How to Design Your Management Training and Development Program

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright; Authenticity Consulting, LLC

(Note that there are separate topics about How to Design Your Leadership Development Program and How to Design Your Supervisor Development Program. Those two topics are very similar to this topic about management development, but with a different focus.)

Sections of This Topic Include:

Comprehensive, practical book by Carter McNamara

• Prepare for Your Learning and Development
  — Be Sure You Know What Learning and Development Really Are
  — Consider Two Different Approaches to Learning About Management
  — Know How to Capture Learning from Your Activities
• Prepare for Learning About Management
  — Get Acquainted With Organizational Context of Management
  — Get Acquainted With What “Management” Is
• Activities for Informal Approach to Management Development
  
• Guidelines for Formal Approach to Management Development
  — Identify Your Overall Goals for Program
  — Determine Your Learning Objectives and Activities to Achieve Them
  — Develop Any Materials You May Need
  — Plan Implementation of Your Program
  — Evaluate During and After Your Program
  — Follow-Up After Completion of Your Program
• Free Basic Guide to Leadership and Supervision

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Prepare for Your Learning and Development

Be Sure You Know What Learning and Development Really Are

Most of us are so conditioned from many years in schooling that we think of learning and development as coming from a program in which our participation is graded by experts in a certain topic. As a result, many of us still miss numerous opportunities for our own learning and development. Perhaps one of
the reasons is that we do not know what learning and development really is. So before undertaking a management development program, we should be sure that we know what we are talking about.

Learning could be interpreted as new:

1. Knowledge, which is information that is useful in accomplishing a certain activity that is important, for example, to solve a problem, achieve a goal or see a situation in entirely different light.
2. Skills, which is the expertise — consciously or unconsciously — to continually use the new information to accomplish that certain activity. (Educators often refer to new abilities as a component of learning, but some admit that the difference between abilities and skills is such a fine one that it is often difficult to explain.)
3. Perceptions, which are new ways of seeing a situation. (When people are continually stuck when trying to solve a problem or achieve a goal, it is often in the way that they see the situation.)

In the field of education, development could be interpreted as the activities to raise the quality of performance, for example, of a person, team or organization. However, like learning, development is best accomplished if it is recognized as such. Thus, development usually requires ongoing focus and attention to the quality of performance, as well as the quality of the activities to raise it.

Consider Two Different Approaches to Learning About Management

It is important to understand the different approaches you can take in increasing your learning about management. Formal approaches are proactively designed in a comprehensive and systematic way in order to accomplish certain desired outcomes. Traditional classroom approaches to education have that specific form — they are formal approaches to learning and development.

In contrast, informal approaches are those that occur during our typical day-to-day activities in life and can include, for example, reading books, having discussions with friends, on-the-job training and keeping a diary with thoughts about management.

• Informal Versus. Formal Training, Self-Directed Versus Other-Directed Training

Know How to Capture Learning from Your Activities

Whether in formal or informal approaches, the ongoing ability to recognize and capture learning is extremely important. That ability is often referred to as continuous learning and it is frequently mentioned in literature about management development (in this context, the term management is inclusive of leadership and supervisor development). Simply put, continuous learning is the ability to learn to learn.

The key to cultivating continuous learning is the ability to continually reflect on your experiences and the experiences of others in your life. Reflection is continuously thinking about, for example, your experiences, their causes and effects, your role in them, if they changed you and how. It is thinking about how you might use those experiences and changes to enhance your life and the lives of others.

If you can view your life as a “laboratory for learning program”, then you can continue to learn from almost everything in your life. However, learning is best captured if it is consciously recognized as such, for example, discussed with someone else or written down somewhere. Otherwise, new learning can easily be lost in the demands of life and work. So it is very important to document your learning.

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Prepare for Your Learning About Management

Get Acquainted With Organizational Context of Management

Before learning more about management, you would benefit first from becoming acquainted with the organizational context in which management typically occurs, including understanding organizations as systems, their common dimensions, what makes each unique, their different life cycles and different cultures.

