Authors:
Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
We are happy to share the second part in our two-part series about Company Academies. In Part 1, we discussed how Company Academies have evolved and their stages of development. In this post, we’ll discuss trends and new developments in Company Academies, and the roles the various stakeholders should play.
Posted in Professional Development, Talent Management, Training
Tagged company academy, management education, Training
Authors:
Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
Nobody questions the importance of learning and developing. However, in these uncertain times, training and development activities are often put on hold or investments in T&D are drastically reduced. One of the reasons T&D activities are cut or reduced is the difficulty of proving that HR Development is a valuable and effective component of successful management. The concept of Company Academies (also known as Corporate Academies or Corporate Universities), however, offers a good starting point for a clear positioning of Human Resource Development.
Posted in Professional Development, Talent Management, Training
Tagged company academy, management education, Training
Authors:
Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
Leadership has an effect on the bottom line – not directly, but by shaping the culture within which an organization operates, its climate and through its influence on employee engagement. Identifying and developing leadership is a business critical process. Leadership depends on the type of personality, personal preferences, skills and relevant experiences.
Burning questions for Talent Development are:
Authors:
Han van der Pool – Van der Pool Consultancy
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
It is not that easy to identify and groom future leaders. Companies make use of various techniques to spot talent, and often manage their inventory of high potentials – those with the best chance of being a future leader. In this post, we describe some of the best techniques which are used by companies to manage their talent pool of future leaders.
Authors:
Han van der Pool – TNT N.V.
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
Introduction
In part one of this two-part post, we discussed e-learning in Africa, and especially the hurdles of implementation. In this second part, we will delve more into practical advice for successful implementations in Africa, or anywhere else in the world!
In a broad sense, e-learning can be defined as “any form of learning that makes use of a network for distribution, interaction and facilitation.” There are plenty of demonstrable success stories and breathtaking ROIs. However, the other side of the coin is that in many cases, web-based investments turn out to be fiascoes and only lead to a waste of time.
Authors:
Lex Lindeman – HR Boosters
Dr. Paul Rono – Kenyatta University (Nairobi, Kenya)
Lex Lindeman
Paul Rono
What is a Team?
A team is a group of people who work together to accomplish something beyond their individual self interests. Not all groups are teams. What distinguishes teams from other similar sounding groups is that a team is not a collection of people simply following orders.
Authors:
Han van der Pool – TNT N.V.
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
A growing number of African Countries are now connected to high-speed internet connections, and with increasing competition in the global economy, organizations are forced to look for more efficient and effective ways to create, spread and to apply functional and managerial knowledge.
E-learning and knowledge management have become key words in organizational learning processes in the Africa as well. Many organizations invest in managing the knowledge within the organization and e-Learning, as a supporting tool, is used more and more.
Authors:
Han van der Pool – TNT N.V.
Lex Lindeman – HRBoosters
Globalization, demographic developments, the credit crisis and global warming have all created the need for a shift in strategic management. Organizations are now faced with the need for continuous adaptation to changes in the markets and the world in general. Leadership is the most important condition for success in organizations. Organizations which treat development of executives and managers as an integrated part of company strategy have a distinct advantage over those that do not manage leadership development actively.
Together with Dave Ulrich of the RBL Group, Hewitt Associates examined how successful companies structure their management development practices and identify and develop their current and potential future managers and leaders. This research is carried out once every two years, and the outcome and the rankings were published in Fortune Magazine in November, 2009.
A closer look at the research shows a nice overview of the practice of leadership development and the importance which global companies attach to it. The inventory of the programs and instruments used by an array of companies operating globally was compared with the financial results of those companies, and gives some insight into the most effective approaches. The “Top Companies for Leaders” are the most advanced in talent management and leadership development, and have a real leadership culture, according to the researchers.
Over five hundred companies have taken part in this research. Every company completed an exhaustive questionnaire, which was analyzed and compared to other companies by the researchers. Afterwards, a selected group of companies was more closely studied through interviews with HR professionals and top managers. To see profiles of the Top Ten, click here.
Main Conclusions
The research shows clearly that successful companies continue to invest in leadership development despite the economic situation and the enormous strategic issues which companies face. Here is an overview of the most important elements which make a difference at “Top Companies for Leaders.”
