by Doug Gray | Jul 21, 2013 | Business, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, strengths, talent
Yesterday I met with an economic buyer who did not know the potential of her company.
She was representative. So here are some trends and resources and options for you and your colleagues to consider:
1. Customized leadership development programs are the new norm. (Whatever the phrase “new norm” truly means…) Off the shelf programs simply do not work well.
2. Leadership development programs are a $170 billion dollar industry, according to the ASTD, American Society of Training and Development. Corporate earnings are at an all-time high, and individual wage earnings are at an all-time low. Hence, the market opportunities are in corporations that are willing to invest in professional development.
Most leadership development programs fail because they are events, rather than a process based on assessment, consulting, and coaching.
3. “Training” is dead. Training teaches content to a norm. Training is becoming digital and shorter because our digital workforce demands that change. And most training managers do not resist. They are frightened and struggling for funding. At a recent conference for learning and development managers one presenter shared how her department generated revenue (rather than costs) by video taping and selling training modules for their strategic partners. The audience “oohed and ahhed.” However, no one asked, “What will occur 3 years from now when the modules are all digital and only 30% are being passively used by workers who are mandated to take the modules?” Or, “What about the need for powerful interactions between people that only occurs in a live, synchronous event?” Sadly, training is dead.
4. Some “leadership development companies” have survived to date despite the fact that they are event-based. Most challenge courses have been retired. Most companies regard “team building” as an occasional expense- and send people to events such as a spa, winery tour, amusement park, or golf courses. These events are not integrated into strategic needs for most corporate buyers.
5. Leadership development programs can be integrated into strategic needs, and they can target specific needs and industries. We have done so for years. With metrics and case studies that satisfy any cautious economic buyer.
6. Future business revenue for leadership development companies will come from select alliances/ partnerships with service providers who can a) provide customized content in related subjects, such as assessments, change management, operational efficiency plus b) targeted sales to high growth industries such as health care, technology, and mid-market businesses. The money exists.
Leadership development companies can make big money by targeting those industries.
Call me for details on global leadership development coaching with the largest providers of assessments and coaching and consulting.
And stay away from any providers who are not affiliated with partners who can provide the scope your company needs.
The “next normal” (whatever that phrase means) in leadership development requires smart alliances and partnerships with trusted service providers.
by Doug Gray | Jul 9, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, strengths, Success, talent
When I studied decision-making in college, the thinking was linear. Stimulus A caused response B. I wonder, if have we have learned much since then… My undergraduate psychology classes were at Hamilton College, the alma mater of B.F. Skinner, a leader of behaviorism.
My graduate classes in developmental psychobiology were at Dartmouth College, the alma mater of Dr. Seuss and countless global leaders of business and industry.
Recently I read about neural clusters in our brains. Imagine several constellations or galaxies of brainwave activity. Both chemical and electrical activity. Like constellations or galaxies in the solar systems. Now imagine that these neural clusters are both elastic and dynamic. In other words, when we reinforce certain pathways or patterns (called functionalism) then we strengthen neuronal pathways. And when we learn new knowledge (like a foreign language or an insight) then we strengthen the neural constellation so that it can sort through the past memories (called schemas) to create some new sorting system (called data.) We know that some 60% of our behavior is patterned responses, monitored in the basal ganglia. And we know that most new knowledge causes stress.
No wonder humans resist change. Change, defined as any external new stimulus, forces us to re-sort data. Change requires the brain to work in new ways. The larger the organization, the more we resist change.
When faced with decision making options we often think of risk taking vs. risk avoidance. As if the world were so linear… My masters research on risk-taking behavior found that risk-taking is complex, like so many other human behaviors.
What if, instead, we adopted a non-linear view of decision making?
My revised model (of the moment, subject to change) looks something like this:
- We perceive Stimulus A
- We sort through a neural constellation of jumbled data, memories, images, schemas, etc
- We adopt a positive feeling that we have an infinite number of responses
- We select a Response B because it promotes some social good
The positive psychology movement has done extensive research in related fields. Yesterday I learned that the most popular course at Harvard College, led by Shawn Achor, is called “The Happiness Advantage.” Read Martin Seligman. He led a reversal in the American Psychological Association within the last 20 years- away from mental illness and toward mental health.
The coaching client who just left my office is adopting a similar approach.
How about you? How do you describe change?
by Doug Gray | Jul 8, 2013 | book review, Business, change, Coaching, strengths, Success, talent
I wrote this book in 2007 when preparing for a relocation. Yesterday I re-read chapter 1. It provoked me, and it should provoke you.
Here you go:
Passionate Action, Chapter 1
To order the full book, go to https://actionlearnin.wpengine.com/main/page_products_products.php
Please forward this chapter to anyone who may need to be provoked!
by Doug Gray | May 13, 2013 | book review, Business, change, Sales, strengths, talent
I’ll give the book 5 stars for the model, and 3 stars on the writing quality. This review will focus on the model behind “The Question.”
The subtitle explains its lofty vision: “Ask it and transform anyone’s future”
This book was referred to me by several clients. They had taken part in the Strategic Coach Program. They wanted to work with me because they needed more customized executive coaching.
Also, I have been solicited by Strategic Coach sale people to attend their program. (I must have attended a webinar.)