• Organizational Structures and Design

Get Acquainted With What “Management” Is

Then, the next place to start learning about management is to get some sense of what management really is — in particular, get an impression of the areas of knowledge and skills recommended for effective management in organizations. Review the information in the Library’s topic:

• What is Management? How Do I Manage?

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Activities for Informal Approach to Management Development

Here is but a sampling of the activities from which you could informally accomplish your own management development. Here is a sample learning journal that you might use to continually capture your learning.

Consider getting assistance Seek to find a mentor Hire a personal coach Consider these readings Core skills in managing Managing yourself Managing groups Managing organization-wide efforts Consider practicing these management skills Planning Organizing Leading Controlling / Coordinating Consider workplace activities for learning Start a new project , ideally a project that includes your setting direction and influencing others to follow that direction Regularly solicit feedback from others about your management skills Ask your supervisor, peers and subordinates for ideas to develop your management skills Ask to be assigned to a management position Close and gaps in your work performance Performance gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to improve performance and are usually indicated during performance reviews with your supervisor. This Library topic is to a series of articles about managing performance, including performance gaps. Employee Performance Management

Close any growth or opportunity gaps Growth gaps are areas of knowledge and skills need to achieve a career goal. Opportunity gaps are areas of knowledge and skills needed to take advantage of an upcoming opportunity. These Library topics can help you think about the growth and opportunity gaps in your career. Career Planning Job Descriptions Assess your management skills Blake and Mouton Management Grid Assess management practices in: Nonprofit organizations For-profit organizations Group management Marketing Communications Sales Collect ideas from others Ask for advice from friends, peers, your supervisors and others about skills in management. Ask for their opinions about your management skills. Try get their suggestions in terms of certain behaviors you should show. Getting and Receiving Feedback Reference lists of suggested competencies Competencies are lists of the general abilities needed to do a certain job or perform a certain role. Reference the “How to” sections in the following Library topic: Various Competencies Needed By Management Reference publications about management There is a vast amount of information about management and management skills. However, much of it is in regard to character traits that leaders and managers should have. When determining your program goals, translate these character traits to behaviors that you and others can recognize. Guidelines to Understand Literature About Leadership Consider other sources for learning Identify traits and behaviors of your favorite managers Take strong participation in a course, apprenticeship or internship that involves persistence, risk and initiative Take a management role in a management association Volunteer to manage a work or community project, or join a board of directors Read Ideas for Activities to Learn About Supervision Read Activities for Leadership Development

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Guidelines for Formal Approach to Management Development

You are much more likely to develop skills in management from participating in a formal program approach than an informal approach. The following sections will guide you to develop your own complete, highly integrated and performance-oriented program.

Identify Your Overall Goals for Your Program

This section helps you identify what you want to be able to do as a result of implementing your program, for example, to qualify for a certain job, overcome a performance problem or achieve a goal in your career development plan. You are often better off to work towards at most two to four goals at a time, rather than many. There are a variety of ways to identify your program goals, depending on what you want to be able to accomplish from the program. The articles might be helpful in preparing you to identify your goals.

• Goals — Selecting the Training and Development Goals

Various Ideas for Management Development Goals

1. Do you have career plans that would require certain new management skills? See How to Plan Your Career.
2. Did your previous performance review with your supervisor suggest certain improvements in management that you need to make? See Goal Setting With Employees.
3. Are there certain opportunities that you could take advantage of if you soon developed certain new management skills? See How to Look for a Job.
4. You might do some self-assessments to determine if there are any areas of management development that you might undertake. See Assessing Your Training Needs.
5. Ask others for feedback about your management skills. See Giving and Receiving Feedback.
6. Do you find yourself daydreaming about doing certain kinds of activities? See Setting Personal Goals.

Include a Goal About Managing Yourself

You cannot effectively manage others unless you first can effectively manage yourself. Consider goals from the Library’s topic of Personal Wellness

List your Program Goals in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program. (This is a Microsoft Word document.)

Determine Your Learning Objectives and Activities to Achieve Each

The purpose of this section is to help you to identify the various learning objectives you should achieve in order to achieve your overall program goals, along with the activities you should undertake to achieve each objective.

