Most Executive Training Is Done All Wrong

My thought of the Day:  Most MBA’s and business school training is not done well and worse–the political economic theory behind the schooling often sucks–KAS

 

Forbes Thought Of The Day

“ Genius is eternal patience. ”

— Michelangelo

 

Most Executive Training Is Done All Wrong
Forbes (02/16/11) Fine, Alan

Despite the billions of dollars spent annually on training and consulting, employees and organizations still fail to recognize that better performance is not about gaining more knowledge, but acting on knowledge they already have. In addition to knowledge, there are three other ingredients that help create high performance: faith, fire, and focus. Hindering these elements does immeasurable damage, so reducing interference to faith, fire, and focus is probably the most effective, though least talked about, way that a business can improve its performance. Faith — what an organization believes — shapes what the organization does. The faith that enhances performance the most is believing “I can learn.” Employees who see tasks as opportunities for growth are more likely to take necessary risks, and failure poses less interference for them because they also view missteps as chances to learn. Fire is about energy, passion, and commitment. This fire is often visible in companies that do ambitious and inspiring things. There is a strong relationship between faith and fire. Some important questions to ask as it pertains to an organization’s fire are: Is the team’s energy positive and directed toward carrying out the goals of the organization?; and, in what ways could the CEO, team leader, or manager be creating interference that blocks the fire, and what can be done to change that? Finally, focus is what brings together people’s faith, fire, and their acquisition and use of knowledge. Great managers cultivate focus so that their team members can interact more effectively and improve their performance with faster and more adept decision-making.

Read the article at: http://www.forbes.com/2011/02/16/executive-training-coaching-knowledge-leadership-managing-development.html