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Why should managers who are already at the helm of the company improve their skills, what will it give them and the business, and what determines the choice of training method, says Angelina Prisyazhnaya, producer of the MBA direction of Netology
Why managers need professional development
Managers have to constantly learn new disciplines, expand their knowledge and skills: this is evidenced by the trend towards continuous education. However, it is not the opportunity to expand their competencies that motivates them, but very specific triggers.
One of the common causes of obtaining additional education – the opportunity to change the field of activity or industry. In our country, according to a survey by Rabota.ru and Rambler, only 36% of employees work in their specialty. The rest more than once changed the sphere and retrained. Typically, the direction of activity or niche is changed by entry-level or mid-level specialists. But among top managers there are also such examples.
There are many new areas where one could try one’s hand, for example, FinTech, EdTech, LegalTech, and they seem attractive to many. But it is rare for a candidate with irrelevant experience or approach to be chosen for leadership positions. And that’s why you can’t do without additional education.
Another reason improve their qualifications – transfer to a foreign company and relocation. To work in a new (in a geographical sense) market for a candidate, the manager needs to thoroughly study all the subtleties and specifics of doing business, the legal framework and the consumer audience.
Third possible impulse for advanced training is digitalization. It is simply impossible to imagine a successful leader without knowledge of digital tools. Many executives from traditional business come to MBA programs, where, despite the fact that the transition to digital has been talked about for the past five years, it has not even been heard of. And more than half of Netology MBA students in their introductory briefs directly indicate that they come to business programs precisely for the digitalization of their business and for new team management skills.
How can you improve your skills
Method # 1. The first and most popular way to improve qualifications is gaining experience through solving real problems. This approach involves immersion in production processes, learning by doing and direct communication with the team and partners.
Independent search for suitable solutions, testing with “your own rake”, according to some leaders, teaches better than any trainings and courses. Communication with colleagues, partners and clients helps to develop the ability for critical thinking and strengthen relationships in the team, the employee also does not need to be torn between the main activity and training, attending conferences and trainings – it would seem that there is nothing more convenient and easier.
Nevertheless, this approach still has drawbacks: by learning only within the team, the employee ceases to see opportunities for growth, and it becomes more difficult for him to break out of the work routine. The view of many tasks is inevitably “blurred”: it seems to many that they simply physically do not have enough time for something other than their usual work tasks.
In a word, “training in the fields” can be most effective for new employees – this is an opportunity to introduce them to a new environment, familiarize them with the internal processes of the company and do it all within working hours. However, this way of learning is not always suitable for already experienced leaders and even deprives them of helicopter view, that is, to see the situation as a whole and in motion.
Method # 2. Another way to improve the skills of managers is to get additional education: for example, to study at a business school on an MBA program. In the eyes of many employers, such a diploma increases the competitiveness of a manager. Nevertheless, having an MBA is not a guarantee of success, because it is important for a manager to be able to apply the acquired knowledge in practice and bring new experience to the company according to the “jobs to be done” principle.
The advantages of this method of advanced training are for managers who are not going to change jobs, and for top managers who are determined to try themselves in a new field. The first ones can thus increase the efficiency of their company by studying a large number of business cases, relevant management tools, thereby changing their outdated management approaches. The second – while receiving a business education, they can meet future business partners or receive direct invitations to positions in other companies.
However, business education has a significant disadvantage – its cost. The best in the field of MBA, as shown by the annual Global MBA Ranking from The Financial Times, are international schools – training in them, as a rule, starts from $ 200 thousand per course. Not all managers are ready to give that kind of money for additional education, and even more so to leave our country for the sake of education.
However, the MBA format is actively changing: it is no longer the prerogative of exclusively large universities, it is becoming more flexible in terms of the need for full-time presence. There are Mini-MBA and executive-programs: the duration of training becomes shorter (about six months), and their cost, respectively, is lower. Such courses are easier to keep up-to-date: they are updated more often, and often based on feedback from the previous stream. Online programs are also developing. So those interested in additional business education have alternatives to full-time study abroad.
But according to the Skolkovo business school, short-term courses are more popular among our countries. They last less than a year (the exact period depends on the specific organization and direction), programs are updated more often than MBAs at universities and business schools, and the cost of education is less.
The disadvantage of such courses is that there are too many of them on the educational market. Such courses are easier to launch, so everyone who is more or less familiar with the topic makes their projects – for this reason, it is not always easy for a manager to find a quality short course.
Also, short-term courses do not provide comprehensive knowledge in a particular area, but develop a narrow set of skills or close a certain gap. If a top manager had an initial request for complex knowledge, then this is not enough to become a good manager. In addition, communities rarely form on short programs, there is no networking and exchange of experience between participants, and this is an important stage in obtaining expertise.
Method # 3. The third way to improve your skills is individual and group coaching sessions. Its obvious plus is in the personal approach and the development of specific knowledge that a manager needs. For example, a session might focus solely on strategic marketing or negotiation.
There are coaches who immediately help the manager understand his points of growth, what is better to focus on and how to learn it. They can simply motivate the client to engage in their own development, and suggest the best options for professional development. At the same time, it is better to combine individual sessions with group sessions, since teamwork is important for an effective manager. The disadvantage of working with a mentor is that knowledge is transferred by a specific person with his personal position: an alternative to his opinion will have to be sought outside.
The material was prepared for the special project “Guide to MBA”
Which approach is best for a manager?
The choice of the method of advanced training directly depends on the goals and objectives of the manager.
1. If getting a place in a foreign company and relocation is a priority, then it is worth considering a foreign business education. Building a business differs from country to country, which is why the following idea is so common: “Get an MBA where you want to work later.” The Graduate Management Admission Council, an international organization of business schools, indicates that seven out of ten graduates would not be able to get their current job in the US without studying for an MBA program.
2. If a manager remains in our country and does not even change his job, then obtaining an MBA will allow him to introduce innovative tools and approaches in his company based on the studied international and Russian experience. At the same time, it makes no sense to receive a business education abroad in order to work in our country later. According to an internal study by Netology, foreign MBA graduates often talk about the inapplicability of the acquired foreign knowledge in the realities of the Russian market.
3. If a manager decides to change the field of activity or industry, then he can start with shorter courses than MBA. A few months, most likely, will be enough to immerse yourself in, for example, FinTech and understand its features at a basic level in order to get a place in a company of interest to him. Even as they grow within the company, the employee will have to add trainings, individual coaching sessions and go through “training in the fields” in order to strengthen their competence in a particular direction.
After completing the courses, the manager should ask himself: what points remained incomprehensible, and which ones require more attention. It is by focusing on these answers that he can further work on his “clips” in coaching sessions, look for suitable seminars, webinars or longer programs.
Regardless of the goals of advanced training, the principle of an integrated approach does not lose its relevance. A competent leader should consider different points of view and approaches, get as much new information as possible, be aware of market trends and new directions. Therefore, methods can be combined – and then education will be as effective as possible.