Identifying Your Learning Objectives

Carefully consider each of your program goals. What might be the various accomplishments, or objectives, that must be reached in order to achieve each goal? Do not worry about doing all of that perfectly — objectives can be modified as you work to achieve each goal. Which of these objectives require learning new areas of knowledge or skills? These objectives are likely to become learning objectives in your program plan. To get a stronger sense for learning objectives, see

• Designing Training Plans and Learning Objectives.

Identifying Your Learning Activities

Learning activities are the activities you will conduct in order to achieve the learning objectives. The activities should accommodate your particular learning styles, be accessible to you and be enjoyable as well. The long list of activities in the above two columns might be useful, as well.

List the Learning Objectives to Achieve Each Desired Goal in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

List the Activities to Achieve Each Learning Objective in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

Develop Any Materials You May Need

Carefully think about each of the activities to achieve the learning objectives. Consider, for example, getting books, signing up for courses, reserving rooms and getting trainers.

List the Materials You Might Need in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

Plan the Implementation of Your Program

During the implementation of your program, you want to make sure there are no surprises. For example, how will you make sure you understand the new information and materials. Will your learning be engaging and enjoyable? Will you have all the support you need?

• How Do We Ensure Implementation of Our New Plan?

List the Key Considerations in Implementing Your Plan in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

Evaluate During and After Your Program

Evaluation includes assessing both the quality of the activities during the program and also whether you achieved your goals soon after the program.

• How Do We Evaluate Implementation and Project Results?

List the Approach to Evaluating During and After Your Program in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

Follow-Up After Completion of Your Program

It is a major accomplishment to design and implement a management development program. Celebrate what you have done! Reflect on what you learned about developing the program — and about yourself.

List the Key Activities After Completing Program in your Template for Planning Your Professional Development Program.

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Additional Resources in the Category of Leadership

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Thoughts About Improving Management Training and Development Programs

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Management educators, writers and leaders all assert that leading and managing an organization will only get more complex and challenging in the future. Therefore, management development programs must evolve to become even more accessible and relevant. Look for these future enhancements to management training and development programs in universities, colleges and training centers.

Future management training and development programs will:

1. Include more courses about methods of organization development.
   This topic will include understanding various typical problems
   that occur in organizations, how to diagnose them, the variety
   of interventions to solve the problems, evaluating the interventions
   and adjusting policies and procedures to avoid the problems in
   the future. (There’s a growing body of information in this
   regard.)
2. Involve well beyond Fortune 500 companies when designing
   programs.
   Input to programs design will include leaders who are representative
   of a broad range of organizations, including small business and
   non-profit. These organizations are at the fore-front of commerce
   and progress in our society — yet many cannot afford necessary
   means to leadership development.
3. Pilot methods to make management development programs
   more accessible.
   For example, two introductory or foundation courses will be held
   at a lower tuition rate, rather than one highly abstract course
   at a higher rate. With wise use of adjuncts or community faculty
   (and there are many available), two courses need not cost twice
   as much as one.
4. Keep experienced-based expertise to complement academic
   knowledge.
   Use of adjuncts or community faculty bring in experienced-based
   perspective that strongly complements academic expertise, resulting
   in meaningful courses which remain state-of-the-art, yet grounded
   in the day-to-day realities of running an organization. Word
   quickly spreads among learners about truly meaningful courses,
   which, in turn, provokes strong demand for the courses along
   with long-lasting stature and credibility for the school.
5. Go beyond theory and competencies-based models to pilot
   more ongoing, process-oriented and reflective approaches.
   These approaches reflect the realities of running an organization
   while developing the reflective skills to “learn how to
   learn.” They spawn the dialogue necessary to retain any
   sense of meaning in today’s chaotic and complex world of
   management. They also spawn the support necessary for learners
   to actually apply what they learn.
6. Exploit the leverage in leadership development to be gained
   from piloting self-organized groups of learners.
   These groups provide highly accessible means to ongoing support,
   complex problem solving and continuous learning. These groups
   can be spawned at low-cost and produce a high volume of “grassroots”
   development “courses” where leaders are taught how
   to help each other. These groups can complement traditional classroom-based
   training methods; they need not replace them.
7. Pilot means to address increasing burnout and cynicism
   in leaders.
   Management development does not occur in a safe vacuum devoid
   of the challenges of self-management. Burnout and cynicism are
   not addressed through intellectual rigor — addressing both requires
   highly accessible and ongoing forums for venting, dialogue and
   exchange.
8. Develop evaluation methods to be based more on indicators
   of effectiveness in learners’ organizations and less on
   learners’ reactions to courses.
   Learners are increasingly skeptical of the explosion of seminars
   and workshops that promise a great deal, but leave their students
   temporarily feeling good. Learners, trainers and developers need
   a great deal of help now to learn how to separate style from
   substance.
9. Recognize the value of ongoing support to learners and
   leaders.
   Particularly in today’s rapidly changing world, it can be tremendously
   stressful to lead or manage an organization. In these times of
   stress, it’s often quite difficult to intellectually grasp a
   vast array of intellectual information, store it away for later
   reference, know when to retrieve it and then readily apply it
   to the current major challenge in the workplace. A strong foundation
   of ongoing support can help learners and leaders to keep an open
   mind to new information, explore various new values and viewpoints,
   and then have the courage to apply this new information in the
   workplace. This strong foundation of ongoing support is every
   bit as much a piece of training and development as is a new binder
   of new information in a course.

