Senior Leaders

Pre- Programme Assessment

Input: A series of up-front assessments which include the following,

  1. COTW 360-degree feedback online assessment
  2. DiSC behavioural Profile – Optional but we think is important
  3. Strengths Finder – Understanding both individual and team strengths. Again optional but we think important to achieve the learning outcomes.

Assessments to be organised ideally 2 months prior to start of programme and staggered

Delivery

5-day programme, over a period of up to 12 months, consisting of:

  • 1-day intensive group immersion face to face
  • 6 x half-day online sessions
  • 1-day final group session face to face

3 months after last delivery day – Half day online: Impact and Reflection

Optional 1 – 1-1 coaching sessions, 1 hr duration,  depending on the individual and their need

OR

Optional 2 – 2-hour online coaching / check-in group sessions every 2/3 months (group coaching)

Duration

Approx. 2 to 4 weeks between modules so 2 to 6 months (excluding the 3 month gap to module 7)

Delivery will include 2 day face to face workshop /events for Module 1 and Module 7  with 6 virtual online workshops.

Objective

The programme will help support existing senior leaders to become self-aware strategic thinkers with executive presence.  Using the skills, behaviours and mindset required to be effective in their senior management and leadership roles in initiating and driving through change as well as cementing consistency in approach.

Outcomes

To be agreed in consultation  but can include the following:-

  • They will not only understand leadership models but learn how to positively apply them;
  • Heightened Self-Awareness -They will understand themselves , the way they behave and how this impacts on others;
  • Develop greater resilience;
  • Gain an understanding of how to develop and maintain an organisational culture;
  • Gain an understanding of how to adopt strategic thinking;
  • Greater understanding of their own strengths and how to use them to deliver high performance through others;
  • Greater awareness f one’s own leadership brand and how to link to executive presence;
  • Be able to build a leadership playbook incorporating best practice;
  • Be able to build a peer support network;
  • Be able to reflect on and review ongoing practice for continual improvement.

Throughout the programme:

  • We build in various assessments which all supports the candidate’s self-awareness and future growth potential.
  • We will recommend relevant podcasts / Ted Talks to study both in the sessions and, importantly, as part of self-study prior to the distance-travelled sessions.
  • There is an element of self-learning and research projects the team will undertake following the intensive 1-day start and before the distance travelled sessions later in the year
  • The sessions are practical and involve real work examples – Our experiential approach to training that is learning by doing not just sitting and listening.
  • We encourage this group to form their own network and will help them set this up so they understand what they can get out of this, and assist them with action learning sets.

Leading Self

Module 1 – Leading Self and Being Good With People 

Understanding yourself at a deeper level, what is your ‘go to’ behaviours when under pressure, what others see and how we do modify those behaviours when we need to. This day explores the following,

  • Your individual and team behavioural style

All possible DiSC personality types

• Your top strengths, both as an individual and as a team.

  • Your current leadership performance, as seen by you, your team, your peers and your leader – our internal 360 leadership tool.

Now you know yourself, and you understand more about your team and your peers, how do you build a healthy culture, that has psychological safety at its very heart.

Inclusion safety – This is considered the foundation of psychological safety. It involves creating an environment where everyone feels respected, accepted, and included. This can be achieved by valuing diverse perspectives, providing equal opportunities, and asking for input from the team.
Open communication – This involves listening to and valuing the views of team members. It can lead to higher job satisfaction and productivity.
Learner safety – This involves feeling safe to ask questions, give and receive feedback, and make mistakes.
Trust – Trust is a vital part of psychological safety.

Module 2: Using a Positive Leadership Style To Land Impact. (online, half day)

Do we really understand how to be an ‘impactful’ leader. What role does positive leadership play. How can we enhance performance through the science of positive leadership

  • How do we cultivate a growth mindset?
  • What does ‘being an impact’ player really mean?
  • How do we lead with curiosity?
  • How do we foster a positive mindset?
  • How we influence by doing what needs to be done…

Module 3 – Developing Personal Resilience

How can you be the best version of yourself 24 hours a day – you can’t! People have to work smartly and can’t be always ‘on’ for the purposes of work. This is not only detrimental to that person’s effectiveness but also their mental and physical wellbeing.

Vulnerability
Vulnerability is often seen as a weakness, especially in work settings. In fact, letting others know that you sometimes feel vulnerable is a sign of strength: it taps directly into emotional intelligence and authenticity – the authentic leader. The best workplaces encourage managers to value honesty over correct answers alongside offering gratitude for emotional candour.
People are emotional first, cognitive second.

