A practical toolbox for managers
Siemens Power Control GmbH
The client's challenge
As a technical company, our managers need a technical background. We have really skilled technical people, but when it comes to taking responsibility and leading others there are some soft skills that need improving ... or are just missing. It is important for us to build a feedback culture with our managers talking to their teams and their customers. It is also important to build a culture of delegating. We want to develop our management team, get all the managers learning from each others experience and improve their leadership skills for managing projects, managing products, leading people and teams and working with clients.
To ensure the training was relevant, practical and easily transferable to the workplace, we decided to build a series of intensive seminars supported by virtual training moments. To make the most of the opportunity and create a shared team experience, SPC decided to run the training off-site in multiple locations. Managers quickly began to ask to join the training and the buzz created motivation and commitment.
Our focus was on creating a framework for the managers to share real-world examples and experiences. We then applied practical frameworks, robust models and easy-to-remember tools and techniques. Using a coaching-style, we created experiential activities and encouraged real-plays. The managers then benefited from self-, peer - and trainer feedback. They then got to practice again ... and again ...
There were 3 key elements to our solution:
...the feedback from our managers and team leaders was off the charts! Everyone thought the sessions we ran were great and in my opinion there has been a real benefit for their daily work and for the company...
Understanding and Awareness
Understanding yourself is essential if you want to lead others. We integrated reflective tools such as the MBTI and Belbin to help the managers grow in self-awareness, improve their emotional intelligence, and better understand how they—as well as those around them—operate in the workplace.
Building Confidence
Knowing what to do is important, but being able to confidently and skillfully do it is where managers add real value. Our focus in the training was on sharing real-world examples and experiences and then applying practical frameworks and tools. Using a coaching-style, we created experiential activities and real-plays. The managers then benefited from self-, peer - and trainer feedback. They then got to practice again ... and again ...
Practical knowledge
Respecting the high-pressure environment the managers were working in was a must. This means that we selected learning content that was relevant, practical and easy to remember under pressure.
The result
We've strengthened our managers and our management team. They now have a big toolbox they can use to delegate, negotiate, give feedback, organize tasks, manage themselves and others etc. We've seen quantifiable improvements, for example our managers are now much more confident when giving feedback to individuals and teams. I've also seen our managers making the time to explain why we are doing something, and talking through the next steps together with team members instead of assuming everything is understood. The improvements we have seen are humongous!
