If you feel your management style is lacking, Chris Farmer has some ideas for that. Ironically, it was another not-so-impressive training program that convinced him he could do better.
“I started training originally for a company in London, but I felt that some of the traditional training material used on most management leadership courses are interesting but of limited practical value to the manager in the work place,” Farmer remembers.
“For example, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is interesting but it does not tell me what I need to say and what I must not say to the person who is late for work for the third time this week,” he added.
So Farmer tucked these little thoughts away to include in his own much more effective program some day.
“I recognized that people wanted answers to real everyday problems, problems like ‘how can I handle my difficult work colleagues’, ‘how can I improve my communication skills’, ‘how can I improve my planning and delegation skills in order to be a better leader?'” he explains.
Launching Corporate Coach Training
That new training program finally took shape in 1997 in the form of Corporate Coach Training. The new program would meet many of Farmer’s highest ambitions. It would answer real questions. Not just push theoretical ideas. And, from the beginning, he focused on practical application.
“I wanted our new and unique training material to offer practical and specific methods to solve the daily problems and challenges faced by people at work,” he explained. “I wanted our delegates to leave the training and return to work able to immediately apply their new skills.”
Farmer’s training programs have put him in demand giving him an opportunity to train but also to travel. But the goal has always been to share with others some of his core management philosophies.
“I enjoy teaching others and find real satisfaction from helping other people acquire new personal skills,” he says.
Spreading the Word
Many managers in different cultures and different places have been the beneficiaries of this experience.
“Recently I have been writing and presenting courses in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Holland, Germany, Spain, Scotland and England,” he says. “I have presented effective management, leadership, sales, accelerated learning, motivational, communication skills training, stress management and problem solving training programs for delegates of all types.”
In March 2010, Farmer also started sharing his observations about management with the BizSugar community through his Leadership and Management Training Blog. He has been a long time contributor to the community, and says the benefits of that relationship go both ways.
“I started sharing my blogs with the BizSugar community so that I might be able to offer other readers some practical help or advice,” he says. “I have found BizSuger a quality place with people who were really interested in self-development. It’s amazing to be able to reach out to business leaders from all around the globe.”
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