McGreevy Consulting International
The Personal Development Programme
The Personal Development programme that is described here is designed to be a one-on-one, executive coaching process that is structured and delivered over a period of several weeks or months in order to accommodate the schedule of the participant.
It is designed to provide the manager with personal information specifically in the context of the occupational setting that can be evaluated and individual areas of development identified. This includes personality traits, behaviours, attitudes, preferences, values and skills. When this information is considered alongside experience and opportunity many areas of leadership and management effectiveness can be addressed.
From this comprehensive base of personal information, and driven off a series of objectives and criteria for success provided to us at the outset by the sponsor organisation, a participant and the consultant together build an action plan which is designed not only to help him or her to explore and develop ways in which strengths and skills can be enhanced, but also, and perhaps more crucially, to understand and to take on board certain weaknesses or limitations which may be preventing that person from fulfilling his or her career ambitions and personal aspirations.
Particularly relevant is the fact that this programme is developed around the corporate briefing and is tailored specifically to assist the individual to perform more effectively in a role he or she already has or, perhaps, is about to assume.
Throughout the programme, absolute confidentiality between the participant and the consultant is paramount. Feedback to the corporate sponsor aims to review general progress only: specifics will not be disclosed, unless this is agreed by all parties at the start of the programme.
The participant is encouraged however to share as much information as he or she wants with the line manager or with their HR contact. The corporate sponsor may be asked from time to time, to report on the success of the programme from their perspective. If at any time the circumstances alter within the organisation, then the corporate sponsor is asked to inform the consultant running the programme. Also any appropriate feedback of the programme is welcomed as this might be valuable in helping us to make any adjustments to the process that could be beneficial for all concerned.
The Structure
The programmes are structured using the following key components:
- The corporate brief
- The preliminary meeting
- The assessment phase
- The planning phase
- The developmental phase
- The follow-up
The Corporate Brief
A corporate brief is always taken by the consultant in order both to gain a full understanding of the way the candidate is viewed by the organisation, and also to obtain a clear input from the organsation about what it is they expect to see by way of a result from the PDP.
The person providing us with the brief will typically be the candidate's line manager, an H.R. executive or any suitable person of the company's choosing.
The sort of information we will typically solicit from the person providing us with the brief will be:
- Basic biographical details of the proposed candidate
- Perceived obstacles to maximum effectiveness
- Promotional prospects
- Details of the current and/or imminent role within the organisation
- Data from the most recent performance appraisal
- Behaviours that may need enhancement, development or eradication
- Information on how the person is perceived within the organisation
The corporate brief becomes for the consultant, effectively, the benchmark against which to build the action plan which leads into the most important developmental phase of the programme.
The Preliminary Meeting
For a PDP to achieve any value, the participant must buy into the process and feel committed to see it through to its conclusion. The purpose of this meeting with the candidate, therefore, is for us to explain the objectives and benefits of the programme, to outline its structure and to obtain the agreement of the candidate to proceed.
The Assessment Phase
To gather information about background, aspirations and characteristics of the participant various psychometric and behavioural questionnaires will be used. This audit of personal information follows the stages of development and influence that has contributed to the 'shape' of the individual.
The behavioural questionnaire that is used is a multi-rater instrument, which provides a complete assessment of strengths and developmental needs. It also offers an opportunity to identify success factors and derailment potential and chart goals for overcoming problem areas.
The feedback highlights 16 skills and perspectives that a manager can and must learn in order to be successful within an organisation.
- Resourcefulness
- Doing whatever it takes
- Quickly masters new skills
- Decisiveness
- Leadership skills
- Setting a developmental climate
- Confronting problems
- Team orientation
- Hiring talented staff
- Building and maintaining workable relationships
- Compassion and sensitivity
- Straightforwardness and composure
- Balance between personal life and work
- Self-awareness
- Putting people at ease
- Acting with flexibility
The Planning Phase
The data gathered from these exercises provides a gateway for the participant to talk about himself and share aspects of his behaviour, character and personality in terms of personal assets and liabilities. The participant and the consultant then discuss the areas upon which to concentrate during the main body of the programme. During this process, particular attention is paid to the corporate brief, to ensure that the next phase of the programme is fully relevant to the objectives laid out in that brief.
Setting personal objectives completes the buy-in process, and an action plan will be created which will constitute the body of the programme content for the series of two-hour meetings that will ensue.
The Developmental Phase
Each subsequent meeting will be focused on developing the skills identified by the manager personally. The action plan that has been developed is unique to the participant and can include any area of concern that is deemed to be having an impact on the effectiveness of the participant. The consultant assumes the role of "coach" to the participant and to assist this process a series of modules have been developed using the reported needs of participants as a guide.
Modules now cover the following areas:
- Management of conflict
- Time management
- Stress management
- Managing organisational politics
- Teamwork
These have been designed to be interactional between the participant and the consultant so that this is not viewed as a theoretical solution but one, which the participant himself has tailored to suit his own personal profile and working environment. Participants are encouraged to use this time to consider alternative management approaches and styles that would be more successful or less stressful. With the programme being designed as a series of meetings during normal working time and not a special course away from the work environment, it has been found that it is easier to introduce new approaches into the work environment on a gradual basis, thus making them more acceptable to colleagues.
As the programme concludes, the meetings will typically become more spaced and reduced in time to provide, if required, a longer period of support for the integration of newly acquired skills into the behavioural style of the executive. During this phase of the programme, the consultant's role naturally progresses from one of coaching to one of mentoring.
The Follow-Up
Once the formal programme content is complete, we follow up by suggesting a meeting with the client at the end of three months and again at the end of six months in order to ascertain how the individual is progressing.
It is common that, by virtue of the close bond that is established between participant and consultant during the course of a programme, a friendship is established whereby the participant may feel inclined to keep in contact on an ad hoc basis simply to discuss his or her ideas on an informal basis.
The consultants are always happy to provide our former clients with this assistance at no additional cost, and will indeed encourage them to contact us at any time should they feel we can be of help.