A Manager’s Guide to Self Development

by Mike Pedlar, John Burgoyne and Tom Boydell

“A Manager’s Guide to Self Development has become the indispensable guide for building management skills.  Now in its fifth edition, with a strong ‘how to’ approach, this practical self-development book helps new and experienced managers improve their managerial performance.

It provides:

• A complete picture of the skills and competencies required of a manager from change management to coaching.
• A flexible, self-development programme to do alone, with a colleague, or in a group.

Part one introduces a framework of 11 key managerial qualities.  Diagnostic activities help you to discover your strengths and weaknesses, and identify your own goals for self-development.

Part two features more than 50 practical activities to help you develop your skills and abilities.  These include:

• Networking
• Finding a Mentor
• Handling Conflict
• Managing Upwards
• Getting to a Yes
• Collaborative Working
• Planning Change
• Being a Coach
• Using Communication Tools

Our framework of ‘The 11 Qualities of the Effective Manager’  is based on a research project [which] identified the qualities that were found more often in successful managers than in those judged to be less successful.  These 11 Qualities of the Effective Manager form the basis for the self-development programme provided in this book:

1. command of basic facts
2. relevant professional knowledge
3. continuing sensitiity to events
4. analytical, problem-solving and decision/judgement-making skills
5. social skills and abilities
6. emotional resilience
7. proactivity – inclination to respond purposefully to events
8. creativity
9. mental agility
10. balanced learning habits and skills
11. self-knowledge”

Part one contains a questionnaire to enable you to assess yourself against The 11 Qualities of the Effective Manager and prompts you to set goals / target dates to help you to develop in any of the 11 areas.  To assist with this process there are 53 learning activities aimed to help with each of the 11 Qualities.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in their own self-development or in the self-development of their own team.

Spelling Mistakes ‘cost millions’

Spelling mistakes ‘cost millions’ in lost online sales

By Sean Coughlan BBC, News education correspondent, 14 July 2011

“An online entrepreneur says that poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses.

Charles Duncombe says an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half.

Mr Duncombe says when recruiting staff he has been “shocked at the poor quality of written English”.

Sales figures suggest misspellings put off consumers who could have concerns about a website’s credibility, he says.

The concerns were echoed by the CBI whose head of education and skills warned that too many employers were having to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff.”

Click here for the full article on the BBC’s website:-

Higher Apprenticeship in Management

Chartered Management Institute (CMI) offer the Higher Apprenticeship in Management (Level 5)

“Apprenticeships are structured training programmes undertaken within a working environment. They use the skills and knowledge gained through work to provide learners with recognised qualifications. Apprenticeships can be undertaken by anyone over sixteen and provide a great way of gaining a qualification whilst continuing to earn a wage.

There is no fixed time frame for the completion of an apprenticeship, but each apprenticeship typically takes between one and four years, depending on its size and level of difficulty.

There are currently over 4 million people employed in Management positions in the UK, with a real need to encourage the new generation of young people to progress through the management qualifications to address the future skills needs of organisations in the UK. The Apprenticeship should go some way to addressing those skill needs, providing excellent progression routes through a variety of work based and off the job training, and with an abundance of further and higher education options, such as foundation degrees and degree courses.

Learn with CMI and receive more value for your investment with qualifications standards that are second to none.”

Competence Qualification
CMI Level 5 NVQ Diploma in Management (QCF)

Knowledge Qualification
CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership (QCF)

Employee Rights and Responsibilities (ERR) Workbook

Functional Skills

Level 2 Functional Skill in English/Communication

Level 2 Functional Skill in Mathematics

Level 2 Functional Skill in ICT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)

Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) are generic skills that are essential to life, learning and work. PLTS have a significant impact on a person’s ability to make a confident contribution, both within and outside of their working environment.

The PLTS Framework comprises six groups:

• Independent enquirers
• Creative thinkers
• Reflective learners
• Team workers
• Self-managers
• Effective participants

Some of the PLTS requirements are embedded within the mandatory units of the apprenticeship competence and knowledge qualifications.

CMI are conducting a further mapping exercise to map the remaining PLTS to the CMI Knowledge Qualification, details will be available shortly.

Guided Learning Hours (GLH)

The total on- and off-the-job GLH for the framework is 606 hours.

The total off-the-job GLH is 197 hours (33% of the total GLH).”

