Train Routes

I’d been working a 70 hour week for as long as I could remember. I was doing it for the family. So they could have the best things in life. Out at the crack of dawn, back after the kids were in bed, a microwaved evening meal in front of the TV with a large whiskey to help me unwind.
I didn’t see much of the wife or children but sacrifices had to be made. I was building a future, a legacy for my children. This was the most important thing in my life. I’d wasted my youth and was now determined to show the world I could make a success of my life.
It was around this time that I took a call from a management training company. No thanks, I said, like I need help!
I’d worked my way up the corporate ladder. God knows how! Sometimes pure luck but there had been some close shaves along the way. Like the time I was working towards my first promotion for departmental manager. I had such a vast workload. I had no choice. There was no-one else as capable as me. I couldn’t afford to let anyone else screw this up for me. How I coped I’ll never know!
The area managers job was now in my sights. All those people to give orders to. Maybe I could delegate some of the workload and take an easier route. I sat up all night working on my presentation. I was determined to show those in power that I had what it took. After my sixth whiskey the presentation looked perfect and I fell into a fitful sleep on the sofa.
Waking late the next day, I threw all my things together with no thought to my personal appearance. A little dishevelled, I realised, when I got there but a quick spruce up in the gents would suffice. Once in the meeting I began to feel the effects of last nights alcohol consumption. Sweating and shaking, I managed to bluff my way through the presentation and scraped through to my much prized area managers job.
My subordinates were not appreciative of my managerial style. They begrudgingly did what I asked but they had no drive. No ambition. They took sick days for stress related complaints all the time. What did they have to be stressed about when I felt like it was always me doing the work?
Another call from a consultancy claiming they could improve my departments productivity with some tailored courses on managerial training. What would they know when it was me, out there, doing it. And doing it well as far as I was concerned.
If I could just make it to regional manager Id be happier. More affluent, better car, bigger house, the envy of all the neighbours. Of course, it would involve extra work but I could cope.
I took it on and I took it home. Weekends passed in a blur with me hammering away on my lap top – regular expletives and shunting away of children occuring. But I did it. I got that promotion. So, I stepped on a few people on the way. These things happen. Dispensable commodities was how I saw them. If they didnt want to succeed then more fool them!
Then one day everything changed. I closed my laptop the evening before and went to bed with that last drink that would get me off to sleep. Well, it did that alright.
I remembered nothing else until I work up in hosptial the next day after suffering a heart attack. I will never forget my wifes distraught face. It was like seeing her for the first time. Holding my children I couldn’t remember the last time I had done this.
Of course it was stress, bad diet, bad life style, no work/life balance that had brought me here but above all it was my foolish refusal to accept help. I didn’t understand how so many people could get as far as they did and not end up here, in hospital, beside me.
I recovered well and returned to work but things had changed. The atmosphere was different. I was called into the boss’ office and their kindness amazed me. Without many words, my boss quietly slid a business card across the table with the business training and coaching consultancy’s number on it.
I conceded what I thought was defeat and gave them a call. With the utmost tact they put my life back together. I learnt how to deal with my staff, how to delegate efficiently, how to organise my workload and change my outlook. More importantly they gave me back my family that I came so close to losing.
Within a year I had recovered enough to get back to where I was. But with a difference. After several management training courses tailored to my specific needs, my staff were happy, I was happy, confidence soared within the company as the training was applied to all and business was thriving.
I also learnt to leave work at work and enjoy my family.

Do you remember that teacher striding into the room with the air and authority of a sergeant major? Do you remember that sick feeling of knowing that you had to approach him with a problem? Oh how first impressions count!
It is estimated that 40% of managers will fail at their post within 18 months of promotion. This is directly attributed to their actions within the first 100 days of their transfer. A sad statistic, and quite drastic in terms of loss of productivity for a business, but curable.
With the right management training solutions in place the above would very rarely happen. Being thrust into a position of responsibility, however much yearned for, can be daunting. However, training alone is not enough bringing only a 22% increase in productivity. Whereas, training combined with coaching brings a vast 88% productivity increase.
Employers can do much to help their staff with the knock on effect of boosting their company’s success. Effective training and coaching to ensure employees are ready for the responsibilities of management are a good start. But why not encompass all staff members to ensure job satisfaction?
Many members of staff have been lost to job dissatisfaction. They often feel unchallenged and unappreciated. They don’t believe their complaints are listened to or acted upon. Stress is just as paralysing to the lowly receptionist or typist as it is to the high flying managers when a work/life balance is out of synch.
Effective management training along with coaching will re-dress this problem to bring about a happy, industrious work force and successful business. Start with the managers, or more importantly, those approaching promotion, first. Teach empathetic and reflective listening skills, teach them problem solving instead of how to just deal with the symptoms of a problem and all their team will feel that they count.
Teach managers how to hold meetings that people come away from with a feeling of inspiration. Here, presentation and planning skills will come to the fore. Even the mundane activities of report writing can make or break a manager.
Nobody will doubt the importance of the work/life balance and management training and coaching will make the appropriate people aware of all this. A manager with a happy balance in his own life should ensure his staff are the same thus creating a happy, dynamic workforce without the debilitating effects of the work related stress responsible for work absenteeism costing society around 3.7 pounds billion a year.
With the correct management training programme, specifically tailored to suit the individual company, the majority of problems can be halted before they take hold. This starts at the very beginning with managers learning effective recruitment techniques.
And, very importantly in today’s PC society, managers will learn how to deal with undesirable behaviour from employees as well as being in no doubt about their own conduct. Assertive, aggressive and passive communication skills are dealt with along with how to present persuasive arguments without belittling the opposition.
On line learning is a useful tool on the path of management training and will assist in the route to truly professional leadership.

