Leadership Programs are like regimented school days
We would like you to develop a leadership programme for our top 100 leaders from across the world.
Please ensure participants get maximum value by filling the timetable and working them late into the night.
So goes the prevailing narrative for those commissioning leadership programmes for their organisation.
Or, and worth a quick - there we go again, why quick - read of this wonderful thoughtful article which is about the school day but which could equally be applied to most leadership programmes, certainly all those I have worked on as a coach.
Three points strike me:
Leaders with challenges at work and home. being a parent, my other area of interest need one precious resource most of all - time to think, and on their terms not ours. It's easier to fill busy minds with more content and to ensure that they return to work even busier incorporating a shopping list of learnings into daily work life. Overwhelm is mostly the gift they leave a leadership programme with.
What if leadership programmes focussed more on flow and enabled leaders to tap into their wisdom and to design what they need during the week as equals with all the other humans involved in the programme?
Executive Coach; Team Coach
10 个月I really enjoyed Isabel Manley's article and illustrations, and your comments really resonated, Mark. I sometimes wonder if organisations would get a better return by investing in silent retreats for their leaders, instead of jamming content into every second of a leadership programme! Building in good chunks of reflection time is so valuable. It can be tough resisting the temptation/pressure to over-stimulate our already over-stimulated brains - the best and bravest organisations know this and will reap the benefits!
Associate Fellow, Said Business School, University of Oxford and Founder
10 个月?? this Mark Mccartney. I can still remember feeling very misunderstood when presenting the potential benefits of technology enabled leadership development/support to a room full of people (nearly a decade ago) who were highly resistant to the idea of supporting/developing leaders in the flow of work! How things have changed … or not ??
Director of Cranfield Executive Development at Cranfield University
11 个月It’s the comfort blanket of rammed timetables that give an illusion of value creation. Try positioning with a client, we’re going to spend the day in deep personal contemplation with no content only two key questions. Not many clients have the courage to go for such an approach but we all recognise the value of slowing down to address the really important issue.
Multi-faceted sales and marketing professional with team leadership and digital transformation experience at academic presses
11 个月Hear! Hear! Mark!!
Director of Cranfield Executive Development at Cranfield University
11 个月Pace and space. Often ignored.