To effectively train and nurture managers/leaders, companies have to get involved.
Enabled, inspired and fully-committed managers will create enabled, inspired and committed employees.
Trust and knowledge will be passed down the pipeline from corporate to low-level managers; creating a more transparent and inspiring workplace.

We propose: Companies can create a private social network for managers and deliver an effective two-way communication channel that can be utilized for training, collaboration, reflective learning, giving feedback and much more. Managers who are part of a private network also have unlimited access to a global community of managers to share knowledge, ask questions, and find support.

Problem

Ineffectively trained leaders are more likely to violate employees' trust and resort to the command & control style of management.

Traditional manager training methods are 'too slow' for today’s fast-paced business climate.
Textbook learning often does not stick or click.
Many companies do not invest enough or do not know how to invest in the leadership development of their front line managers.
According to a 2010 report from Bersin & Associates: "HR leaders rate their first-line managers as their ‘least ready’ workgroup, even less capable than their entry-level employees.”
Many new leaders are being thrown into the deep end and left to either sink or swim.
Managers do not have access to crucial information or feedback whenever and wherever they need it.

Solution

Let's change the way managers are cultivated for growth.
A private managers' social network will allow organizations to

deliver training content, promote reflective learning, share knowledge via wikis, blogs file libraries, forums, informal chats and direct messaging, offer access to mentors, and discuss career advancement opportunities.

encourage management unity and accountability.

give ongoing feedback to your managers and show them that you are committed to their development.

Managers can discuss issues with their peers, ask questions, share knowledge and find mentors.

Practical Impact

Managers can create learning partnerships with peers and/or mentors and share their knowledge by writing blog posts, participate in forum discussions and comment on articles.

The platform will enable leaders to address issues (for example, how to align personal and organizational values).

Community: Managers who are part of a private network also have unlimited access to our global community of managers and can develop diverse learning partnerships, ask questions and find support.

Culture: Using social software to communicate with your managers increases peer-to-peer learning, transparency, accountability, and collaboration.

Sharing: Senior leaders can pass knowledge on to new managers entering the workforce.

Focus: The private managers' network is a sponsored learning 2.0 environment that mitigates the distractions of more open social networking sites such as Facebook.

First Steps

A sample network might look like this: http://www.whatdoyouwantfromthem.com/?sample_area

Bill Brandon, managing editor of Learning Solutions e-Magazine (from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/514/social-networking-a-platform-for-training-new-managers-online): "[T]he setup begins by defining the focus for the network. Is the group meant for new first-line supervisors or for new mid-level managers? Is the objective of the network to support development of leadership and communication skills, or to support application of critical policies, such as those relating to ethics?"

Organizations would have to determine who would be the administrator(s) of such a network and how encompassing it should be (offer leadership training, make personal development plans available online, discuss career advancement, share information, increase motivation, broadcast 'contests', meetings, etc.)

Our idea in action: http://www.whatdoyouwantfromthem.com/training_new_managers

Credits

Kerry A. Bunker, Kathy E. Kram, Sharon Ting, Dr. Alison MacLeod, Lynda C. McDermott, Roz Ayres-Williams, Jeanne C. Meister, Garry Kranz, [Bersin & Associates], [Development Dimensions International], Bill Brandon, bcoakley (Leading the Way blog)

Images

Videos

You need to register in order to submit a comment.

Sort By: Latest Oldest Likes Replies

September 5, 2010 at 8:58am

Matt Shlosberg

Anna -

This is an interesting idea, although it reminds me a lot of LinkedIn. I saw the comparison chart on your web site showing how your idea is different from LinkedIn, but I am not sure I am sold on the differences.

Consider the following example. The LinkedIn HR group has 300,000 people. So far, any time I post a question, I get 20-30 responses to it within a day or so. The fact that LinkedIn isn't focused on management like your site is doesn't make a difference.

I think you should consider creating additional value that will appeal to managers. Maybe you should let managers post articles (similarly to this web site) and make these articles searchable by everyone. In other words, create a community managed knowledge base with ideas.

Just a thought. Hope it helps...

October 11, 2010 at 7:48pm

Anna Smith

Matt, I love the idea of a community managed knowledge base. In fact, we have also created a social network for managers where managers can post blogs, read articles, participate on wiki pages or in forums, find mentors, etc. - from managers for managers.

Here is why we need companies to get involved: The average low-level manager at McDonald's, a retail store or local Jiffy Lube would probably not take the initiative to post a question on LinkedIn (even though I'm gen y, I did not realize (until recently) how tools like LindedIn or twitter can help me become a better manager).

When I was manager at a Waffle House, I would have LOVED to have a direct line to corporate. I would have asked questions such as 'how can I become a district manager', 'how do I deal with the difference between my job description and real life' or 'how do I pay for my Christmas decorations', and I could have connected with other Waffle House managers and asked questions such as 'what do you do when you are understaffed', 'what hiring practices work best for you' or 'can I come by and borrow some to-go cups from you'...

No doubt: the internet offers a vast amount of leadership/management training material and social networking platforms. But many low-level managers are not actively using these resources to become better managers. We want to change that. If companies showed their commitment by designating a company representative to administer a private managers' network, I believe managers would be more motivated to create great work environments and promote the company's values and mission.

Stan Slap wrote: "Managers don’t necessarily want to work less. They just want it to mean more."