Why Invest In Leadership Training in 2019? - Part #4

Since September of 2018, I have been routinely writing about why we need to invest in leadership training at this time period. Now that the new year celebrations have all passed, there is one more reason why we need to create more and better leaders.

During the last 18 months, more and more for-profit organizations have chosen a strategic path of making major acquisitions of other companies. In the world of non-profits, or as I like to call them, for-purpose organizations, there also has been numerous acquisitions plus many strategic mergers. The goal behind all of these actions is the belief that through these acquisitions and/or mergers along with a combination of greater efficiencies, standardization and centralization, a profit can be made or a greater capacity can be achieved to handle the current and emerging challenges in the market place. 

However, once the deal is done, one simple problem surfaces. Where are the leaders who will run the acquired companies or oversee those who have been merged? Typically, this element is forgotten in the rush to “close the deal.”

Nevertheless, there are companies who have not forgotten this critical element to success. They remember Packard’s Law which states the following: “No company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth with excellence.” Getting the right people means training key people to be the “right” people. In essence, you need to be developing leaders before you need leaders.

Also in highly effective companies, there is a deep understanding that once acquired or merged, the “new” organization needs to blend the two cultures and the two business models into one new culture and one business model. The ability of leaders to do this takes time, patience and clarity. It is not simply implementing a communication plan and hoping it all works out perfectly. Instead, it takes leaders at all levels of the company working together to make sure they are on-message in word and deed, recognizing that every beginning starts with an ending which needs to be treated with respect. 

Given these current strategic choices, the best companies are expanding their pool of leaders and preparing them to solve today’s problems and helping them be well prepared for tomorrow’s choices and opportunities.

If your organization needs to be better prepared, then now is the time to sign up your key leaders for the 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership Training. Through a challenging, interactive curriculum which blends lectures, selected readings, small and large group discussions, and how to skill-building exercises, participants in this four part leadership training gain critical knowledge and skills which improve their ability to help their people and the organization as a whole move through the process of mergers and acquisitions.

For more information about this unique training experience, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Leadership-Training.html

For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for the 2019 training, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2019

Now is the time to create leaders before you need them. I look forward to hearing from you in the coming days.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Why Invest In Leadership Training in 2019? - Part #2

There are two factors right now that are impacting the world of leadership and the ability of organizations to meet the needs of it’s customers. The first is called the “Silver Tsunami.” This refers to the fact that the enormous Baby Boomer generation is aging. By 2020, 25% of the United States workforces will be comprised of workers age 55 and older. Worldwide, those age 60 and over are expected to double by 2050, and triple by 2100. 

With this aging of the workforce will come a major exodus, i.e. retirement, of people in key leadership positions. While some companies are focused on a talent acquisition strategy to solve this problem, others are trying to figure out how to keep Baby Boomers working and how to prepare Gen Xers and Millenials to step up to the next level of leadership. 

The second factor is not so noticeable as the Silver Tsunami. It is under the radar screen and yet it is definitely impacting strategic and operational execution. People who work on teams right now are struggling because the idea of what is a team is shifting. For decades, teams have been analog based. Everyone worked in the same office. Everyone saw each other every day. And people who lead these teams could build relationships and role model effective communications on a daily basis.

However, as teams have shifted from an analog model to a digital model given the movement to a digital economy, and as companies became more focused on centralization and standardization, then team members have became digitally connected, geographically dispersed and more project driven. Now team leaders have to lead people who they do not see face to face on a regular base, communicate with them via e-mail, and manage outcomes via dashboards and project management software. In short, leaders are struggling to meet expectations and deadlines. Many are not clear about their role.

So, why invest in a four part in-depth leadership training in 2019?

First, we need more people who have the capacity to step up and fill the positions that will come open during the next five years. We need bench strength, capacity and clarity before we need to execute rather than as we execute.

Second, we need leaders who have the mindset and the skill set to build effective teams, analog or digital.  Given the technical and adaptive problems that are surfacing at this time period, particularly the complex adaptive problems, we need leaders who can create and maintain a group of people so they can work well together, stay focused and solve these problems. This will require team leaders who can work with multiple generations of people, e.g. Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials, and keep them focused on collective outcomes rather than individual outcomes.

This kind of leadership can not be taught in a day long seminar. It takes time, in-depth learning, reflection, practice, reading and then more learning. The 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership Training is designed to create this depth of capacity and clarity. It gives participants the tools, the resources and a holistic understanding of how to solve problems, lead people and create effective change in the midst of such problems as the Silver Tsunami and the movement and subsequent struggle between analog team models and digital team models. If you are wanting to be prepared for the future, then now is the time to sign up your key people for the 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership Training. 

For more information about this unique training experience, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Leadership-Training.html

For more information about the dates, location and price of this 2019 training, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2019

I look forward to helping you and your company prepare for the future.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Why Invest In Leadership Training in 2019? - Part #1

I routinely get asked by people in leadership positions about why they should invest in more leadership training given how busy every one is at work. When every day is a mad rush to get everything done, sending some one to a four part, in-depth leadership training like the 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership Training seems to be a recipe for getting further behind and overwhelmed.  My answer is a simple: Being prepared for the future is never a waste of time and resources.

First, having taught this class for the past 20 years, I have noticed that alumni of the From Vision to Action Leadership Training have two things that differentiate them from others, namely a common language to explain what is happening in their organization when it comes organizational change and a powerful set of tools to work through the complicated and normal problems that come with change.

So many times when I get called in to an organization that is struggling and can not meet it’s goals or reach it’s full potential strategically or operationally, I discover that there is no shared, strategic mindset and no common language. While this may be stating the obvious, the lack of these two elements means that many senior teams can not effectively solve problems or make the right decisions. Most focus on control over command and many focus on order over alignment. Both of which cause short and long term problems in the areas of strategic execution or operational improvement.

Second, current and past students of the From Vision to Action Leadership Training have the tools and the language to explain what is normal as organizations create and execute their strategy or improve their day to day operations. For example, graduates of the From Vision to Action Leadership Training understand that denial and resistance are normal responses to change. Having participated in this in-depth training, these leaders have the ability to work through these normal behaviors. They recognize that denial is often about loss of clarity, competence and control, and that resistance is a form of feedback about these same issues. In short, because they are better trained, they then can make better choices.

In a time period when we need more people to be great leaders, we have to provide them with the tools, the understanding and the support to make that a reality. Now is the time to sign people up for the 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership. For more information about the 2019 class, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2019

I look forward to helping you and your organization be better prepared for the future.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257