Author’s Observations
Based on the findings of the Hewitt/RBL Study, we at Human Resources Boosters have developed a model to achieve excellence in integrated talent management. This model comes in three phases:
Conclusion
Hewitt showed with this research that companies, even in time of great uncertainty, are able to counter market and economical challenges by maintaining or even increasing efforts in talent management. Most of the companies even invested anti-cyclic, i.e., when markets were relatively calm companies invested more time and resources in people development. This also anticipates better times.
When talent development is really embedded in the organization and seen as an ongoing rhythm, the total processes in an organization will not only run more smoothly, but also more effectively, generating shareholder and stakeholder value. To become a top listed company may be a bridge too far for some organizations. However, with relatively simple actions, some investments, and strong convictions that people development should be part of your routine activities, your company will develop in a sustainable way.
More About Lex:
More About Han:
Lex Lindeman
Dr. Paul Rono
Authors:
Lex Lindeman – HR Boosters
Dr. Paul Rono – Kenyatta University (Nairobi)
In our previous post Leadership Development in Africa – Part 1, we explored the characteristics of effective leaders and the way to develop them. One of the important competencies of effective African leaders is delegation. In many African public and private companies, management asks us to focus on delgation during workshops we conduct for their staff. It seems to them that African managers, especially, need to learn to delegate more than they do already.
Delegation
The main purpose of delegation is to make organizations possible. Just as no one person in an organization or enterprise can perform all tasks necessary for the accomplishment of group purpose; so is it impossible, as an organization grows, for one person to exercise all the authority for making decisions.
If managers delegate poorly it will cause demotivation, frustration, slow decision making and the manager will have no time for his or her subordinates. Good delegation will save time, ensure a better distribution of workload, and ultimately lead to better decisions. And, effective delegation will help to develop, empower and motivate subordinates.
Why Managers Don’t Delegate
Some managers think that no one else can do the job the way they want it done, how they want it done and when they want it done. They think it’s easier and more efficient to do it on their own, and they believe that they can do it better than their employees. These assumptions are incorrect!
Managers are not sure how to do delegate correctly. Here are some of the excuses I’ve heard over the years:
I came across this small quote in New African, June 2009 by Akua Djanie:
“I don’t know what it is about Africans, but we are afraid of, and shy away from, the idea of delegating someone to take our place when we are unavailable, is it because we think the person we delegate to will do a better job than us? Is it because we want to be seen as the one in charge; the one that can make or break the company, the project or the team? It is unbelievable, but from our post offices, to our small-scale businesses, and to the multinationals, it seems that everyone in Africa is scared to delegate.
Delegation shows the effectiveness of teamwork, because no matter how wonderful someone is at their job, no person is an island. And no project or company can function with only an individual. What delegation shows is that even if a particular person is unavailable, the project, team or company can still proceed because that person has put mechanisms in place to ensure the smooth running of operations. So rather than see delegation as a threat to their positions, Africans should embrace delegation as a strength. It simply does not make sense for everything to come to a standstill because one person is not available or one person is trying to do everything by him- or herself.”
But delegation is not only an issue in Africa; in institutions in the rest of the world, managers struggle with the same issues.
The Organization
Every position in a formal organization has a specified set of tasks or “position responsibilities, authorities and accountability.” Tasks should be delegated (assigned) to the lowest level in the organization at which there is sufficient competence and information for effective task performance.
The three concepts of responsibility, authority, and accountability are the major variables in the theory of delegation:
Advantages of Delegation
Delegation is a powerful management tool. Some advantages of delegation include:
Barriers to Delegate
Many managers will find a ‘good’ reason not to delegate; here are some pretexts which can be found in any work environment:
It is common for people who are newly promoted to managerial positions to have difficulties delegating. Often they were promoted because they were good at what they were doing. This brings the temptation to continue trying to do their previous job, rather than acting as a manager, and focus on developing their new subordinates.
How to Overcome Weak Delegation
Here are ten tips for you to help you to delegate more easily:
Conclusion: Weak Delegation in Africa?
As I said earlier, delegation is a global problem. But a very positive aspect is that Africans are very keen to learn and to try things out. This attitude toward change allows Africans to learn to adopt delegation faster and easier. Studies in Africa show that Africans are ready to accept delegation of duties more easily than in the western world. Many managers in Africa learn easily to delegate and delegation is readily accepted, respected and honored. Demonstrate how how important the jobs, the expectations, the goals and tasks are, and the African is keen to accept.
