Recently there was disquiet in some quarters that the post of England’s football manager went to a German coach with international experience. Why were top English managers not considered for the post was the out cry on social media.
The simple answer was that there were very few English managers with relevant experience and a view that with a few exceptions management in this country was still stuck in traditional practises which meant they had got rather left behind when it came to competing at an international level.
There are interesting comparisons with business organisations in this country. Where our managers are considered rather parochial and inward looking. Where we have traditionally taken the view that managers are born not made, that it is not necessary to have a management qualification to be a manager or invest a great deal in management development.
Whilst things have changed from the sink or swim approach to newly appointed new managers many organisations still treat management development as a bit of a luxury and consider a one day course on Health and Safety and two days on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is sufficient. Whilst the Person Specification for senior posts often ask for an MBA or relevant experience at this level, indicating that a management qualification is not necessary. And if you don’t posses one you are unlikely to be funded to obtain one.
At a senior level managers may have access to learning sets, mentoring schemes and executive coaching but this type of development opportunity isn’t usually widely available to all managers.
Organisations that do have a commitment to management development tend to focus on the practical elements of the role such as sessions with HR on absence management, competence or dealing with ,”difficult” behaviour. Which may be a series of stand alone one day courses or rolled into a in-house management course externally validated.
Other countries place more emphases on management development. We risk being left behind in the race to compete with the best. And it is no surprise that management in this country does not have a good reputation abroad. In too many organisations it does not have a good reputation with HR and employees.
We should require all managers to be formerly qualified ( not necessarily an MBA) as away of raising standards. Mentoring, coaching and the opportunity to join a learning set should be more widely available not just for senior managers and aspiring senior managers. The research tells us this investment in management skills will reduce turnover, support innovation and change and improve performance. Which is why we should treat management development more seriously.
