Training Manager Competencies: Assess and Develop Your Skills

Have you ever developed or used a?competency model?to create a training program? These frameworks define the skill and knowledge requirements of a job and can help organizations close skills gaps and create talent development strategies. By arranging knowledge and skill requirements into categories, competency models organize and elaborate on what employees need to perform their jobs successfully.

Maybe you use competency models for employees in your organization. Maybe you’ve even created one or two yourself. But have you ever considered the competencies?you?need to perform?your?job effectively? Which skills are most important for training managers to develop, and how can you be sure you are cultivating them appropriately?

Training Industry, Inc. created the Training Manager Competency Model? to help you answer those questions. Like any good competency model, it’s based on extensive research (namely, on our longitudinal research study on?great training organizations).

We’ve found that great training organizations are led by training managers who have both foundational leadership competencies as well as the competencies needed to perform seven core learning and development (L&D) manager responsibilities. Read this article to learn more; then, take our?self-assessment?to learn which areas you should focus your professional development on in 2020.

Foundational Leadership Competencies

Leaders in any function need some key skills in order to manage people, lead strategy, and model organizational values and mission. These competencies include integrity and honesty, project management, customer service, driving results, organizational awareness, driving performance through others,?presentation skills, change management, planning and attention to detail, and?business acumen.

Effective training managers are effective business managers. They understand how their organization operates, what their stakeholders need in order to be successful, how to use learning and development to meet business goals, and how to plan and manage a budget. They know how to lead a team meeting; manage employee performance; give and receive feedback; and collaborate with peers, subordinates and supervisors.

The good news is, as a training manager, you know where to go to develop these skills. Participate in one or two of the same leadership courses you offer learners.?Find a mentor?in your organization or in your broader network. Join a professional association. Develop cross-functional skills by volunteering for project teams. Follow business news in L&D and in your organization’s industry. These methods will help you become a more effective leader and business partner.

Training Manager Competencies

Our research has identified seven core responsibilities training managers must perform successfully in order to lead a great training organization. These responsibilities translate into the core competencies of a training manager:

Strategic Alignment

When a training organization is?strategically aligned?to the business, its programs and goals are created to meet the business needs of the enterprise, and all learning is meant to help drive business results. To achieve strategic alignment, training managers must have two competencies:

• Influencing/negotiating, or the ability to persuade, build consensus and gain cooperation to obtain information and accomplish goals.
• Strategic thinking, or the ability to understand organizational goals, formulate objectives, determine priorities, adopt a short- and long-term view, and recognize opportunities to accomplish training objectives.

Evaluating Performance

Training managers must be able to?determine whether?training is meeting business needs and improving organizational performance. To do so, they need two competencies:

• Performance measurement, or the ability to apply the principles and methods for evaluating program or organizational performance using financial and nonfinancial measures, including identifying evaluation factors, metrics and outcomes.
• Organizational performance analysis, or the ability to apply the methods, techniques and tools used to analyze program and organizational performance and deliver key performance information used to inform decisions, actions, communications and accountability systems.

Read the full article by Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., CPTM here at TrainingIndustry.com.

Related Articles:

10 Best Practices for Leading a Great Training Organization by Alyssa Kaszycki and Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., CPTM

Promoting Well-Being at Work by Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., CPTM

The Business of Learning, Episode 1: The Training Manager Competency Model

How to Assess and Bridge Your Skills Gaps as a L&D Leader: A 4-step Process by Sarah Gallo, CPTM

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