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Management Development

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Management Development. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog
• Library’s Training and Development Blog

Go to main Training and Development page.

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For the Category of Training and Development:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Various Competencies Needed by Management (Including Supervisors)

Assembled by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

The following articles provide a variety of advice, hints, tips, etc. to be a more effective manager. Note that the role of supervision is also a management role in the organization. Therefore, the following articles will also be useful for guidance to be a more effective supervisor.

Note that to really understand the “territory” of management, you should read Gaining Broad Understanding of Organizational Management.

(You might also be interested in reading some advice, hints, tips, etc. to be a more effective leader. If so, see Suggested Traits and Characteristics of Highly Effective Leaders.)

Also see
Related Library Topics

Various Perspectives on Competencies That Managers Should Have

There are many perspectives on “What makes a very good manager?” Perhaps the most important goal for a new manager is to review a variety of perspectives and then come to their own conclusion.

• Example of Competencies List (lists about trainer positions; look at to see level of content)
• Role of Managers under Different Styles of Management
• Six Important Managerial Skills for Successful Leadership
• How to Lead your Employees to Top Performance
• Management Styles
• Managing People Tips
• How to Manage Employees
• Priority Management: Keep the Main Things the Main Thing
• Staff is Overwhelmed: What Do You Do?
• Tips for First-Time Managers, From First-Time Managers
• Manage Less to Manage Better

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Management Skills

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Management Skills. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog

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For the Category of Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books

Caution About Using Competencies in Management Development

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

• Competencies in Management Development

Also consider

• Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Management Development

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Management Development. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

• Library’s Career Management Blog
• Library’s Human Resources Blog
• Library’s Leadership Blog
• Library’s Supervision Blog
• Library’s Training and Development Blog

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Competencies in Management Development

Competencies-based training methods attempt to identify standard capabilities in a wide range of managerial roles and then develop these capabilities in learners. However, this training method may be best suited only for helping learners to get some sense of the “territory” for management. The method may not be highly suited for actually developing learner’s management skills.

Henderson (Action Learning: A Missing Link in Management Development, Personnel Review, (22), 14-24, 199) describes this situation well. He notes that “a special feature of managing is that it creates and defines its own task, unlike non-managerial work” (p. 16). He points out that universal lists of competencies, either as a means for describing managerial work or as a vehicle for education and training, do not capture the nature of management because it involves “a holistic performance.” He adds, “Competencies, therefore, can be assessed only by judgment and, since management is a creative activity, it follows that effective management activity renders obsolete the managerial competencies which achieve success. All managerial jobs are different at a detailed level of abstraction, while being the same at a high level of abstraction. So the more universally true any list of competencies is, the less use it is in specific, concrete situations” (p. 16).

