Chief Learning Officer - February 2008 - (Page 48)

human capital techniques for these teams, managing drawings and documents, planning and project management, and use of IT systems and structures. At the mid- to upper-management levels within an engineering or technical organization, leadership development activities incorporate greater attention to management capabilities. Topics such as managing people and resources, business management and business development play a greater role in developing an effective leader. As candidates climb the organizational ladder, technical leadership development requires a more substantial investment in formal training. The plan should result in the systematic development of a broader application of management and interpersonal skills, business acumen and technical depth. Professional development objectives can be satisfied through a series of internal short courses or external certificate and master’s degree programs. Depending on the candidate’s development path, degree choices might include an MBA, or, for those committed to leading technical organizations, a master’s degree in technical leadership or a technical discipline. A major challenge facing smaller companies is the ability to sustain a comprehensive technical leadership development program. The resource investment required is difficult to justify with what is typically a small number of candidates. One strategy is to develop a comprehensive initiative relying on external resources to supply continuing education experiences supporting an individual’s development plan. External offerings can be combined with internal, organization-specific training activities that make learning events relevant to the corporate culture and practice patterns of the enterprise. Learning organizations can form partnerships with university-based providers or professional societies that are effective in providing a portfolio of continuing education offerings to satisfy the organization’s technical leadership learning needs. Such partnerships must be well designed and support the strategic objectives of the organization, in addition to the tactical requirements of the learning function. At the strategic level, the learning objectives and curricular approach must support the organizational strategy and culture. At the tactical level, course offerings must support the requirements of the learner and the learning organization. Tactical requirements such as accessibility delivery mode and the inclusion of international standards and global consid- erations in the course content are equally important to program success. Chief learning officers are central to the partnering strategy. CLOs might source continuing education services from a variety of vendors or choose to limit their vendor community to one or two strategic partnerships. In making this decision, the CLO must consider the organizational and learner requirements, as well as the vendor’s capability and expertise. At a minimum, the vendor assessment should include an in-depth understanding of instructional design, delivery and support processes, technical depth, business model, instructional capacity and ability to meet evolving needs. Employing a tool such as a Pugh Matrix or “House of Quality” (quality function deployment) is very effective in understanding the “match” between the organizational requirements and the vendor capabilities. In addition to strategic partnerships, smaller organizations can create “virtual rotation programs” to achieve the breadth of experience found in the programs of large companies. The CLO and the functional manager can plan stretch and cross-functional job assignments that provide practical experience in functional areas, such as operations, manufacturing, finance and marketing. Membership on cross-functional project teams can provide rich experiences supporting leadership development objectives. Management must provide the candidate relief from regular assignments so they can give development the attention required to deliver value. Formal mentoring also is effective in technical leadership development. Keys to success include creating a quality experience and preparing mentors and managers to develop crucial technical leadership competencies. Today’s technical leaders, almost without exception, lack formal management training. In addition, their performance expectations vary widely, as well as their roles and responsibilities, depending on the organization. Key Competencies Successful technical leadership development programs feature close linkage of development activities to a technical leadership competency model. Leadership development activities, including candidate selection, content, individual development, evaluation and continuous-improvement activities, should all employ the competency model as the gauge for program development and oversight. The CLO plays a central role in the research and development of the competency model and managing its ongoing relevance to the enterprise. Academic and corporate technical leadership programs should consider an engineering leadership competency model that frames compe- February 2008 I www.clomedia.com I Chief Learning Officer 48 http://www.clomedia.com

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Chief Learning Officer - February 2008 Editor's Letter Table of Contents Business Impact Trends Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial Learning Solutions Home Depot: Building Better Associates CLO Profile Environment Realizing the Vision of “One Philips” Tactics Sun Microsystems’ Next-Generation Worker Video Game Recruiting Tool Productivity The Regence Group: Blended Measurement Human Capital NASA: A Case Study in Technical Leadership Development Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - February 2008

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