Succession Planning Through Training

The difference between a manager and a leader isn’t just a title — it’s a mindset. Managers keep things running efficiently, ensuring processes are followed and goals are met. Leaders, on the other hand, inspire, innovate, and push boundaries to drive long-term success. So how do we transform today’s managers into tomorrow’s leaders? It starts with intentional development. 1️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Managers are often focused on execution, but leadership requires a broader vision. Giving managers opportunities to think beyond the day-to-day and make strategic decisions helps them shift their perspective. 2️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗘𝗤) – Leadership isn’t just about knowledge; it’s about people. Great leaders understand how to navigate interpersonal relationships, manage emotions, and communicate effectively. Investing in EQ training fosters trust and stronger team dynamics. 3️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 – The best way to create leaders? Show them what great leadership looks like. By demonstrating integrity, resilience, and transparency, senior leaders set the tone for the next generation. 4️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 – Leadership isn’t learned in a vacuum. Giving managers access to mentorship, executive coaching, cross-functional projects, and leadership development programmes equips them with the skills they need to level up. 5️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 – A leader isn’t just someone with a title—it’s someone who takes initiative and owns their decisions. Encouraging managers to take charge, make key decisions, and innovate helps them develop confidence in their leadership abilities. 6️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 – Feedback is a two-way street. Leaders don’t just give feedback—they seek it out. Creating an open environment where managers receive and provide constructive input allows them to grow and refine their leadership style. The best organisations don’t just look for leaders externally; they cultivate them from within. By intentionally developing leadership skills in managers today, we future-proof our businesses and empower the next generation to lead with confidence, purpose, and vision. Are we investing in our managers the way we should be?

The Manager Malaise: Why Are Bosses Burning Out? Being a manager has always been tough, but today it's a particularly thankless job. While managers have traditionally enjoyed perks and prestige, they're now more likely than non-managers to be disengaged, burned out, and looking for the exit door. This trend of manager malaise isn't just an isolated incident; it's a wider symptom of a workplace struggling with engagement and wellbeing since 2021. But for managers, the decline has been especially sharp. So, what's driving this burnout epidemic among the boss class? Lack of Training: One major culprit is a lack of proper training. Effective leadership requires skills, and yet, organizations are failing to equip managers with the tools they need to have meaningful conversations with their teams and foster engagement. Best Practices MIA: Training on best practices for employee engagement and performance development is scarce, leaving managers to fend for themselves when it comes to identifying and coaching their team's strengths. This lack of guidance can be overwhelming and lead to feelings of inadequacy. Skills Gap: The result of this training deficit is a skills gap. Only 48% of managers feel confident they have the necessary skills to excel at their job. This lack of confidence further fuels disengagement and burnout. What can be done? To reverse this trend, organizations need to prioritize manager development. Here are some actionable steps: 1. Invest in Training: Provide comprehensive training programs that equip managers with the skills they need to lead effectively. This includes training on communication, coaching, performance management, and employee engagement. 2. Share Best Practices: Create a culture of knowledge sharing where managers can learn from each other's successes and failures. This can be done through formal mentorship programs, peer-to-peer coaching, and knowledge-sharing platforms. 3. Close the Skills Gap: Identify the specific skills gaps your managers have and offer targeted training to address them. This could involve workshops, online courses, or one-on-one coaching. 4. Support and Recognition: Make sure managers feel supported and valued. Regularly check in with them, provide feedback, and recognize their achievements. This will help to boost morale and engagement. By taking these steps, organizations can create a more supportive environment for managers and reverse the trend of burnout. Remember, happy and engaged managers lead to happy and engaged teams, which ultimately leads to a more successful and productive organization.

