Create a “Frankenstein” Model of Your Crucial Leadership Core Competencies

In my last Insight, I discussed the four “roles” that make up leadership core competencies: Inspirer, Manager, Teacher and Champion. 

If you’re interested in developing effective training on leadership core competencies for your managers, here are some basic ideas to get you started (keep in mind this will vary based on the type of business you run): 

• Conduct one-on-one training
• Conduct some training through distance learning (if necessary)
• Offer independent study options (for employees to learn at their own pace) 

It’s important to really spell out for your managers the four competencies they need to be skilled in by making a list or creating a “model.”

For example, think about Frankenstein. If you were able to mix and match all the best parts of your more successful managers, what would that “Frankenstein” look like? What skills would it have? How would it be successful?

Create that picture and then put it in place at your company by basing your training program on it.

Once you have that in place, then you want to take a step back and analyze what’s realistic for your current managers. Take an honest look at all your managers and rank them in your “Frankenstein” areas.

When you do this, the “low hanging fruits” are going to pop out at you right away. This is where you need to focus your training.

When you look at developing your training, you’ll need to hit those “low hanging” areas first and get everyone to the base-line level. 

Once you have a base-line level established you can take a look at some of the higher competencies in your “Frankenstein” model that you want your managers to have. 

For example, some managers might have an analytical perspective and be good at time and project management, but they can’t effectively communicate.

Or sometimes you have managers who are good with people: they can inspire them, motivate them and get their buy-in, but they have a difficult time keeping everyone on-task because they don’t have any analytical skills. 

So sometimes creating a picture of your perfect manager or perfect leader will help you determine how to go about training your current managers. 

In the training I’ve done most recently, one the biggest “low-hanging fruits” I’ve seen is creating two-way communication. 

That’s why when you’re analyzing your managers you have to make sure you’re being honest about each person’s skill level. 

The biggest tool I’ve given companies regarding two-way communication is the one-on-one approach, with the manager working one-on-one with the employee and learning to communicate together. 

Once you get all the low-hanging fruits up-to-speed with the rest of the group, then you’ll be able to give them the tools they need to coach and develop employees. 

You also need to understand how to give feedback that’s positive, yet constructively critical. This is so important for maintaining your managers’ self-esteem. 

Make sure you set aside time at least once a month to get together with each manager and ask for their thoughts from the previous month. Get their input on anything that occurred or any changes that need to be made. 

If you really take a look at your managers and rate them appropriately, and create a model of your ideal leader, that’s probably the best step you can take toward successfully instilling leadership core competencies in your managers.

Creating a picture of your perfect manager or perfect leader will help you determine how to go about training your current managers.