Mintzberg: How to develop managers effectively
Managers are linchpins. Developing them to be effective is so critical to organizational effectiveness. Professor Henry Mintzberg has spent his career thinking about this, and he has some nontraditional ideas.
Below I quote a framework for developing managers from his book Simply Managing:
- Managers, let alone leaders, cannot be created in a classroom.
- Managing is learned on the job, enhanced by a variety of experiences and challenges.
- Development programs can help managers make meaning of their experience, by encouraging them to reflect on it personally and to share it with their colleagues.
- Intrinsic to this development has to be the carrying of the learning back to the workplace, for impact on the organization.
- Programs for managers need to be organized according to the nature of managing itself.
If you’d like more detail, you can check out his book (I prefer listening via Audible).
My main takeaway is that traditional management training programs do not match how managers become effective. A two-day brain dump isn’t effective. We hear this from our clients, too, who are turning to more manager-centric solutions like performance support. Even worse, many organizations provide no support to new managers –– a risky organizational choice.
What do you think? How should organizations develop their managers? What are the best programs you’ve seen?
Want to develop great managers at your company? Learn about Jhana and request a demo at www.jhana.com.
