Chief Learning Officer - January 2008 - (Page 44)

learning solutions in practice: Macy’s: Using Feedback to Develop One Leader at a Time While you can’t personalize a leadership program without learning personnel, the right use of tools also can make a project much easier. Learning executives have no shortage of vendors lining up to help them in this effort, but they must tread carefully to avoid putting too much emphasis on the technology when implementing these programs. Employees with leadership potential are a unique group: Individually, they have the confidence to make decisions that impress superiors along the way. When attempting to encourage such individuals to move up the chain of command, maintaining a personal touch while properly gauging their behavior and reputation in relation to the company is a difficult balance. This is why most leadership developers use a blended approach in order to achieve such a balance. Practical simulations, executive coaching and mentoring are just a few of the methods used in a variety of leadership development initiatives to infuse their program with a personal touch. Another is a 360-degree feedback assessment, which helps to bring a holistic view of a leadership candidate. “A 360 assessment is basically a multirater feedback assessment,” said Debbie Friedman, operating vice president of the Leadership Institute at Macy’s. “The individual who wants feedback completes a questionnaire. The boss, the direct reports, the peers and the individual complete an assessment, which is a series of questions based on leadership behaviors. As a result of completing that survey, the individuals — when they come to training — get feedback on their strengths and weaknesses with quite a bit of specificity on leadership behaviors.” Friedman uses a 360 feedback assessment only for the upper-level, high-potential leadership program, which at Macy’s is an 18-monthlong process that prides itself on a pattern of feedback followed by opportunities to put it into practice. “We use it in our Leadership Choice Program, which is a transitionto-senior-leadership program we have here at Macy’s,” Friedman said. “We use a survey instrument called the ‘Profiler.’ The survey is completed prior to people coming into the program, and then they receive feedback upon arriving. What they learn about themselves is then integrated into the other pieces of their training.” The use of the 360 feedback assessment allows candidates going through the training to hit the ground running as soon as they start. From the perspective of the candidates, starting off their training with such direct, personal feedback, as well as a plan of action, is helpful in letting them know their improvement as leaders is necessary for the company. From the perspective of leadership developers, the wide-ranging feedback the 360 assessment gives can tell them whether or not candidates are truly formidable in the area of leadership — a must for training someone who will make important decisions affecting the company as a whole, Friedman said. “When we’re talking about a leader, it’s important to know how they’re seen from all parts of the company and not just that they’re well-liked from above.” — Ben Warden, bwarden@clomedia.com ship development with the efficient yet sometimes impersonal operating mode of a big company. Before attending the weeklong group program, participants meet with their supervisors to set objectives for their development. The preinterview helps give leadership applicants a chance to succeed while also providing them with the personal attention required to develop into great leaders. Following this session, part of the time is spent in a group setting, and all participants have equal access to the methods used to determine the aspects of leadership they need to work on individually. “I believe you can give participants the best of both worlds,” Friedman said. “In a structured program that has a personalized component, you’re helping people learn the overall strategies, business perspectives and skills that are required for success. You’re also personalizing it, so that individuals know exactly what they need to do on a personal level to enhance their leadership effectiveness for the future. “Although participants attend a program in a group situation, and many of the experiences throughout the program might be similar, there’s always the personal-assessment and actionplanning component for individuals. That may be in the form of psychological testing, interviews and the executive-coaching component. That makes it very personal, even though it’s a structured program and similar to what other participants would be experiencing while in the same program.” Before she became the company’s vice president of U.S. human resources two months ago, Sherry Vidal-Brown served as vice president of learning and development at FedEx Kinko’s for four years. In her previous role, she played an integral part in developing the leadership developmental program. Divided into four different parts that increased in responsibility — Levels 1 through 3, plus an executive tier — this program attempts to inject personal influence throughout each phase. “You have to be able to manage yourself before you can manage others,” Vidal-Brown said. “Our leadership model is one where that is put first, and then you can manage a system or a department. That’s why personal leadership and self-assessment components are critical. The types of selfassessment we use with an entry-level supervisor are a ‘paper and pencil’ kind that asks a series of questions about what their interests and preferences are. They’ll complete that during the training and walk away with three or four different things they’re going to take action on. We send a followup note card around six months later to inquire on the progress of those various issues they were working on.” Even though that basic structure is followed throughout all of FedEx Kinko’s learning program levels, there are some distinctions between them. For instance, the executive program lasts a year, whereas the entry-level portion is only a couple of weeks. Fundamentals of business and managing people are covered throughout each program, but an emphasis is placed on mentoring when it comes to high-potential candidates. FedEx Kinko’s has formal mentoring, aimed to pair candidates with executives within the company as part of their January 2008 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 44 http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - January 2008

Chief Learning Officer - January 2008 Editor’s Letter Table of Contents Imperatives Selling up, Selling Down Strategies Take Five Environment Sips of Knowledge at E. & J. Gallo Winery CLO Profile Productivity UST Global: Opening Employees’ Eyes to New Learning Tactics Applying CRM Concepts to E-Learning Human Capital Capital One: Experiences in Innovation Learning Solutions Macy’s: Using Feedback to Develop One Leader at a Time Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - January 2008

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