August 26th, 2010
Coverage of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has made me reflect on the challenges leaders face and the leadership training they should receive.
Tony Hayward, the former BP CEO, left the business as a direct result of the disaster. Exactly who is to blame for the tragic loss of life and the environmental damage is still disputed and will probably be decided in court over the next 10 years. Certainly the BP CEO did not cover himself in glory after the event, with some ill thought through comments to the media. Some communications and media handling training would not go amiss.
However, the question that really occupies me is: “What should Tony Hayward have done differently, as a leader, to prevent the Gulf disaster?”
There’s no doubt he was aware that safety was a key issue in the oil business. Less than a month before the disaster Tony Hayward spoke, at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, about how a previous fatal accident in 2005 had “changed in a profound and fundamental way our approach to safety and operations integrity – providing a safe working environment is a paramount responsibility, and our first and foremost priority.”
Tony Hayward had the vision of what needed to be done on safety. However he failed to translate this through into changes in the organisation’s working practices and culture. So, with the benefit of hindsight, I believe he should have driven his safety message right through to the sharp end of the business. To help him avoid the disaster I would have bestowed on him an urgent course in change management training… and a large portion of luck!
What training do you think could have helped Tony Hayward prevent the disaster?
By Jon Davies | Righttrack’s Interim International Business Development and Marketing Manager
Tags: change management, leadership development, Leadership Training, Tony Hayward BP CEO
Posted in Leadership Training | No Comments »
August 23rd, 2010
Management training – alas probably the single most needed area of training any organisation can invest in. Read on as I jump onto my Management Training orange box and ask a question: If a manager, new or established, is not competent in planning for change in a way that realises objectives (in the quickest and most cost effective way) involves all stakeholders at an appropriate level, and knows what to do to avoid confrontation and distress to staff – then what?
Wishy-washy objectives (if any), slow problem solving and decision making, costly delays and avoidable mistakes, patchy communication, demotivated and unproductive colleagues. Many, many senior managers and directors despair of this incompetence yet never let the light of learning be shed on these souls so much in need of exciting and inspiring management training.
Let me share with you what a manager might learn on a training course. Someone, somewhere, created the RACI acronym, it describes a method of planning that is included in many management training programmes as it is memorable, useful and easily shared with any work team. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed and these labels are assigned to each stakeholder according to each element of a plan. It works and most people love using it. The investment required to train a manager need not be high, the payback can be many fold. It may be hard to find the investment, it may be just the thing to help your organisation embrace change that is the inevitable result of the business climate in 2010.
By Mike Cooney | Righttrack’s Commercial and Financial Director
Tags: decision making, Management Training, problem solving, RACI
Posted in Management Training | No Comments »
August 12th, 2010
Traditionally, management training programmes are delivered in stuffy training rooms, sprinkled with flip charts and littered with plastic cups. So what about a training day that isn’t in a room with tables and chairs organised into a horseshoe; no flip chart, folders or pens! Experiential management training is novel and poignant way of teaching those who may have been desensitised by the traditional approach over the years. It is a truly unique experience and one of the most effective leadership and management training events.
Based on a storyline or activity that cleverly and subtly mirrors the working environment, experiential learning is designed to take delegates out of their comfort zone, encouraging natural reactions to situations which demonstrate individuals’ true management, leadership and communication skills and preferences. The event can last from half a day, to 2-days or more, and can be held in the big outside or a large unrestrictive room. The focus is to break barriers; to learn but to have some fun.
For half a day immediately following the event, the delegates are brought together for a debriefing during which elements true to the learning objectives are drawn to the surface. Through formal theory and input from the trainer, these personal and team realisations are strung together and the learning objectives achieved.
By providing everyone with an opportunity to dig deep and bring unknown talents to the surface, individuals are able to realise qualities that were previously unknown to themselves or members of their team. It provokes everyone to reconsider their communication style and how they approach their work. It generates a high degree of self-awareness, empathy and camaraderie with colleagues; for some, it will change the way they see the world.
By Claudia Cooney | Righttrack’s Sales & Key Account Executive
Tags: business learning, CPD, development, management
Posted in Management Training | No Comments »