New managers think they need to have all the answers. The smart ones ask all the right questions. The pressure is real:  - You just got promoted and everyone's watching.  - Your old peers are now your direct reports.  - Your boss expects immediate results. So you do what feels natural:  - You try to outwork everyone.  - You try not to let your impostor syndrome show. - You try to be the smartest person in every meeting. But what if what got you promoted is what's holding you back? The 8 skills that separate great managers from everyone else: Active Listening  ❌ Wait for your turn to talk  ✅ Summarize their points before replying  → Builds trust and surfaces hidden issues Clear Communication  ❌ Assume people understand your vision  ✅ Use video updates for important messages  → Drives alignment and prevents confusion Explicit Expectations  ❌ Hope people figure out what you want  ✅ Involve your team in planning commitments  → Prevents guesswork and misalignment Productive Feedback  ❌ Save feedback for performance reviews  ✅ Ask "What do you think?" to encourage self-correction  → Builds performance and accelerates improvement Compelling Selling  ❌ Focus on what the company needs  ✅ Focus on selling the "WHY" behind the mission  → Employees commit to purpose over paychecks Continuous Improvement  ❌ Accept "that's how we've always done it"  ✅ Regularly prune unnecessary work  → Reduces waste and increases efficiency Confident Vulnerability  ❌ Pretend you have all the answers  ✅ Admit mistakes and demonstrate corrective actions  → Builds psychological safety and trust Strategic Delegation  ❌ Tell people exactly how to do everything  ✅ Set clear criteria, then let them own the "HOW"  → Empowers employees and develops capability And here's the crazy thing:  Everyone of these skills can be learned. 60% of new managers fail.  But only 15% get any training. That's why we built MGMT Fundamentals.  It's a 2-week sprint focused on the 80/20 skills you need. One hour a day.  Live, group coaching.  Learn alongside 50+ other leaders. Our last cohort for 2025 starts September 9th. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eweNaiCz Remember:  → Leaders don't hoard information. They share it.  → Leaders don't make people dependent. They make them capable. → Leaders don't solve every problem. They teach others to solve them. Your job isn't to be the hero of every story.  Your job is to help others become heroes of their own. ♻️ Share this with a new manager ready to lead differently 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more practical management insights

As a competent manager, you have the power to enhance your team’s performance, uplift their well-being, and inspire greatness. By positively influencing their work, relationships, and daily well-being, you significantly improve their lives. Conversely, a toxic managerial approach can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression, making work miserable. Supporting your team during tough times enhances their work experience. Considering that most people spend the majority of their lives at work, your role as a manager is crucial. Prioritize creating a positive environment where your team can thrive. Encourage them to seek opportunities that align with their needs and values. Your leadership directly affects their career satisfaction and mental health. Fostering a supportive and motivating workplace is imperative. Ongoing conversations are vital for motivation and positive mental health. Trust and an open environment bring security within team members, making them feel safe. As a manager, it’s your job to create a safe environment and nurture your team’s self-confidence and skills. Actionable Steps for Managers: - Enhance Performance: Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and offer growth opportunities. - Uplift Well-being: Promote work-life balance, recognize achievements, and encourage open communication. - Inspire competence : Lead by example, encourage innovation, and empower your team. - Foster Positive Relationships: Promote teamwork, respect, and collaboration. Resolve conflicts constructively. - Avoid Toxicity: Avoid micromanagement and foster trust by delegating responsibilities. - Create a Positive Culture: Value diversity, encourage continuous learning, and offer professional development. - Support Mental Health: Regularly check in, normalize mental health discussions, and provide resources. - Nurture Skills and Confidence: Provide constructive feedback, mentorship, and skill development opportunities. By taking these steps, you not only enhance team performance and well-being but also build a supportive and motivating workplace where your team can thrive.

When manager training is just a calendar of workshops, it's confuses activity with enablement. Here's what you can do about it... Content is just content if it's not deployed at the right moment, for the right manager, against the right challenge. When an L&D content factory runs in isolation, it rarely creates the opportunities to apply the learning and actually improve skills. Development at it's worst is one-size-fits-all. Static manager academies, generic leadership tracks, and 1 program delivered to 200 managers with 200 different problems. Development at it's best is surgical. That doesn't mean complicated; it means targeted. Here's an example: At Converse, training took the form of group coaching labs that were part learning and part diagnosis. Managers didn't discuss feedback in theory, they brought their real team feedback into the room, analyzed it together, practiced responses, and left with a plan tied to their specific gaps. The experience was anchored in live data and designed to reduce individual performance friction vs. trying to address abstract manager skill gaps. Before launching your next manager training: 1️⃣ Identify the specific challenge managers are facing right now. Are they new to role, giving feedback for the first time, scaling a team quickly? 2️⃣ Bring real data into the experience, such as upward feedback, engagement scores, or attrition trends. Don't have any? Start collecting it! 3️⃣ Create a mechanism after the session to help them apply it in their own context so they can shrink the knowing-doing gap. Development works when its anchored to expectations, triggered by feedback, and tailored to the manager in front of you. When multiple cylinders of the enablement engine are running together, performance improves. The goal shouldn't be more manager training, it has to be better manager performance. #managerenablementengine