Dan Sullivan has coached over 13,000 business leaders and entrepreneurs, over 20 years.
So, what is the one question that 1) warrants a book, 2) warrants so much acclaim?
He starts the book with an anecdote from a business leader who feels: 1) confused, 2) isolated, and 3) powerless. Despite his financial success, he is working long hours. He needs a better system. Like many people, that business owner is seeking how to 1) transform confusion into clarity, 2) isolation into confidence, and 3) powerlessness into capability.
Sound too magical or impossible? Give this review another minute.
Imagine that you respond to that business leader with a question of your own. Your question has two parts. Part one is this:
“If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?”
Sullivan found that 85-90% of these business owners pause, then provide a substantial answer. These are the “users.” These people become your prospects and clients. And you can ask them part two of the question.
5-10% of the business owners are confused. They cannot abstract or imagine the future in this way. These are not your prospects or clients. Thank them and move on.
And less than 5% of the business owners are “refusers.” They are not willing to embrace a relationship. They refuse to answer the question. Therefore they have just saved you tremendous time and energy. Thank them and move on, quickly.
Notice how you are pre-qualifying your prospects? Notice how the question is all about building rapport? Notice how the question is all about the other person– their aspirations and vision?
Humans are aspirational.
Some characteristics of this question include:
1. it is futuristic, and implies a continued relationship with you
2. it is specific to a time period– “in three years”– which most people can envision and describe
3. “looking back” requires synthesizing skills, abstraction, and specific descriptions
4. “for you to feel happy” is subjective, and happiness is the primary motivator for mankind. Through all recorded history.
Now that you have asked that business leader part one of the question, you are ready for part two. Sullivan calls part two the D.O.S., an acronym standing for Dangers, Opportunities and Strengths. You can use simialr words. The point is to use specific words that help others clarify their intentions into actions.
Part two of the question is:
“Specifically, what dangers do you have now that need to be eliminated, what opportunities need to be captured, and what strengths need to be captured?”
This structure invites the other person to articulate specific Dangers/ Opportunities/ Strengths. When I have used this question I ask for permission to record notes. Then I help the other person articulate their top three items. Then I provide those notes as a gift. Or a coaching focus. The results have been astounding.
Now imagine putting part one and part two together…
“If we were having this discussion three years from today, and you were looking back over those three years, what has to have happened in your life, both personally and professionally, for you to feel happy with your progress?”
“Specifically, what dangers do you have now that need to be eliminated, what opportunities need to be captured, and what strengths need to be captured?”
Can you imagine adopting this as a script?
Print this blog article. Forward it to your team. Then adopt this script.
It has helped me. It has helped thousands of entrepreneurs focus on adding value and transforming others.
Yes of course, I can help you implement this model into your business.
Then call me at 704.895.6479. Tell me what you think.
Or add a comment below…
.
by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | change, Employment, Leadership, strengths, talent, talent assessment
Throughout my career I have always done one thing: leadership development.
And my career has catapulted at many times… Specifically, whenever I partner with smart people doing great work.
In 2012 I partnered with Adam Ortiz, PsyD, Chris Leupold, PhD, and the team to provide predictive talent assessments for a large global F100 company.
These multi-rater, multi-method assessments are described below. The process is the most effective, valid talent assessment I have experienced to date. Please call me at 704.895.6479 to learn how we can provide this assessment for your senior leaders.
Executive Development Consulting
As a premier provider of executive assessment and coaching services, we excel at understanding our clients’ situations and helping them drive business results. EDC employs experts who are Ph.D.-level Organizational Psychologists, and possess more than 15 years of consulting and corporate experience working with C-suite and senior-level executives. Our depth of experience in working with companies of all sizes, and across the globe, is a key differentiator, and rather than relying on abstract concepts, EDC integrates proven methods for assessment and development. We design these methods to work within the parameters of your environment and can be tailored quickly and cost effectively. Our solutions equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to achieve their goals.
Our Approach
Understanding what is required to excel is critical to individual and organizational advancement. We systematically define success in each client’s organization by asking questions that hone in on core competencies and underlying behaviors. We then use in-depth, behavioral interviews, 360-degree assessment, and psychological inventories to objectively assess those competencies and behaviors. Our goal is to provide a clear, accurate and relevant picture of your talent and where to most meaningfully invest your resources.
How We Add Value
We help our clients identify and develop their number one resource, their people. We do this by partnering to define the competencies critical to success, measuring them and developing the organization’s leaders with those competencies as the focal point. We equip individuals and organizations with the tools they need to turn executive assessment and development into sustainable advantage. Our practices are proven to achieve and sustain higher levels of leadership effectiveness, and are based on best practice research of leadership development strategies.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy on development and coaching is that people grow by applying learnings to real world situations. EDC directly links executive development to individual and organizational needs by addressing values, motivations and behaviors in ways that support the achievement of development targets. Our approach links self-awareness with business results.
by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | Business, Coaching, strengths, Success
Imagine a mega-lottery where they winner gains a lifetime of wealth…
All you have to do is rank the following in the correct order.
Question: what are the most important secrets to success in life and work?
____ talent ____ luck ____ambition
Yes, there is a correct answer.
Yes, I know the answer.
DO YOU?
Call me at 704.895.6479 or comment below…
Recent Comments