Morgan (Riding the Waves of Change: Developing Managerial Competencies for a Turbulent World, Jossey-Bass, 1988) adds, “In the process, the whole concept of competence is changing. Whereas, in the past managerial competence went hand in hand with possession of specific skills and abilities, it now seems to involve much more. Increasingly, it rests in the development of attitudes, values, and ‘mindsets’ that allow managers to confront, understand, and deal with a wide range of forces within and outside their organizations, as well as in the development of operational skills.”

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For the Category of Training and Development:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Understanding All Aspects of Leadership – 20 Different Perspectives on Leadership

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Great Confusion About the Term “Leadership” Today

Discussions about leadership today have become so frequent and impassioned that they have become almost evangelical in tone. Leading is a very human activity — everyone’s human — so everyone’s got lots of advice about leading. Leadership development has almost become spiritual development, rather than professional development.

In our advice, we associate any desirable trait to what leaders should be. It’s difficult to publish a book about business with having the term “leadership” in the title. While this trend has reminded us of the critical importance of leadership and sometimes greatly inspired us on to greater
achievements in life and work, it also has diffused the concept of leadership to the extent that the term has become almost useless in really helping people to become more effective in organizations.

Leadership Cube (TM)

Different people tend to talk about leadership from many different perspectives and not even realize that they are doing so. It is very simplistic to generalize about leadership as if the term applies the same way in every situation. Understanding the concept of leadership requires more than reading a few articles or fantasizing about what great leaders should be. To really understand leadership, one must understand “Leadership Cube.” The Cube represents at least 20 different perspectives on leadership.

The Cube includes the following dimensions:
1) five domains of leadership
2) two contexts of leadership
3) two orientations of leadership

Imagine each of these 3 dimensions along one side of a box, or cube. That would produce a cube with 20 smaller cells (5 times 2 times 2 = 20). Each of the 20 cells represents a unique perspective on leadership. You might consider some or all of the cells the next time that you use the term “leadership” in your studies, writings, research, discussions, etc.

Five Domains of Leadership

Domain	Relevant Leadership Skills
Leading yourself	Time management, stress management, assertiveness, etc.
Leading other individuals	Coaching, mentoring, delegating, etc.
Leading other groups	Meeting management, facilitation skills, etc.
Leading organizations	Strategic planning, Balanced Scorecard, etc.
Leading communities, societies, etc.	Community organizing, political skills, etc.

Two Contexts of Leadership

Context	Focus of Context
Roles	Board Chair, Chief Executive Officer, executive roles, etc.
Traits	Charismatic, influential, ethical, etc.

Two Orientations of Leadership

(see NOTE below)

Orientation	Leadership Values
Results-oriented	Timeliness, efficiency, work direction, authority, etc.
Relationship-oriented	Participation, empowerment, relationships, etc.

NOTE: The orientation of leadership is adapted from the Hersey-Blanchard situational model of leadership in “Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources”, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1982.

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to Leadership

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blog which has posts related to Leadership. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Leadership Blog

Return to Overview of Leadership in Organizations

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For the Category of Leadership:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Guidelines to Understand Literature About Leadership

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

There is a recent explosion of literature about leadership. The literature offers a great deal of advice from many different perspectives, which can be quite confusing to readers. (After years of reading leadership literature, I’ve begun to notice that, despite the seemingly different perspectives, many writers are actually asserting very similar points of view.)

The guidelines in this article help the reader to get the most out of leadership literature by helping them to closely examine the various points of view and suggestions from writers. This article is referenced from the topic Leadership (an Introduction) in the Free Management Library. and are referenced at the end of this article.

Sections of This Topic Include

• Potential for Confusion Among Readers of Leadership Literature
• “Leading”: A Basic Definition as a Starting Point
• Where the Confusion Often Starts: Traits Versus Roles
• Writers Have Varying Views on “Leading” and “Managing”
• Writers Have Varying Views on Universal Versus Relative Perspectives of Leadership
• Writers Might Interchange Terms “Managing” and “Management” in Same Article
• Writers Might Vary Modes of Time in Same Article
• Writers Might Mix Reference to Traits and Roles in Same Article
• Writers Sometimes Vary Scope of the Term “Leader” in Same Article
• Is Sometimes Difficult to Glean Clear Message About Good Leadership
• Is Sometimes Difficult to Glean Consistent Message About Good Leadership
• Suggestions to Completely Understand Literature About Leadership

Also consider

• Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blog Related to Leadership

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blog which has posts related to Leadership. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

• Library’s Leadership Blog

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About Potential Confusion Among Readers of Leadership Literature

Readers sometimes become confused while reading literature about leadership in businesses. This confusion happens for a variety of reasons, none of them are any one’s fault. However, there are some guidelines that might help the reader to avoid confusion and get the most out of this literature.