Management Apprenticeships

“Management & Leadership skills have a major impact on the development, productivity and performance of organisations of all sizes and across all sectors of the economy. Many British leaders and managers are innovative, creative, visionary and inspirational and are heavily relied upon to sustain the UK as one of the world’s leading economies. In today’s fast-moving competitive environment there is a need to continue to drive up the performance of the best and to address weaknesses in Management & Leadership that are holding back productivity and performance. The average amount of spend per manager per year for development in the UK is far lower than other European countries, particularly within small to medium sized businesses, where fewer staff have management qualifications than in equivalent sized European countries.”

“The existing workforce needs to be up skilled and new people attracted into these jobs to meet the increasing demand for new management practices and a range of skills, including:

• leadership skills, including self management, relationship building, negotiation and
• influencing skills
• communication and decision making skills
• information technology skills
• knowledge and project management skills
• coaching and mentoring skills
• skills to win and maintain customer loyalty
• change management skills such as the ability to manage the challenges of globalisation
• partnership working and the ability to implement innovative solutions to a range of problems.”

“The Management Apprenticeship programmes have seen a steady increase in learners since their initial development and the Apprenticeship is in the top twenty frameworks. The Apprenticeship programme has been designed to provide flexible and portable qualifications, units and skills sets which meet the current and future needs of employers of all sizes and across all sectors.”

“The Team Leading Intermediate Apprenticeship has been developed to support those working as team leaders, section leaders, floor managers, help desk managers, trainee supervisors, team co-ordinators and those working in a range of other team leader positions.”

“The Management Advanced Apprenticeship has been developed to support those working as first line managers, section managers, assistant managers, trainee managers, senior supervisors, junior non-commissioned officers (armed forces) and those working in a range of other management positions.”

“The Leadership & Management Higher Apprenticeship has been developed to support those working as managers, senior managers, heads of department, directors and those working in a range of other senior management positions.”

The Apprenticeship Framework is available for download via the CfA’s website: http://www.cfa.uk.com/apprenticeships/sasew-frameworks.html

My initial reaction to the launch of “Management Apprenticeships” (especially for Level 5) is whether this will be fully funded and, if so, it’s an ideal opportunity for managers and leaders to obtain an accredited qualification.

Coaching for Performance and Business Change Conference

CIPD Coaching for Performance and Business Change Conference

20 September 2011, London

• discover how to enhance business and individual performance with powerful coaching tools
• gain invaluable advice on designing and implementing the right coaching programme
• pick-up rigorous approaches to measuring and evaluating coaching strategies for business success
• find innovative methods for motivating and retaining your people

Further details available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/cande/coach

Unit 5016 Management of Coaching and Mentoring Skills

I have recently completed my Assignment for Unit 5016 “Management Coaching & Mentoring Skills” as part of my Level 5 Diploma in Management Coaching and Mentoring (via CMI) and have really enjoyed the process, especially as this means that there is just one Assignment to go to enable me to complete.

Unit 5016 covers the following:-

Understand how learning and development styles support the coaching and mentoring practice

• Assess the different learning and development styles of self and individuals
• Review and evaluate the impact of the differing learning styles on the development and operation of coaching and mentoring programmes
• Construct a development plan to support individuals and team styles using coaching and mentoring activities

Be able to develop skills as a manager in coaching and mentoring

• Assess current skills of communication and people development to support personal practice of coaching and mentoring
• Identify development opportunities to meet personal skills’ needs and to develop own practice
• Evaluate skills and practices and produce a personal development plan in relation to coaching and mentoring skills

Be able to articular and develop a coherent ethical framework to support coaching and mentoring programmes and activities

• Develop a coherent, congruent statement of ethics for coaching and mentoring programmes and activities
• Analyse the impact of personal and organisational values and belief systems on the delivery of coaching and mentoring activities
• Evaluate personal coaching and mentoring performance, detailing ways of dealing with beliefs, values, diversity and conflicts of interest

Amongst the many and varied resources I used, I found the following books to be particularly relevant and useful:-

Supercoaching (2005) by G. Alexander

Coaching Skills for Leaders (2009) by J. Arnold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, I have also ordered the following books to read as follow-up research:

Office Politics: the new rules, 2009, R. Yeung

Political dilemmas at work: how to maintain your integrity and further your career, 2008, Ranker, Gautry and Phipps

