Fast Company Issue 78: The Corporate Shrink

It's not on line yet, but the question posed in The Corporate Shirknk column of the January 2004 issue of Fast Company magazine read like this:

"I seem to be on the fast track at my company. The firm sends me to off-site leadership-training programs every year. Frankly, though, while I enjoy the week off and always come back energized, a month later I'm back to my old habits. Is it me, or is leadership training less than it's cracked up to be?"

The response, in part, read something like this:

"Ah, you've hit on one of the great unspoken dilemmas of the business world ... Your experience of leadership training is common. It's flattering to be sent and sometimes inspiring to attend ... But we just don't change our stripes all that much after a week of nearly anything ..."

This speaks DIRECTLY to the inherent value of the ongoing coaching process - something I've been talking about for quite some time. One of the pages on my website specifically discusses how coaching augments training, seminars and conferences. If you haven't looked at it recently, you may want to. And as you think about what seminars and conferences you'll be sending your direct reports to this year, you might want to consider augmenting them (or replacing them entirely) with an ONGOING commitment to your managers' professional development through 1-on-1 coaching, mentoring, and performance consulting.