We live and work in a fascinating, yet fearful time. Increased competition is forcing organizations to implement customer-driven policies where industry-driven strategies worked before. To be more adaptable, organizations are decentralizing. Organizations are transforming, reinventing and reengineering. As a result, there is often a great deal of pain in organizations.

There is an increasing number of practitioners, educators and writers who are trying to help. Each person feels strongly about his or her advice. Among those trying to help are a wide variety of suggestions and a wide variety of views. This situation can cause a great deal of confusion, particularly in readers who are new to reading about the concept of leadership.

After 20 years of reading literature about leadership (including intensive focus during doctoral studies), I’ve gleaned several insights that I share below. By no means do I intend to disparage writers in the following (I am a writer, too!). I sincerely believe that each writer is attempting to help leaders in organizations. I offer the following guidelines in the hope that readers and writers alike will get the most out of leadership literature in the future.

First, let’s look at some causes for potential confusion among readers. Then we’ll review some basic guidelines that hopefully will avoid confusion in the future.

“Leading”: Offering a Definition as a Starting Point

At a minimum, “Leading” is influencing someone in some way. Most people will agree on at least this much of some ideal definition for the term. There are numerous, additional facets to this assertion that could be explored, but this simple definition may be enough to go forward in this article for now.

Where the Confusion Often Starts: Traits Versus Roles

A “leader” is someone who is leading — maybe. Some writers use the term “leader” as based on the formal role in an organization (“He is a leader, that is, he’s the CEO”.) Other writers refer to a “leader” as someone who is showing traits of leading (“He is the group leader for now, that is, he’s showing us where to go”.) However, many writers would disagree that a CEO is always a leader. For example, if an organization is floundering badly with little or no direction, maybe the CEO (a formal leader by nature of his top-level role) is not effectively leading the organization (that is, showing the traits of leading) and, therefore, is truly not a leader. It depends on one’s use of the word “leader”.

Most would agree that the term “Leadership” refers to the ability to lead. Many writers use the term “leadership” to refer to a person who show traits of leading (“He’s shows strong leadership”). However, many writers also use the term to refer to the executive level of an organization (“The leadership decided we’re downsizing”.)

Writers Have Varying Views on “Leading” and “Managing”

Traditionally (although many would now disagree), the term “management” is described as the functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling (or coordinating) activities in an organization. “Managing” is explained as carrying out these activities. Courses in management often teach from this
perspective. Some writers follow this view and believe that the activity of leading is but one aspect of management. Other writers disagree and assert that “managing” is planning, organizing and controlling and that “leading” is a distinctly separate activity that primarily involves influencing people. An old adage that follows from this latter view is “Leaders do the right things. Managers do things right”. Another adage is “Leaders lead people, managers manage things”. Other writers would even disagree with this view, however. They would assert that, although a person happens to be carrying out activities that influence others, if he or she does not hold a formal role in the organization with the title of “manager”, then he or she is not a “leader”.

Writers Have Varying Views on Universal Versus Relative Perspectives on Leadership

Some writers believe that there are universal principles and styles of leadership that should be consistent no matter the situation faced by the leader. These writers may assert, e.g., that an executive should retain a highly humanistic and participative style, whether a CEO in a hospital or a field general in a war.

Other writers believe that the nature of leadership depends to a great extent on the situation. They might assert that a general exhibit a highly autocratic style, while a CEO should be highly humanistic and participative in a hospital.

