From Linkage: Improving ROI: Three Leadership Development Practices

Most firms have leadership programs that are highly rated in terms of the experience of participants but have little or no connection to rigorous application of the learning on the job. Despite all the excitement over action learning and connecting classroom experiences to on-the job assignments, this is still the biggest, most common gap in leadership development-often due to the difficulty of coordinating assignments and the discomfort many internal leaders feel when working as mentors and coaches. Training groups rarely determine how participation in the leadership training will integrate with larger talent and succession planning for on-the-job assignments and participation on task forces or initiatives. Even with the advent of communities
of practice and electronic means of connecting globally, most leaders don't know how to build networks among those experiencing common leadership transitions and dilemmas.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.linkageinc.com/thinking/linkageleader/Documents/David_Giber_Improving_ROI_Three_Best_Practices.pdf?CC=TLL09-EM12

Overled and Undermanaged-From Business Week

By Henry Mintzberg
BW Magazine

Have you heard the word "leadership" lately—say, in the last 10 minutes? How about "management"? Remember that word? Let me suggest that you should, because what we've been calling a financial crisis is actually one of management. Corporate America has had too much of fancy leadership disconnected from plain old management.

How did this happen? It became fashionable some years ago to separate "leaders" from "managers"—you know, distinguishing those who "do the right things" from those who "do things right." It sounds good. But think about how this separation works in practice. U.S. businesses now have too many leaders who are detached from the messy process of managing. So they don't know what's going on.

Read the entire article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_33/b4143068890733.htm

Leadership from Soaring Eagle Enterprises

WSJ: Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders

By DANA MATTIOLI
Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership-development programs, hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.

Identifying and grooming leaders is important in good times, says Bret Furio, senior vice president of consumer lifestyle for Philips Electronics North America. "In times of crisis when the economy is struggling," he adds, "it's imperative."

Like many companies,

Philips Electronics NV is trimming its training budget this year. A December survey of 117 large U.S. companies by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. found 23% of respondents had recently cut training programs, and another 18% planned to do so this year.

But Philips will offer its annual Inspire program for 30 high-potential employees, stressing subjects such as business strategy and personal leadership. Participants are assigned to teams to work on a business project. Mr. Furio reasons that investing in leadership development will help Philips through the recession and the recovery.

In a nod to the tough times, Philips trimmed the budget for Inspire, eliminating one tutor and tapping more employees, rather than outsiders, as trainers. It's holding the program near Seattle and Boston, where Philips has many employees, saving the company transportation costs. Last year, one seminar was held in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Philips is typical of many companies, according to Bersin & Associates, a research firm that studies corporate training. Bersin estimates that companies cut overall training budgets 11% last year and projects another decline this year, based on a recent survey of human-resources executives. President Josh Bersin says the deepest cuts are in training for "soft skills" such as communicating with co-workers and conducting meetings. He says leadership development is taking a growing share of training budgets.

Yaarit Silverstone, global managing director for the organizational-effectiveness practice at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., says the emphasis on leadership development is a departure from the past. Ms. Silverstone says companies historically cut leadership-development programs during downturns, but the moves backfired, prompting midlevel managers and top performers to leave when the economy recovered. Now, she says, executives believe that without capable managers, "their ability to come through [the recession] in a healthy fashion is diminished."

Consider Estée Lauder Cos. The New York cosmetics maker Thursday reported lower sales and profit for the period ended Dec. 31, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs over the next two years. But Lauder is continuing its leadership-development programs, albeit more cheaply. Lauder typically sends 120 executives to a two- or three-week summer program at Vassar College. This year, it plans to send 60, for one week. In all its leadership programs, Lauder will emphasize innovation and managing change in volatile business conditions.

The budget cuts are hurting business schools, which say companies are sending fewer employees for executive-education courses and ordering fewer custom programs, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Newkirk, CEO of Executive Education for the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, says the school began to feel the downturn early last year, as financial companies deferred decisions. He says few companies have dropped programs completely, but many are delaying custom program enrollment by six months or so as they watch expenses.
But leadership coaches say they're still in demand.

Author and consultant Paul Hellman has been expecting a slowdown, but says December was his busiest December ever. Mr. Hellman, president of Express Potential, says employers know employees are less likely to jump ship during the recession, and are exhibiting a "let's make sure people are developed" mentality. He says he sees companies cutting costs by using more Web training than in past years; he hosted four "Webinars" in January, compared with six for all of last year.

That's the case at Canon USA Inc., which launched "Canon Academy" in 2008 to expand leadership development. This year, the camera and office-equipment maker is combining Web tools and instructor-led courses to offer training to more newly promoted managers than in the past. The program will touch on strategic decision-making and influencing employees. "Certainly times are tough, but we recognize that employee development needs to continue," says David Metzger, Canon USA's director of management development.

Some consultants see a renewed focus on leadership development, even at companies that are laying off employees. Patrick Sweeney, president of Caliper, a Princeton, N.J., management-consulting firm, says companies are trying to grab managers' attention and focus them on "keeping the ship afloat." Mr. Sweeney says much of Caliper's current work is geared toward identifying employees with high potential and developing their leadership skills.

Ten Certificate Programs that Add Dollar Signs to Your Resume'

From Careerbuilder.com

By Kathleen Nicholson, Classes USA
How do you train for the next level up on the company ladder, get skills that will match a new promotion, boost your earnings or even change careers without a hefty time commitment?
A short-term certificate program that focuses on specific skills within a profession or trade might just be the answer. Often offered online or part time for working professionals, they can take less than two years to complete and often serve as a springboard into of-the-moment careers that offer top earnings and job security. Here are some of the hottest certificate programs at campuses nationwide:

5. Negotiation or Leadership and Management: "Certificates [in these areas] can make an executive more marketable, or a CEO gain the knowledge they may not have to lead the company," says Peter Schatschneider of University Alliance, a group of online universities. "Professionals can learn soft skills or hard skills like project management."
The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business in conjunction with University Alliance offers these two executive certificates each consisting of three eight-week courses. Taught by Notre Dame professors using streaming video lectures, VoIP and interactive chat rooms, e-mail and whiteboards, for many executives it's a chance to learn specific skills that will further their careers. One recent certificate graduate, Richard Multack, used his Notre Dame certificate to get a promotion to chief medical officer for an 80-physician medical group in the suburbs of Chicago.

COMMUNICATION = CONNECTIVITY

Communication is a tricky combination of art and science.  In its basic form, it is the flow of information between humans. In all its complexity, it surely must be regarded as a human phenomenon.  Why is it so important to management leadership?

• Communication is human connectivity. It enjoins people in unique and personal ways to the tasks and mission of an organization.
• Communication is the inspiration point, the catalyst of why people follow a leader.  To have people want to follow, the leader must consciously hone communication skills.
  

Get out your playbook.  Over the course of this blog, we're going to hone communication skills specifically for managers, leaders and those aspiring to improve their lives.  We're going to offer advice and easily executed tips. We invite your comments and dialogue.