In a recent study on Executive Education (due to be published next week!) we found that executives spend the greatest amount of their development time in the classroom, on average spending 38 percent of their time in instructor-led training (ILT); 16 percent in on-the-job experiences; and 10 percent on experiential activities. The remainder of their time is split almost evenly between coaching support, virtual classroom, online self-study and mentoring.

So how do you blend these activities together?  Quite frankly, blended learning for executives is really not dissimilar than blended learning for other levels of leadership.  The difference is that executive-level development requires a higher level of subject matter expertise, a bit more hand-holding and higher quality program design and facilitation.  These distinctions increase credibility of the program in the eyes of executives.

Based on our research and in speaking with many companies, we found that the following types of learning are most common for executives.  Any combination of these activities can have great results.

Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is highly appealing to executives.  This is because it doesn’t feel like training. As a matter of fact, in most cases the learning experience is occurring on-the-job or while addressing a real business issue.  There are four primary kinds of experiential learning, all of which can be highly effective:

1. Job Rotation - Job rotations programs allow executives to gain new experiences and skills in a real setting that is tailored specifically for their learning needs. See a description of HP’s director-level job rotation program.
2. Action Learning - Action learning is a process in which groups of learners collaborate to solve actual workplace problems. In this way, organizations benefit from gaining solutions to critical challenges and participants benefit by learning from their experiences. See a description of Cisco’s blended learning program, Executive Action Learning Forum.
3. Simulations - Simulations offer the opportunity for an employee to grapple with a "real world" challenge without the potential repercussions of making a "real world" mistake. It is best-practice to follow simulations with "debriefing" sessions during which participants then take what they have learned in the simulated environment and apply it to their real-world situations. See Sun Microsystems’ Simulation-based executive program  
4. On-the-job Learning - On the job assignments are invaluable to gaining new experiences. Leaders are able to perform and receive real-time feedback. People learn by talking with their managers, talking with peers, finding experts, and by making mistakes. There are multiple flavors to on the job development including expatriate assignments and project assignments.

Mentoring
Senior executives have different expectations of a mentoring relationship.  While, first level managers are looking for general guidance and support, executives look to mentors to help them improve decision making under increasing levels of uncertainty, manage the growing complexity of their job,  address rapid change, and balance life and work priorities.  Executives appreciate the mentoring relationship because they cannot discuss personal issues openly with colleagues.  Plus an outsider can provide an objective sounding board and a reality check, which is hard to get from insiders once you reach such a senior level.

Coaching
You may also want to consider if coaching is appropriate for your organization’s needs.  The goal of coaching is to help someone achieve his or her fullest potential, improve performance, develop skills and advance his/her career. Mentoring, on the other hand, is more appropriate for learning the ropes of a current role.  Coaching can be highly powerful for helping executives to interpret assessment feedback, create timely and relevant development plans, and improve communications.  One of the most powerful uses of a coach is to help the executive transition into their new roles as executives.  Executives are in the spotlight.  Their strengths are critiqued and their weaknesses are magnified.  A coach can help an executive change his behaviors in line with the demands of a role.

Assessments
Assessments are also powerful learning tools for executives.  These tools provide self-reflection and increase executives’ awareness of their strengths and weakness, as well as how they are perceived by others.  The most common assessments at the executive level include 360-feeddback, personality and leadership style.  Our Leadership Development Factbook describes the usage of various assessments for executives. 

How does your company develop its executives?  Does your company have a program that you believe is best-in-class? If so, let us know. We’d love the opportunity to showcase it in our library.  Send me an email at kim.lamoureux@bersin.com.