Format: DVD
From: Supernova and Fenman
Price: £1,199 (p&p extra) Special offers linked to multiple purchases are available from Fenman
Many training films try to point viewers to the answers. This film encourages its audience to ask the right questions and will stimulate plenty of discussion on what makes a good leader and whether management and leadership use the same set of skills.
The Leadership Management Mix shows a selection panel at a new large contact centre in a rapidly changing company. They are trying to choose between two candidates to find a manager for the centre.
Their choice is between Helen Fisher, who was in charge of the previous contact centre for 20 years, and Nisha Patel, an emerging star who is known for her people skills.
Ben, from head office, sits in with the panel and points out the qualities required for the new post, particularly as the organisation has been reshaped.
A series of flashbacks allows the audience to judge the candidates’ skills. It shows various scenarios such as interviews with the two candidates and what happened when they had to tackle difficult situations. I found these glimpses of the past to be very effective and I built up a picture of Helen as firm, fair, focused on deadlines and results, but rather blinkered, and Nisha as open-minded, keen to grasp opportunities to develop her team but slow to delegate.
We also watch the panel turn over in their minds which type of manager the organisation needs. And then it rather cleverly ends. By this point the audience should have grasped the difference between a manager (Helen) and a leader (Nisha).
There are enough talking points for a facilitator to encourage a group to discuss how to identify their development needs as a manager and leader.
I was impressed by the accompanying booklet, which covers the strengths and weaknesses of leaders and contains ideas for timed workshop sessions and discussions. In all, this a well-balanced package which would offer plenty of mileage on leadership debates.
Relevance? 5 stars (out of 5)
Interactivity? 2 stars
Value for money? 5 stars
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