Some Writers Might Interchange Terms “Managing” and “Management”

Occasionally, an article (often when comparing leading to managing) will assert that “leading” is different
than “managing”, and later mention that “leading” is different than “management”. This can be particularly confusing for people who believe that a) leading is different than managing (which they believe to be organizing, planning and controlling), but that leading and managing together are management

Some Writers Might Vary Modes of Time in Same Article

For example, a writer might explain how a group member can be the an informal leader in a group even though that member does not have the formal role of leader. Typically, the writer describes that the group follows that the informal leader’s suggestions, listens to the informal leader more than other group members, etc. The writer may go on to assert that everyone throughout the organization needs to be a leader. However, at this point, it may not be clear if the writer is asserting that the person is a leader at that time — or always. Is the writer asserting that people throughout the organization should be leaders (by traits) always or sometimes depending on the situation?

Some Writers Might Mix Reference to Traits and Roles

In the above example where the writer is describing the informal leader in a group, the writer may continue to refer to the person throughout the rest of the article as “a leader” (no longer referring to the person’s traits that led the writer to conclude the person was the leader). The writer seems to have switched from asserting that a person is the leader at that time because of his or her traits to now be asserting that the person is the leader because the person is, well, “a leader”, that is, someone who will always be a leader (by trait) in any given situation.

Along the same lines, some writers mention how important it is that everyone throughout the organization be a leader (by traits). Later, the writers will mention how important it is that the organization’s “leadership” (apparently now meaning the executive levels of the organization) take a strong role to ensure that everyone in the organization is a leader (by trait).

Some Writers Vary Focus of the Term “Leader”

Discussion about the question of “What makes a good leader?” has continued for decades, if not longer. Some people assert that a good leader (by trait) is someone who focuses on leading within a business to reach the business-specific goals of the business. A frequent counter to this assertion is “Well then was Hitler a good leader?” Others look at a leader (by trait) as someone who focuses on achieving vision, and always in a highly moral and socially conscious way.

Is Sometimes Difficult to Glean Clear Message About Good Leadership

All of the various suggestions about good leadership can sound very appealing, e.g., have clear vision, embrace change, lead from principles, be a servant to your people, cultivate community, focus on the future, etc. For various reasons, writers often don’t address how these suggestions can be implemented. In addition, many of us have different impressions of what these suggestions mean. At some point, these suggestions have to be translated to behaviors in the workplace. How does one know if they’re actually implementing the suggestions or not?

Is Sometimes Difficult to Glean Consistent Message About Good Leadership

Leading (whether leaders by traits or roles) is a very human activity. All of us are human. So most of us can offer a lot of advice about what a good leader should do. We want them to transform themselves and their organizations, while ensuring that all of us have jobs. We suggest that leaders build teams, yet focus on employees. They should cultivate clarity, yet embrace change and chaos.

Meanwhile, of course, no matter how much a person believes that leading is separate from managing, every leader must operate within certain budget constraints. Executive-level leaders (by role) hear from board members and others in the organization that the top priority is strong fiscal management. The struggle to take risks while managing cash flow can be overwhelming. Consequently, it can become quite confusing for these leaders to glean a consistent message from all of the ongoing advice.

Suggestions to Get the Most Out of Leadership Literature

The following guidelines are offered to help readers get the most from the advice offered by writers of leadership literature.

1. Come to your own conclusion about “What is ‘management’? Managing? Leading? Are they different? Does it matter?”

Even if your conclusion is “There is no clear definition” or “It doesn’t matter”, at least your conclusion will
give you a stable frame of reference from which to consider assertions of various writers.

2. Attempt to identify if the writer is talking about traits of a leader, the role of a leader or both

3 Attempt to identify if the writer is talking about whether someone is a leader for now, in the future or always

4. Attempt to identify the writer’s scope of the term “leader”. Do they focus on someone as being a leader in the organization or also in society, etc.?

5. Attempt to glean any advice from the writer about how leaders can actually implement the values and principles suggested by the writer

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For the Category of Leadership:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

• Related Library Topics
• Recommended Books

Sources of Help to Members of COVID-19 Support Groups

These resources are for support groups in which members are supporting each other to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. A toolkit for starting and facilitating the groups is at Start a Virtual Support Group to Help With Stresses of COVID-19

Consider These Resources for Yourself and Others

Resources to Help Your Group Members

There are many free, online articles about topics that are helpful to members of a support group. See the “Supporting Skills” listed on the right side of each page.