The way managers’ approach managing their staff has been talked about for many years, with different styles being favoured depending on which decade it is. As a result of ever changing preferred methods and fads, management training has evolved considerably.
Whether a classroom based open course or an experiential event set in Africa helping communities build public facilities is chosen, delegates are given the opportunity to learn a great deal about management training.
Development of any kind can have great long-term lasting effects that really can make a difference. Investing in management training shows commitment to employees and gives them the tools to be successful not just in their present role at their organisation but in future roles as well. However, attending an all singing and dancing training programme is only successful if the delegates are able to transfer their learning into their working lives.
A learning and development specialist, has been designing and implementing training courses for over 20 years and states that the most important aspect of a training programme is ensuring delegates are able to transfer the learning into their work.
Kasmin Cooney, Managing Director says, ‘All management training should be creative and I find incorporating elements of fun generates great levels of interaction, however the training would be pointless if it was not clear what messages and skills delegates need to learn and incorporate. One way that has been successful is to create work-based assignments, which get the delegate thinking about how their new learning can make positive impacts on their job role as well as the organisation.’
Training needs to be approached correctly. Many organisations in the past have looked for quick fix methods, which can lead to a low buy-in from employees. This in some cases has made the problem worse, as the training was seen as just going through the motions.
The best way to get buy-in is to establish exactly what is needed from the training programme and there is no better way than asking the mangers themselves. A good way of generating ideas on management aspects is through satisfaction surveys completed by all members of staff. This way a full picture is created. The survey can also act as a means of measuring the success of the training programme by comparing the survey before and after the development programme.
Overall, if done correctly training can make extremely positive changes in organisations. This is not a just a myth and is easily proven when looking at the amount spent on management training over the years. Training can really bring the most out of employees and set organisations on the route to success, and it is for these reasons why training will stay high up on the business agenda for the foreseeable future.

The typical route that most organisations follow when they appoint someone to a new management position is usually something like this:

First step

Select someone who appears to have what it takes for the management position you need to fill. They seem to have the right mix of skills and capability and they have impressed you in some way with things they have done or said.

Second step

Appoint them to the role and get them started in the job.

Third step

Leave them to it! Just walk away and let them get on with it.

Fourth step

Come back again and take a look at how they are doing when you begin to get wind of things not going too well. The grapevine is humming a little, people are whispering in corners or maybe there has been a hue and cry amongst the people who report to this poor manager!

Fifth step

Send them on a management development programme!

Sounds familiar? Many of us have either been in this position or know someone who has. It happens all the time and the damage it causes is far reaching and sometimes beyond repair.

Here’s why organisations should choose a better route than this:

 it severely lowers the confidence and self esteem of the manager who has been placed in this position

 their credibility is tarnished as they expose themselves as appearing to be incompetent or insensitive

 it has a detrimental effect on the people who report to this manager as they become the victims of the management blunders that are being made

 productivity may fall and performance may suffer

 clients or customers may be affected and complaints or lost sales may follow

 the reputation of the business may be badly damaged if serious issue arise

What can organisations do differently to prevent these problems arising? Is there another route that could benefit everyone concerned? We believe there is a better way and this is the route that we recommend:

Step 1

Before the designated employee is appointed to the management position, carry out a thorough assessment of their knowledge, skills and behavioural traits. Assess what they are capable of against clear criteria for the job that you have in mind for them to do.

Step 2

Next, conduct a detailed training needs analysis, based on the outcome of the assessment. Identify the gaps in their knowledge and skills and the areas in which their behaviour needs to change.

Step 3

Select an appropriate and trusted training provider who can deliver a reliable management training and development service. Explore with your chosen provider the best solution to the learning needs of your manager and develop a customised programme that matches and meets their individual needs.

Step 4

Following training, appoint the person to the management role and arrange for a series of coaching sessions so that your manager can apply what they have learned and really transfer new knowledge and skills to the job, with great results. Gather feedback from the people who report to the manager as well as feedback from the manager themselves.

Step 5

Agree a personal learning and development plan that the new manager can follow in the coming months and meet with him or her regularly to review progress, monitor results and give constructive feedback.

The only thing left to do is to congratulate yourself on selecting the best route for everyone concerned and for removing the risk of damage to your staff, your managers, your clients or customers and your business!