a leader and the difference between the two. Have you ever been a party to one of these discussions?