MANAGEMENT TEAM TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF MANAGEMENT TEAM

Management team training helps lay out a direction

Management team training is beneficial when there are changes in the management team’s composition or when the organization makes significant strategic changes, for example. The training program and the development efforts during the program are always based on the organization’s strategy and how to best achieve the organization’s strategic goals.

“A management team is often a forum for polite discussion where all of the participants follow a certain code. If the real discussions take place somewhere else, decision-making becomes more vague.”

Cooperation on management training starts with a situation analysis. This can include an assessment of whether the management team’s decision-making is strategic and proactive or more focused on the proverbial rear-view mirror. Issues such as the realization of the company’s values in day-to-day decision-making can also be assessed at the same time.

The training program is built around group training days and individual training. The focus of the group meetings is on shared goals and group dynamics as well as creating a roadmap for achieving the group’s goals. The individual sessions are focused on reflecting on the trainee’s ways of working in relation to the rest of the team.

“The role of the coach is to orchestrate the management team’s cooperation. We develop interaction and decision-making based on the company’s strategy and the special characteristics of its business. The substance emerges from strategy and goals. At the same time, we address phenomena and improve the visibility of the management team’s dynamics,” Minnariikka Rajala explains.

“I would argue that emotional intelligence is a critically important competence in today’s organizations. Management teams must also have the courage to talk about uncertainty to ensure that the entire team’s intelligence, knowledge and opinions are harnessed to support reliable decision-making.”

Communication is key

The development of interaction is often one of the key focus areas of management team training. Training helps prioritize actions, assess the overall benefits, harmonize messaging, and understand different goals.

“The members of a management team are usually highly goal-driven and performance-oriented, but there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to cooperation. Nevertheless, any responsible management team understands that collaboration is key to success,” Rajala points out.

Management team training increases the transparency of the organization’s management system and where decisions are actually made. Improved clarity of decision-making leads to better profit performance.

“Much too often, a management team is a forum for polite discussion where all of the participants follow a certain code. If the real discussions take place somewhere else, decision-making becomes more vague,” Rajala says.

“Open discussion helps establish a strong direction for operations. A neutral and impartial coach provides useful support and helps stimulate these discussions.
Today’s world places new demands on management and leadership. Minnariikka Rajala underscores the importance of being willing to reassess one’s thinking:

“The management team must take an honest look at its prevailing management practices and determine whether the chosen focus areas of management are the right ones. The outcome may be the organization identifying a blind spot or the lack of a certain competence that needs to be addressed

Investments in management team development pay off

For the coach, tailored and strategy-driven training requires a keen ear, adaptability, and the courage to highlight issues in a manner that promotes progress.

“We don’t just show up with a briefcase of tricks. We are ready to facilitate genuine change. Sometimes, there is a theme planned for the training event, but something even more important surfaces during the event. The coach must have the ability to respond to the situation to ensure that the necessary themes are addressed,” Minnariikka Rajala explains.

Delficon has provided training to more than 100 management teams during its existence. Each of these has led to improvements in the quality of the discourse, stronger mutual trust and the development of foundations for even better performance.

“I’m a highly goal-driven person and this is also reflected in my approach to training. For the training to be considered a success, we need to achieve recognizable change in interaction, increased mutual understanding and decision-making,” Rajala adds.