Resources to Help Yourself

• Attitude (Managing Your)
• Burnout
• Motivating Yourself
• Self-Assessments
• Self-Awareness
• Time and Stress Management

Resources to Help Others Anywhere

• 6 Ways to Help Others During the Coronavirus Outbreak
• 9 Ways to Help Others During the Coronavirus Pandemic
• 10 Ways to Help Others During the Coronavirus Outbreak
• 16 Heartwarming Ways Everyday Heroes Are Helping People Affected by Coronavirus

Pose Questions in the Our Facebook Group

This group is for everyone interested or involved in peer support groups, especially around COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on our lives. We will discuss all aspects of organizing and running a peer support group. Discussions will have an emphasis on groups using free tools offered at https://StartSupportGroups.com/, but do not have to be exclusively about that format of peer support group. (Note: this group is not about specific medical advice and treatment for individuals who may have the virus.)

• Pandemic Peer Support Groups

Attend Office Hours With Experts

Office hours are each week on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. Central Time USA. They will begin on April 15, 2020. To participate, you must:

1. Have answered at least 80% of the questions correctly in the quiz Test Your Knowledge About PCGs, because the office hours should primarily be about questions that are not answered in these pages.
2. Pre-register by sending email to peersupport@StartSupportGroups.com. Send your email from the same email address that you used when you entered your private contact information in your quiz. In your email, also include your Skype address if you have one.

Office hours will include the first 10 people who registered. We will promptly notify you if you are enrolled in the next office hour’s session.

Email Us

We hope that you will consider the other sources of help, especially the Frequently Asked Questions, as we tend to get a lot of emails about various subjects. Otherwise, you can email us at peersupport@StartSupportGroups.com.

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Regarding Other Uses of Peer Coaching Groups

People who are interested in using the groups for other than support as described in this topic, should purchase training, consulting and materials from Action Learning Source, especially the virtual workshop
Facilitating and Developing Peer, Group, Team and Organizational Coaching Programs. Other uses of peer coaching groups might include, for example:

• Developing a group-based program for your professional development or employee development in an organization.
• Modifying the process for developing, for example, a coaching culture, coaching skills, leadership development, management development, supervisory development, networking, problem solving / goal achievement, support groups, team building and transfer of training. Each of these different uses involved a different design of a group-based program.

(First photo courtesy of Matheus Viana and second photo courtesy of Edward Jenner on Pexels.com)

How to Select the Technology for Your Support Group

(This page is referenced from Start a Virtual Support Group to Help With Stresses of COVID-19.)

To ensure that the virus does not spread among you, it is important that your support group meets virtually. There has been an explosion of tools to help people to meet virtually, for example, Zoom, GoTo Meeting, Skype, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Facetime and WhatsApp.

You Don’t Need Many Features

However, you do not need many of the features that they provide, such as chat rooms, screen sharing, messaging, polling and white boarding. Many groups have met just by using telephones in order to ensure they can reliably hear each other. Other groups prefer some video where they can at least see each other’s faces.

For Telephone Meetings Only

We recommend the FreeConferenceCall service for phone-based group meetings. You just start an account with them, and they send you brief connection information that you use in your conference calls. The conferencing is free, but you pay according to your regular phone service. We are not formally affiliated with this service, but we have reliably used it many times over the years.

For Audio and Video Meetings

Many people who prefer to see each other during virtual meetings often use the free Skype software.
You can use it for free audio communications, as well. Here’s a short video about how to use it. We are not formally affiliated with this service, but have reliably used it over the years. Another popular tool is or Zoom.

What Do Your Members Prefer?

You might ask your members about what technologies that they prefer. Perhaps one or more members could train the others about the selected technology.

Refer to These Tips to Facilitate Virtual Meetings

For tips about how to conduct communications virtually, see Tips for Virtual Peer Coaching Group Meetings. (Another tool How to Facilitate Support Groups guides members through their actual support
group process.)

(Photo courtesy of Edward Jenner on Pexels.com.)