This week I as talking with Jeremiah, a mid-level manager of a Fortune 100 company, he told me his company has embraced the West Coast thinking of 90-20-10, wherein 90 percent of training should be on-the-job training, 20 percent of training should be direct coaching, and 10% of training should be in a classroom. Of course, a major challenge with the 90% on-the-job training is ensuring the trainers have solid communication and people skills to connect with and make a lasting impact on the trainees. According to Jeremiah, these skills are lacking and the 10% of classroom training has been ignored. However, he said the good news is that the company seems to be really committed to employee development. Wait…what??
As leaders, we must be continuously committed to learning and to the development of others and then of ourselves. As servant leaders, we need to be other focused not self-focused, though to be truly able to be helpful, we always must be honing our own skills. So what are you doing currently to refine your skills? Here are six options to consider:
- Hire an executive coach — like me.
- Ask someone in your department to mentor you.
- Take the time to mentor someone else. You’ll be surprised what you learn about yourself along the way.
- Take a High Impact Presentation Course. Dale Carnegie Training offers a great one…a shameless plug.
- Follow a blog on leadership. Or write a blog on leadership.
- Follow a thought leader such as Marshall Goldsmith on social media.
Next week I will be meeting with an executive group to discuss “Gaining the Willing Cooperation from Others.” Stay tuned!
On a personal note — Being a grandfather is awesome! Mine is the most beautiful granddaughter ever. Not even sure what the rest of you are talking about…smile!
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Western and Central PA, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in Pennsylvania. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @dalecarnegiepa.