Trust
Trust and vulnerability are close bedfellows. Trust ratings by staff tend to increase when vulnerability is treated with respect and in a human way. Feeling that you can express how you feel at work and to be treated professionally and with respect in response, leads to greater fulfilment and connectedness with colleagues as well as higher quality work output.

Supporting mental health
Managing negative stress (strain) and anxiety (the problematic emotional arm of stress) is a major fundamental skill to adopt.
Misperception of the stressors is the usual cause of impaired decision making and increasing feelings of anxiety.

Leading Others

Module 4 – Organisational Culture & Strategic Thinking

This module will look at  Shaping organisational culture and values. The team answer a series of questions on the culture as it is now and the culture they want it to be (future).
This will give us data on where they are now, where they want to be and the gap. We also explore what behaviours contribute to how they describe the current culture.
We will explore other organisations, their cultures and analyse how others work.

What does a strategic thinker look like, how do you articulate a compelling organisational vision. How do you lead through uncertainty? How do you weigh up  short-term objectives with long-term goals.

Module 5: The Creation of High Performing Teams

Connecting what we do every day, to our compelling vision

  • Explore what your team does, and how it contributes to the company vision.
  • Connect their work, to the goals of the company so they understand their role in this.
  • Build this on the day, then use this to engage your team on their thoughts.

Explore Lencioni’s 5 behaviours model

  • Why trust is at the heart of just about everything
    • Showing your authentic vulnerability
    • Feedback is part of your DNA
  • Healthy Conflict
    • Explore psychological safety
    • Radical candour and its place in giving and receiving feedback
  • Commit to Decisions
    • Your meeting behaviours
    • Committing to the cause
  • Taking Accountability
    • Managing performance
    • Calling out peers by engaging in feedback
  • Focus on Results
    • The delivery of the first 4 steps in the triangle will deliver results
    • How focused are you on both individual and collective results

We take a closer look at what makes a great team player…. Humble (no ego), Hungry (ambitious), and Smart (high emotional intelligence)

Throughout the session, they answer a series of assessment questions on the 5 areas above. We present them with their overall score, and then explore how they plug the gaps. This then brings the day together, by building a team behavioural plan which both the leader and the team will jointly own.

Optional:  1 hour coaching sessions per candidate (beginning half way through the programme, over a 4 month period (every 5 weeks).

Outputs: A full developmental plan, coaching goals & assessment of goal achievement at the end.

An option to purchase further 1-1 coaching sessions.

OR

Group Coaching & Action Learning

2-hour group coaching sessions – throughout the duration of the programme

Module 6: Building Your Brand Through Executive Presence – Who Are You and What Do You Stand For

How do we develop 5 key elements of your brand

  • Self-awareness
  • External awareness
  • Strategic thinking
  • Executive presence
  • Thought leadership

Building a learning culture – you first, then your team

  • Explore the concept of small wins (transformation with a small ‘t’)
  • Developing a learning organisation – start with you, then your team
  • Developing your curious mindset

Module 7: The Leadership Playbook (Our Future Generational Leadership Commitments)

We determine your ‘Smart Plays’ as a leader

Are you set up to lead a future multigenerational workforce, in a VUCA world.

Do you understand a what each layer of a multi-generational workforce wants from a workplace, and their leader

Are we prepared for the future

Let’s talk about: The notable 9 (a set of 9 mindsets and skills a future leader requires)

Mindsets: Global citizen, servant, chef, explorer

Skills: Coach, Futurist, Tech Teenager, Translator, Yoda

Finally, the last part of this brings all the learning together. The group will come together and work through their main takeaways from each of the sessions, and build their own leadership playbook of ‘smart plays’ built from learnings, their research and how they want to see their future self, some examples below;

  • I understand I am ….. and I understand my team need something different, what are those things (taken from day 1)
  • I am building a psychologically safe environment by adapting x practices
  • The practices I am putting into play being a high impact player are ……
  • I am going to build a high performing team by…….
  • I can help develop the organisational culture by…..
  • I can become more resilient by……..
  • I will spend more time thinking strategically about….
  • I am going to demonstrate positive leadership by…….

Module 8: Half Day session Evaluating the Impact

This session gives the opportunity for learners to reflect on their time back at the workplace and assess how well they’ve retained their learning, how well they’ve applied it and if well what impact has it had on them their teams and the organisation. If barriers have been encountered are these common to others and how have they been overcome.