Managers as Developers of Others

Organisations are now placing heavy emphasis on the role of the manager as coach, and on the workplace as a learning environment.

Some managers take on other formal development roles, eg as mentors. Some find themselves offering more informal support to staff who may not work for them directly. All these managers need a practical idea of how to 'develop others' effectively.

The research set out with the specific aim of generating some vivid and detailed evidence of what good (and bad) development by managers really looks like.

This report contains a literature review of ideas about managers as developers of others, presents the IES research findings, including a framework for managers, and relates some of the narrative accounts collected.

These will prove useful to HR managers, trainers, line managers and employees, in gaining a richer understanding of the nature of development support.