Mike Boon (2007) stated that accountability is one of the key area that must be stressed when delegating tasks to an African manager:
“Through this accountability, they become leaders and others will follow them.” When a manager or leader encourages accountability through delegation, the result will be growth and progression.”
More About the Authors
More About Lex:
More About Paul:
Dr. Rono is a lecturer at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He is an authority on leadership development, and has published various articles related to leadership development in Africa with a progressive yet adoptable and realistic view. Watch for his new website coming soon!
Authors:
Lex Lindeman – HR Boosters and
Dr. Paul Rono – Kenyatta University (Nairobi)
In my last article, I highlighted the latest thinking in the area of western leadership development and the deployment of training programs in a corporate setting. In this short article, we will discuss some specific approaches to leadership development for public and private organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
I would like to welcome Dr. Paul Rono as my co-author. With Paul’s experience as a university lecturer and my experience as leadership developer for numerous private and public companies in Africa, we think we can give the reader a good ‘blend’ of effective leadership development for African managers.
Natural Leaders?
The leadership and philosophies of African political leaders have affected institutions and companies in various African countries for many years. For example, charismatic leaders were believed to be those who have the natural capacity and personality traits or qualities to lead. Hence, leaders were said to be born or natural “great men.” Traditionally, leadership was said to be an attribute of personality. Born or charismatic leaders become real leaders because they have such personality qualities but also: ambition, patience, pride, humility, wisdom, friendliness, dependability, force, endurance and, of course, managerial competencies.
Modern Functional Leadership is essentially to facilitate the interaction within a group to achieve preset goals, to realize the organization’s strategic objectives. Such functional managers or leaders are usually nominated, appointed and selected from among equals. If people utilize proper and effective managerial tools and motivation, performance and effectiveness increase considerably. Of course, this is also applicable to African managers and leaders acquiring or possessing modern functional leadership skills in a target achievement and ‘productive’ environment.
Successful Leadership Behaviour
The elements enumerated above are essential to successful leadership behaviour. The successful leader is:
Successful African Leaders Competencies
The modern African leader or manager should be more ‘democratic’ in his/her relations with subordinates and at the same time maintain the necessary authority and control in the organization or institution for which he/she is responsible. The somewhat less modern African leaders rely on collective accountability. Good (thus effective) leaders inspire people/staff to perform optimally if necessary individually or as a team. The best African leaders, despite their many differences in personality, practice certain principles like delegation, creativeness, networking, individual accountability and decision-making.
What are Effective Leaders?
Characteristics of Effective Leaders
The nature and style of functional (managerial) leadership greatly influence job satisfaction and motivation. Effective leaders show consideration for employees and enable them to have a sense of participation in decisions that affect them and they will have the following characteristics:
Highly productive leaders tend to spend more time than less productive managers to:
Managers and Leadership Development
Most leaders want to be more effective in their leadership. Some think they only need to learn techniques, others assume that they can learn a magic formula or foolproof method. Effective functional leadership implies an intensive development process. Some of the ability comes as a result of experience, some by learning from mistakes, by profiling from the experience and mistakes of others, from personal insights and by learning managerial skills.
To become truly effective African Managers and Leaders they will have to be developed through sustainable leadership competency programs that offer training with a difference. (See “Trends in Leadership development” Part II). These development efforts should be highly interactive, aimed at leadership and managerial competencies such as delegation and responsibilities acceptance. These customized interventions are generally short (maximum 4 to 5 days) followed up and coached by their superiors, i.e. the participants should be given room to ‘experiment’ with their newly acquired skills.
In Summary
It is certain that African countries will grow and develop in the coming years; look at the example of the pace of growth of mobile phone networks and coverage. Efficient infrastructures, systems and processes are put in place. However, just this is not enough; Inspiring Functional Leadership is an absolute necessity for growth. Sustainable investment in the modern development of African managers and leaders is primordial. In order to accelerate and maintain growth in Sub-Saharan Africa we must put in place the right learning work environment and formal, high-impact development possibilities.
In our next article, Paul and I will go deeper into specific competency development aspects such as the ability to delegate tasks, sense of responsibility and speeding up the execution of tasks, again related to African managers and leaders.
More About the Authors
More About Lex:
More About Paul:
Dr. Rono is a lecturer at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He is an authority on leadership development, and has published various articles related to leadership development in Africa with a progressive yet adoptable and realistic view. Watch for his new website coming soon!
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