5 Reasons Every Employee NEEDS Management Training
There is a common myth in the workplace today that only a certain few “gifted employees” need to experience management training. This myth results in many employees not having the skill set to advance or significantly contribute on a higher level to the organization.
If there is one thing that many years of experience in management training has taught me, it's that every employee needs some type of leadership training. The truth is that everyone is a leader and the first person we lead is ourselves. Therefore it makes for a good business management policy to offer leadership training and/or coaching to our employees at every level.
Consider the following five reasons that every employee needs management training.
1. It aligns the employee with the company’s vision.
In the Emmy-winning TV show "Undercover Boss," high-level executives disguise themselves and take low-level jobs within their companies. Their goal is to see if their vision is the vision of their workforce. Oftentimes they discover a major disconnect between the two, explaining many of the problems their companies have experienced.
Many employees are hired into an organization with no thought of the company’s vision, mission, or values. This results in a gap between the employee and the overall direction of the company. Nothing is more frustrating than to try to redirect a team member who has shown that he or she is not interested in behaving within the guidelines of the company's value stream or mission. Management training allows the employer to invest in the employee so that alignment may occur with the company vision. All leadership training should include a review of the company’s vision, mission, and core values.
2. It provides a solution based mindset.
Management training is not designed to provide solutions for the particular project or problem. Effective management training teaches the employee how to develop a solution based mindset. In other words it facilitates tools and approaches that teach the employee to become a problem solver. The job of an effective leadership coach is to ask strategic questions that will allow the employee to find solutions to the problem at hand. Likewise management training is a vital tool in allowing team members at every level to grow their mindset from simply following directions to offering valuable solutions that could save the company time and resources or that significantly increase revenue generation.
3. It creates ownership.
Many times employees view their jobs as simply a necessary obligation. They come to work to punch a clock and they wait for the weekend. This type of employee is unmotivated and disconnected from the organization. Management training allows the employee to develop an investment mentality for the responsibilities that they have been given. It demonstrates to the employee that he or she is worth investing in from the company’s perspective. It sends a strong signal to the team member that the company cares about its employees and that includes developing that individual employee as a leader. The result is that the employee begins to experience increased ownership or accountability for their job and responsibilities.
4. It develops EQ.
Studies have shown over and over again that the most important competency that employers are looking for is emotional intelligence. We live in an age of increased connectivity. That means that our world is more global than ever, more connected with instant access to IQ resources. Obtaining knowledge is increasing, but our ability to navigate relationships is diminishing. That’s why companies are investing more and more resources into teaching emotional intelligence to their employees. Emotional intelligence has been studied and is the focus of many management and leadership training courses. The results prove that team members who excel in the area of emotional intelligence are those who significantly advance within the workforce. The most effective is a combination of leadership training supported by ongoing leadership coaching. The most effective plan to teach employees emotional intelligence is to provide leadership training supported by ongoing leadership coaching.
5. It produces a lifelong learner culture.
Finally companies who invest in management training send a strong message that each employee is expected to grow and to continue their learning process on an ongoing basis. When this expectation is given to employees on all levels it breeds a culture of lifelong learning. Employees who are lifelong learners are employees who create strong healthy organizations that can survive and thrive in diverse economic environments. These lifelong learning organizations are the organizations that will successfully lead us into the future.
Providing management training to every employee may seem like a time-intensive and resource-intensive task. But it doesn't have to be. The first step can be quick and free-of-charge. Take your team through our online personality test. They will gain understanding of their own personalities, as well as a glimpse into the personalities of their coworkers.
