Dominique Giroux

An online blogger across the world can share a 2-day travel diary on a 3 minute Instagram story, 5 second memories can be shared over Snapchat, and people have access to 24/7 news updates from mainstream media. We live in a cyber culture where digital technology is a push-button click away. Many of us even take it for granted – whipping out our cell phone to check Google maps when we’re lost or quickly researching a delicious restaurant located nearby. It’s apparent technology has impacted almost every aspect of daily life, and the management training space is no exception. 

For decades, management training has been dominated by classroom learning, Power Point presentations and slide-by-slide online learning, which often fail to resonate with today’s learners.  Recent technological advances present exciting opportunities to align training delivery with our industry’s ever-evolving understanding of skill development.

Some scenarios on the job are impossible to realistically recreate in training. For instance, a brain surgeon can read numerous text books on how to remove a blood clot but nothing can compare to the actual experience of being in surgery and performing the task. The most effective learning occurs hands on, preferably where mistakes can happen and not adversely affect others. But how can you replicate the experience of performing brain surgery without actually doing it? Virtual reality training programs are beginning to make this possibility a reality.

Setting professional development goals is an essential skill leaders use to align their team to the organization’s strategic objectives. Good goal planning helps keep day-to-day operations running smoothly and efficiently. Planning also motivates team members, helping them see how their efforts make a real difference for the larger good of the organization.

During the late 1960s, University of Toronto psychologist Gary Latham and University of Maryland psychologist Edwin Locke — considered the godfathers of goal-setting theory — discovered what we now hold as truth: the establishment of a goal is one of the easiest ways to increase motivation and enhance performance.

Think back to being a young child, and learning to ride a bike for the first time. From the second you hopped on the seat, were you good at it? Or did you swerve or maybe even fall before you could successfully ride down the street? Is the old saying “practice makes perfect” really true?

Recent research has shown that practice plays a huge role in developing skills. But not all practice is created equal. A special type of skill building called “Deep Practice” has been proven to develop talent far more effectively than other methods. Deep Practice consists of stretching yourself just outside your comfort zone, stopping and reflecting when errors occur, making adjustments, and continuing this process over time. 

Deep Practice can apply to a wide variety of skills – from hitting a baseball, to playing guitar, to delegating a task to an employee. We’ll first explore how Deep Practice works and the principles behind this technique. Then we’ll discuss how this applies to developing fundamental skills as a manager in the workplace.

The Central Connecticut State Office of Continuing Education recently published an “Expert Interview” with Todd Macey, the President of Vital Learning. The “Expert Interview” series gathers insights and opinions from various leaders in the education and training industries.

In the interview, Todd shares his thoughts on getting managers fully committed to their own self-improvement, teaching “soft skills” in virtual environments, and developing the skills leaders will need to be successful in the future.  

Want to get a peek at where leadership development is headed and learn more about why many manager training programs are ineffective? Check out Todd’s expert interview here.

Why is investing in management training important for an organization? There’s more to it than a simple answer of professional development, talent management or knowledge acquisition. Having effective leaders and managers is one of the most critical components to long-term organizational success. Good or bad managers can affect employee retention, engagement, quality of service and, ultimately, revenue.

Most people agree that developing employees is important, but proving the value of these initiatives to executives can be challenging. One of the most common objections to leadership development is “aren’t all of these skills just inherent and intuitive?” Or “can’t people just learn these skills on the job?” While many effective management skills are intuitive and simple, the execution of these skills can be quite difficult. And learning leadership skills without structure and guidance is often a recipe for bad habits. Management training takes time, resources and money, so why should your boss invest in it? Stated another way, what are the benefits of developing practical skills among your company’s managers?