Page 288 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

development of training content 273
skills, feedback skills, as well as in their ability to delegate responsibility, and they found
shortcomings in staff development.
3. A new strategy that changed the traditionally run firm into a sales-driven organisation
was implemented. Senior management wanted to see a change in management style that
would respond to the demands of a modern organisation. The old command-and-control
management style was to be replaced by a style that was more cooperative, goal-oriented
and sales-driven. The manager was expected to act as coach for his/her staff. This
required him/her to be an exceptional communicator able to develop the strengths of
his/her team through feedback and reinforcement. Not only did managers have to adopt
a new role, but many had to learn new skills in order to meet the demands of these new
roles. Senior management wanted this new leadership philosophy to be implemented
throughout the organisation. Selection procedures for managers were brought into line
with this philosophy and every newly appointed manager trained to fulfil the requirements
of this new role.

DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING CONTENT

OUTLINE OF THE MAIN SKILLS THAT NEED TO BE TRAINED AND DEFINITION
OF TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Once the training needs analysis has been completed you can then move on to defining
the main areas of learning and to establishing the goals of the training programme. The
more precisely you specify which skills and areas of knowledge you want developed by
the training course the easier it will be to customise design.
Before the start of the training course, management, as well as the future partic-
ipant, should be made aware of the main skills which will ultimately be the learn-
ing focus of the course. To the degree that learning can be specified, instructors have
a better basis for making good decisions while teaching. Learners will get a better
sense of why and how well they are learning and the organisation will have a bet-
ter idea of what it is receiving from its training investment. The following example
shows the learning objectives defined in the firm’s introductory-level leadership training
programme.

INTRODUCTORY-LEVEL LEADERSHIP TRAINING:OUTLINE OF THE MAIN SKILLS
TO BE TRAINED AND DEFINITION OF TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Once the training needs analysis of newly appointed managers had been analysed several
skills were identified that needed further development. Training goals were then defined
with these development needs in mind.
Upon completion of the course, managers should ...

1. ... have an understanding of what is expected of them as a manager within the organ-
isation. They should be intimately familiar with the leadership philosophy of the firm,
be able to identify their main responsibilities as a manager and know how to establish
their priorities.
2. ... have better communication skills (be active listeners, ask questions openly, hold
presentations, and create a climate of honest and open communication).
3. ... have a deeper understanding of team dynamics, know how to effectively resolve
group conflicts and be familiar with a variety of intervention techniques which can be
used to effectively build and strengthen their teams.