Friday 6 June 2008

Innovative Ways to Develop People



The Training Journal has a short article today about a programme to encourage Civil Servants to do more community work.

Doing this kind of activity is a really great way of developing people and can form part of a wider approach to talent management. By providing these opportunities to people it gives them a whole new set of experiences such as:
  • having to communicate in different ways to a completely new set of people
  • working in an environment where people don't know who you are
  • having some fun...!
Even better is that the approach really is a win-win situation for everyone. I would be interested to hear what other similar activities organisations encourage their people to do?

3 comments:

john castledine said...

Chris - I'm a fan of the 'Ideathon' concept: http://www.collaborationcompany.com/-___Ideathon.html

I've not had the opportunity to use this approach personally - but I hear great reports from folk in my network

Chris Morgan said...

John - thanks. That looks really interesting and I will definitely look into it.

We have used the Whitehall Industry Group (WIG) a number of times http://www.wig.co.uk/

WIG is a non profit making organisation that is aimed at both public and private sector. They have some really interesting (and often free) seminars. Also, they have some very good leadership programmes.

Chris

Dan McCarthy said...

Chris –

I’ve always read that involvement in non-profit boards and community activities are a great way to develop leadership skills, but I’ve only recently been seriously incorporating these suggestions into our leader’s development plans. It’s important for leaders to pick something that they are really passionate about, perhaps something that has a connection to some aspect of their personal lives. They should also have some unique skill that the organization would find valuable. The time commitment is often substantial, but not always. Also, I’ve found out that as a member of a board, or a board committee, organizations are often looking for some kind of financial commitment, like a donation or fundraiser.
Given all of this, these have proved to be very effective at developing competencies like leadership presence, influence skills, the ability to work with diverse people, business acumen, and strategic thinking.