Over the last 30 years I haven't seen more than a handful of people go into managerial roles for the first time knowing instinctively what to do. Managing, like any other skill, requires knowing "what" to do and then practicing over time to get progressively better.

The "what" of managing is pretty simple, really. You need to know four things:

• what motivates you and others;
• what competencies are required for the managerial role you are fulfilling;
• what managerial style you need;
• what work environment will achieve the results you are expected to accomplish.

What's so hard about that? Like so many things, the tough part is in the execution. I think about managing as being analogous to executing a golf swing. Watching guys like Woods and Michelson on a Sunday afternoon, you could easily get the idea that spectacular shots are effortless. The part that doesn't get much attention on Sunday afternoon when they're making those great shots is that the pro practices all the time; when not in a tournament, he hits 500 practice balls a day. It's easier to make it look effortless on Sunday afternoon when you've hit 500 practice shots every day the previous week.

How does that apply to managers? In the same way that the golf greats learn to be great, effective leaders learn to be effective; they're not just born with effectiveness genes. Being an effective leader requires you to demonstrate capability (not just understand concepts) in the four areas listed above.

EASI·Consult, like many consulting firms, runs a program to help leaders understand and cultivate these skills. Known as L·2·G (Leading To Greatness), we don't just talk about what a leader needs to do; we help leaders develop and practice the skills they need. There are six parts to our program.

1. Measure. The participant completes questionnaires on motivation, competencies, management style and climate. Feedback is given during the initial meetings based on their own responses as well as those of the boss and direct reports.
2. Discuss. The first issue participants must encounter is reconciling differences between their own perspectives and others' perspectives of them. Once the "truth" is identified, then that "truth" must be compared to what is seen as effective performance. That helps the participant define how to be more effective.
3. Practice. We also include simulations in our training and development program so participants can begin to try new behaviors and work on the areas seen as needing improvement.
4. Plan. EASI·Consult works with participants to help them integrate all the information obtained in the training to strategize how to more effectively execute business objectives back at the office. We suggest that objectives be geared to accomplishment in the next 12 months.
5. Commit. We ask participants to state their objectives and plans to accomplish them publicly to the rest of the participants. This is where most training and development programs end. Participants leave the program, sometimes very excited about what they learned and how they plan to use what they learned to be more effective. Then their job and life get in the way. Eventually — maybe it's a few days or maybe a few weeks — things are back to the way they were before the participants attended the program.
6. Follow Up. We send each of the goals set to all participants in the program. By the end of the initial meetings, we have established dates for the six-month follow up session, which is a two-day meeting.. We start the session by having participants review the concepts from the initial program. Then we ask people to talk about the experience of trying to accomplish their six-month goal. We tell participants at the beginning of this session, "We don't care whether you haven't thought about the goal since you left the initial session or if you've finished your goal. We do want you to talk about what worked from the original concepts and what was problematic. We also want to hear about what you learned." We finish up the two days with people stating their new or revised goals. Often times in this six-month session participants set up a network or support group to stay in touch between this point and the 12-month follow up.

When participants gather for the 12-month follow up, it's a different environment. No review of concepts is needed; participants speak the language. The atmosphere in the final follow up session, which is just one day, is one of helping and problem solving. Participants understand the concepts, and use them as a way to describe a situation in "shorthand". While some participants may not have done anything to accomplish their goal between the initial session and the six-month follow up session, work toward the goal has taken place between the six- and 12-month follow up sessions.

Throughout the 12-month process, the EASI·Consult facilitators encourage participants to try to attach a dollar and cents value to accomplishing their goal. Participants then get a real sense of accomplishment at being able to announce the accomplishment of their goal and the ROI for the organization.

The purpose of the program is to develop more effective leaders. The journey takes participants through an experience of discovering what they need to do to be more effective, taking their existing business objectives and using the content from the program as a strategy to accomplish the objective. Participants continue to learn how to be more effective leaders in the context of accomplishing their existing business objectives. In addition they learn about their ability to set and execute goals. Over time they learn how to give and receive help from their peers. In many cases participants realize the importance of accomplishing their objectives because they are able to quantify what completing the goals means to them and the organization. Most training and development programs never get past the euphoria of the initial program, thereby bypassing the challenge of execution and accountability.