Mannaz nominated for prestigious award

By Kenneth Mikkelsen, journalist, Controverse

The international leadership and capability development institute, Mannaz, was among the three finalists in Brussels when the global organization EFMD on June 11 2007 handed out their prestigious award for innovative learning in management education. Winner of the award was the UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program. But being among the three finalists is a huge recognition of the work Mannaz is doing on developing leaders.

”We came close to winning the award. Yet we are very proud of being recognised as one of the three finalists. It shows that Mannaz belongs in the international elite when it comes to developing leaders. At the same time it states that we are capable of building up partnerships with multinational companies and customize leadership training at the highest level,” says Jeremy Hill, former director of Mannaz in London.

World-class training

Mannaz was acknowledged for one of the most ambitious leadership development programmes across Europe carried out for the IT services organization, Fujitsu Services. Involving 2,200 managers based in 13 different countries, participants were able to follow the same, three-stage program delivered in 11 different languages. The aim of the Management Academy was to develop the company’s existing employees into more effective people managers. The program was a consortium approach, involving Mannaz and also Oxygen Learning, leadership and teamwork specialists, and Track Surveys, specialists in the 360-degree feedback process.

”Fujitsu Services made this major investment to develop our people managers, many of whom are primarily technical experts, rather than specifically trained line managers. The aim of this venture was to improve individuals’ capacity and capability to ensure an increase in their contribution, and help maintain the performance and growth of the business. A variety of measurement tools and pulse surveys has been used to gauge impact, quality and organizational shift resulting from the introduction of the academy. The surveys have revealed a five-percent uplift in people manager approval after the first module – representing a significant shift in employee opinion,” says Ian Williams head of organization and people development at Fujitsu Services.

The last two years Mannaz have been busy assisting in the design and delivery of this extensive people-development program One of the most critical issues was combining a multi-dimensional global approach with local flexibility. The teaching staff come from an extensive network of business psychologists and consultants that Mannaz cooperates with in Europe.

”Very few providers of management education are capable of delivering a tailored program of this scope and quality and ensure that the development of skills leads to competitive advantages. Our work for Fujitsu Services has already let to inquiries from several multinational companies. In response to this we are expanding our offices in both London and Brussels,” says Jeremy Hill.

Learning in partnership

The ambition behind the award is to promote strong partnerships between providers of management development and both public and private companies. Jan Kingsley is the director of the corporate services at EFMD and leader of the initiative. He emphasizes that the award should be seen as recognition of excellence in management development. The winner was selected based on innovation and creativity in the learning approach, its effective partnering with a corporation, cultural diversity, sustainability and strategies for learning transfer.

“We want to generate more awareness of innovative corporate learning and unique partnerships in the field of management development. We think the competition will act as a showcase for innovation and new ideas on how to efficiently develop leaders,” Jan Kingsley explains.

The jury panel, composed of representatives from the EFMD Corporate members, Business Schools and Executive Development Centres, chose the UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program as the winner of the competition from a total of 13 cases worldwide.

“We were impressed by the quality of cases submitted, as well as by the varied and rich perspectives reflected. But the three finalists really stood out from the rest,” says Jan Kingsley.

Facts on European Foundation for Management Development

EFMD is a global organization devoted to the continuous improvement of management development. The organization brings together leading academics and senior executives from business schools and companies. More than 15.000 management development professionals are actively involved in the network. EFMD has 640 member organizations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in more than 70 countries.