We do not have a manager shortage. We have a training shortage. LinkedIn’s data says 69% of employees would quit over a bad manager. Only 30% want to become one. Nearly 3 in 10 say their boss is too stressed to support them. This is not a talent problem. It is a training problem. The CEOs in this photo chose a different path. They invested in their managers. We began with Positive Intelligence to lower stress and build clear thinking. This month, we practiced coaching skills, thanks to Vistage Worldwide, Inc. speaker Kim Ades, so managers can multiply results, not micromanage. The early wins are real. Less reactivity. Faster decisions. Teams feel seen and supported because leaders have a playbook, not just a title. I have made the mistake of promoting high performers without giving them tools. It backfired. Treat management as a craft, with practice and feedback, and performance follows. What your managers can start this month: • Coach before you fix, ask “What options do you see?” • Clarify decision rights, who decides, who is consulted, who is informed • Stress reset, three slow breaths before tough conversations, state the desired outcome first • Weekly practice, one coaching rep per manager, reviewed in a peer huddle • Measure it, track time to decision, rework, and “I feel supported by my manager” Takeaway: Bad management is usually a training gap. Fund a simple manager operating system, teach coaching, and build the mental fitness muscle. #marktaylorNYC

During my initial years as an Engineering Manager, my work day was over 10 hours, sometimes even more than 12 hours. I brushed it off as a sign of great work because I was always busy; however, it was a sign that I needed to learn more. If you’re extremely busy as a manager, you haven’t mastered your managerial skills yet. You need to take a step back and examine why you are busy. If your team: - relies on you for each small decision - doesn’t have a proper structure - doesn’t feel empowered - isn’t growing in career There’s a problem with your delegation. Your team should be able to perform equally well or better when you’re not actively there. If you think of it, it’s the ideal scenario. Your leadership is so effective that your team can deliver independently. As a manager, aim to scale the impact and deliver the best ROI through your people. True leadership isn't about being the busiest person in the room. It’s about empowering, delegating, building leaders, and taking on bigger responsibilities. How to Master Effective Management: 1. Empower Your Team: Give your team the authority to make decisions. Trust their judgment. 2. Create Clear Structures: Set up clear processes and guidelines. Ensure everyone knows their role. 3. Delegate Wisely: Assign tasks based on strengths. Let your team handle responsibilities. 4. Build Leaders: Develop leadership skills within your team. Encourage growth and learning. 5. Focus on Big Picture: Spend time on strategic planning. Let your team handle day-to-day tasks. Effective management means more than just being busy. It’s about creating a team that thrives even when you’re not there. Aim for true leadership.

New managers need a confidence boost in their new roles, but often struggle with operational tasks (like giving a pay increase or managing a headcount budget) as well as leadership capabilities (such inspiring people, delegating, or providing great feedback), yet most leadership development programs over-rotate one or the other. How do you best balance both? And how do you create the environment where leaders can hone their skills? That's what I explored with Kendra Proctor Goldbas in our The Josh Bersin Company WhatWorks podcast. Listen in to learn how 🎙️ PayPal is enhancing manager capabilities through the MAPS (Managing at PayPal Successfully) program, a collaborative learning initiative designed to equip managers with both operational and leadership skills. As Kendra highlights, this program is a "gift" for new managers, providing them with essential tools for success balancing both "management" and "leadership" skills and supported by on-demand resources and community. 🔍 A unique aspect of the program is "precision skilling", where each manager selects one key behavior to focus on after completing core training. They work with experts from Growthspace to refine these skills, ensuring personalized learning and fostering accountability. 🌍 PayPal's approach to a hybrid work environment is also noteworthy, supporting global collaboration and innovation. The results of MAPS have been impressive: increased manager effectiveness scores and a strong pull from managers eager to participate in the program, illustrating its integration into PayPal's culture. Kendra sums up her learnings from spearheading MAPS: "Perfection does not exist - partner effectively with the business to understand what's most important, iterate, test, and be willing to scrap what not's working." 📈 Tune in to discover how PayPal is setting a new standard for manager development! #LeadershipDevelopment #HybridWork #PrecisionSkilling #PayPal Josh Bersin

Managers, this is the way: 1) Learn about yourself. DISC, Strengths, User Manuals are great tools. 2) Learn about your people. Have them use the same tools. Discuss the results. 3) Define responsibilities. Get input from your people. Avoid listing tasks. Focus on value created. 4) Define employee authority. Specify what actions don’t need your input. 5) Delegate effectively. Explain what (management), why (leadership), how (coaching). Check-in regularly. Offer support. 6) Define quarterly goals. 3-6 SMART team goals. Review and finalize with team. Publish where everyone can see them. 7)     Help employees define individual goals. 3-6 SMART goals. Review and offer feedback. Publish to entire team. 8)     Hold weekly team meetings. 30 minutes. Same time each week. Review team goals. 9) Hold 1-on-1’s. Weekly with each employee. Prepare questions. Record development goals. Hold accountability for achievement. 10) Conduct Business-Relevant Reviews. End of quarter. 45 minutes with each employee. Send a short summary of their goal performance 1-2 days before. Rate their performance: A, B, or C.