No use fixing the roof if the foundation is crumbling. The same could be said for the training and development of staff in a broken organization. Too much time, money and energy is spent in the workplace touting sporadic and conflicting training of mid and entry-level employees. I am not referring to skills learning, for that is essential at all levels and particularly valuable in the early stages of someone’s career. I am talking about the use of courses and training, internal or external, on a variety of subjects that seem to go in and out of fashion and have little to do with the goals and mission of the organization.
Without attention and commitment to improving the organization itself (and the people at the top), the expenditures are merely superficial solutions to deeper problems.
Let me ask you — does your team, division, organization have a clear and achievable strategy? Could all contributors describe what the goals are and what their role in achieving it should be? Are there conflicting priorities — do direct supervisors ask for one thing while the CEO is espousing another? Does the strategy blend with the stated values and mission of the group, or is there a conflict or contradiction at every turn?
Is there a united front at the top? This is not to say members can’t disagree but do you get the sense everyone is working towards a certain goal and their piece of the pie fits with the whole? Are personal agendas or rigid ways of controlling, hanging on, or doing things thwarting growth? Are their saboteurs in the leadership mix (those who are just waiting for the project to fail, so they can say “I told you so”)? If you ask three senior leaders what is most important for the good of the firm, would you get similar answers? If not, why not? And more importantly, how do you change this?
Is someone at the helm and are they seen as the voice and inspiration of this successful voyage? Or, are senior leaders stuck in meetings where they talk only with themselves or those that will support their agenda, with no resolution or leadership? How comfortable would someone be pointing out an error in judgement or analysis? Is fear of retribution or embarrassment driving what people say and do?
Is the organization structured in such a way that collaboration is difficult functionally and from a priorities perspective? Are divisions driven by personalities rather than mission and are teams seen as competitors rather than supporters?
What are the organization’s true beliefs about human capital and how dedicated are they to the ongoing development of their employees? Do staff members know their career path and what needs to happen for them to succeed? Is praise used frequently and are the difficult conversations happening at the appropriate time and with the right people? How are human capital dollars being allocated? Is it enough and is it going to where it will have the most value?
In an article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Why Leadership Training Fails — And What To Do About It” authors Beer, Finnstrom, and Schrader ask some of these same questions with the solution often being fixing the foundation of the organization rather than the employees. Their big question is, “What is getting in the way of change” and “how do we fix it?” Investigation and assessment of how things are operating now and measuring how effective the current strategy or process is a first step. Is the strategy flawed? If not, where are things breaking down or getting in the way, and how can we equip our people to perform at a level that goals can be achieved?
Like most change, people must admit there is a problem or inefficiency. Once they are there, they can then look for solutions. Impartial investigation and assessment would be a next step to identify hurdles and barriers. Often they are not what most would expect.
As important, is the company organized so progress can happen? The authors call for a relook at all aspects of how things function, not just, but not excluding, who is doing what. Only then can they be coached, guided, and supported into a new way of executing leading to success.
The diagnosis may require new and different way of measuring success on an ongoing basis and will probably dictate reallocation or change in resources, talent, and focus.
These are major and often painful steps, sometimes requiring a new leader and leadership team, and surely demanding participation and motivation.
You can’t wait until it rains to fix the roof and leaders can’t wait until goals are not met to repair or overhaul their organization and themselves. Only when these occur does training and development have real, long-lasting value.
Identifying complex organization problems and addressing them, rather than trying to teach people at mid-level how to deal with the present, is the best way to re-build a sustainable organization. Any other method is wasting time, money, and value.
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