Leading at a higher level: Blanchard on leadership and creating high performing organisations, 2007, K. Blanchard

A Manager’s guide to self-development, 2007, Pedler, Burgoyne, Boydell, Maidenhead

 

The Gift of Dyslexia

The Gift of Dyslexia: Why some of the brightest people can’t read and how they can learn by Ronald D. Davis

“Why is this book important?  Because the methods described in it work.  Because the techniques can be used to ameliorate a wide variety of symptoms besides reading difficulties – from anxiety to writing difficulties to inability to concentrate.  Because it recognizes the unusual gifts and the extraordinary potential of dyslexics.  Because it turns the mysteries of orientation and disorientation into practical, life-changing techniques.  Because the ability to think in pictures is needed for success in the twenty-first century.”

“Visual-Spatial learners … It truly is a different learning style just requiring a paradigm shift in learning, learning a visual way.”

“… all the essential gifts of dyslexia, including greater development of intuition, the ability to perceive multi-dimensionally, vivid imagination, greater curiousity, insightfulness, the ability to experience thought as reality, heightened awareness of the environment, the ability to think in pictures, and, most important, the ability to alter and create perceptions.  These are vital gifts, becoming more and more sought after in the work world in the modern era.”

“While we are still obsessed in education with the importance of literacy, the future of today’s students is dependent on their ability to see the big picture, to predict trends, to read customers, to think outside the box, to see patterns, to inspire collaboration among peers, to empathize, to synthesize information from a variety of sources, and to perceive possibilities from different perspectives.  These are the natural talents of dyslexics.”

Some famous dyslexics:

• Hans Christian Anderson
• Harry Belafonte
• Alexander Graham Bell
• George Burns
• Winston Churchill
• Albert Einstein
• Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Please see my post “Think Like a Genius – The Mind’s Eye; ” https://inspiredit.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/think-like-a-genius-the-minds-eye/

Understanding the QCF

Understanding the Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the Qualifications Credit Framework?

What’s the difference between an Award, a Certificate and a Diploma?

Why are there Awards at Level 5 yet Diplomas at Level 3?

Aren’t Diplomas ‘higher’ than Awards?

Can I obtain credit for just one Unit at a time?

Are Units transferable between one qualification and another?

 

Watch this excellent, short, easy-to-follow, detailed explanation about the QCF to find out answers to the above questions and more:

http://youtu.be/QIon9f2Zagw

Unit 5019 Management of Action Learning

I have just completed my Assignment for Unit 5019 “Management of Action Learning” as part of my Level 5 Diploma in Management Coaching and Mentoring (via CMI) and have really enjoyed the process.

Unit 5019 covers the following:-

Understand the practice and operation of action learning against organisational objectives

• Explain the practice of action learning and the role of the manager
• Identify the benefits of action learning in the development of individuals
• Evaluate the impact of action learning on organisational objectives

Be able to facilitate learning through action learning

• Identify mechanisms to monitor that the individual is taking responsibility for their own decisions, actions and learning approach
• Establish practices to support individuals to elicit personal and organisational values
• Describe how individuals are motivated and encouraged to apply learning to practice
• Describe how the individual can be supported to maintain focus and alignment to organisational needs
• Identify programmes that integrate the practice of action learning with organisational needs

Be able to understand the impact of action learning on organisational objectives

• Evaluate the use of action learning across programmes of learning
• Analyse the organisational objectives and the impact of action learning towards achievement

Amongst the many and varied resources I used, I found the following book to be particularly relevant and useful:-

Action Learning for Managers by Professor Mike Pedlar

 

World Business and Executive Coach Summit

July 28 – August 18, 2011 (online)

“The Association for Coaching is pleased to be one of the leading organisations and strategic partners involved with The World Business and Executive Coaching Summit, to be held online July 28-August 18, 2011.”

“This summit will bring together the most influential group of thought-leaders from business coaching ever assembled, for the largest online event the industry has ever seen. The presenters, chosen from over 200 nominations, include some of the highest-calibre business coaching experts around.”

“Thousands of Business and Executive Coaches have already registered for the previously announced pre-summit series which got off to a flying start this week. Registrants are telling us about the enormous value of these pre-summit complimentary presentations, so don’t miss out and register now.”

World Business and Executive Coach Summit