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So claims Tim Waygood. “Much of the Leadership Development and Team Building
carried out by British businesses is based upon “Army” type
training. These courses are expensive and completely irrelevant
to today’s workplaces. They are macho, physically based and
highlight skills which are relevant to hierarchical organisations,
but irrelevant to today’s flat, empowered and creatively
driven businesses”.
“Leadership
is situational – Churchill was a great Leader in a war situation,
but not in peacetime. Napoleon was a superb General, but
his skills would hardly be transferable to a fast growing
High Tech business in today’s environment.“
“Developing
Teamwork and Leadership are major issues, there are many
excellent speakers and trainers available but when it comes
to designing and implementing programmes, companies and training
professionals often use inappropriate exercises.”
“It
is a great shame that Leadership and Team Skills are not
taught adequately at an early age in schools or universities.
We have one Professor of Leadershipin the UK, there are over
300 in the US. So the private sector has to educate and train
their recruits, but to compete in the future we need to rethink
the exercises on which this training is based.” says Waygood.
“If
someone put me on a mountain with a group of co-workers,
woke me up in the middle of the night, shouted at me and
expected me to hump up hill and down dale, I would at the
very least refuse” Says Waygood. “And so I would not be deemed
a Team player or of Leadership potential, which would be
true in the context of an Army style organisation, but the
opposite when applied to business. I am not atypical, many
people who go on these courses cannot speak out, their companies
have paid for them, their performance will be fed back and
so they keep quiet.”
Instead
of “climb every mountain and test physical endurance” Waygood
advocates games, experiences and exercises based on Fun,
Creativity and Imagination. “At the very least, save the
money and take people down the pub for a good time – at least
then you won’t upset the talented people and wrongly write
off potential stars.”
“Experiential
learning – creating experiences from which lessons can
be learnt – is extremely powerful. But the design of the
experience has to be relevant to the workplace, or what
you want the workplace to be, for the appropriate experiences
to be gained. We use computerised simulations, making movies,
helping charities, business games, interactive theatre,
aspirational themes - more relevant and fun events.”
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