DEVELOPING LEADERS
Great organisations and great teams are built on great leadership. Leadership is the driver of employee engagement, the catalyst for effective change, and the lynchpin of organisational success. Great leadership is not the sole preserve of senior decision makers – everyone plays a part in leading a team or company to success. At ThinkingOn we are passionate about creating great leaders. How do we do it?
There's no 'one size fits all' approach to leadership development, so at ThinkingOn we use a range of methods and interventions, including: |
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The Power of Programmes
We find that a programme of events spread over time (e.g. 4 sessions over 4-6 months) proves most effective for learners. It allows a range of methods to be introduced, so that all delegates find something which works for them. And 'transfer' (see below) from learning programmes is far higher than one-off events.
An example of a ThinkingOn leadership programme for new managers:
We find that a programme of events spread over time (e.g. 4 sessions over 4-6 months) proves most effective for learners. It allows a range of methods to be introduced, so that all delegates find something which works for them. And 'transfer' (see below) from learning programmes is far higher than one-off events.
An example of a ThinkingOn leadership programme for new managers:
What can ThinkingOn do for you?
ThinkingOn uses a broad range of methods to help embed leadership learning in the workplace (see above). We focus on changing mindsets and attitudes as much as skills and knowledge. We can start up a leadership development programme from scratch or build on existing activity; work with individuals or facilitate the development of complete leadership teams. What we cover will depend the needs of your organisation and context, but here's a flavour of what we can cover:
ThinkingOn uses a broad range of methods to help embed leadership learning in the workplace (see above). We focus on changing mindsets and attitudes as much as skills and knowledge. We can start up a leadership development programme from scratch or build on existing activity; work with individuals or facilitate the development of complete leadership teams. What we cover will depend the needs of your organisation and context, but here's a flavour of what we can cover:
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The problem of ‘transfer’
'Transfer' refers to how learning in one situation is applied to another. When learning about leadership this relates to how effectively delegates can bring their newly learnt skills or knowledge back into the workplace. It is a problem seen time and time again: you go on a training course, you try to put the learning into action back in the office, but it's not long before you've forgotten most of it or you find yourself falling back into old habits.
ThinkingOn's solution
At ThinkingOn we don't want all your hard effort and investment to evaporate, so our development workshops look at changing mindsets and attitudes - as well as learning new skills and knowledge. We aim to develop the faculties of leaders so they think correctly in any given situation. We explore thinking strategies, rather than teaching lists of actions or procedures to copy (which are readily forgotten). In doing so we equip leaders to make the right decisions - whatever the situation or challenge they face.
What has ThinkingOn done for others?
ThinkingOn has helped develop of a number of leadership teams, particularly in conjunction with their engagement profile. Leadership and engagement go hand in hand, so measuring the change in their staff engagement (using Gallup’s Q12® Employee Engagement Survey - scored out of 5) was a way to demonstrate the impact of these leaders back in their workplace. In most cases a programme of events was used, allowing for practice of new skills between sessions:
Context
IT Executive team seeking to develop engaging leadership practices Senior management team of communications function enhancing their leadership repertoire Regional sales team with increasing targets and new composition Manager of a team with low engagement undergoing significant change |
Support from ThinkingOn
3 facilitated discussions over 6 months on various leadership topics plus coaching support Quarterly workshops examining authentic leadership, articulating behavioural preferences, and managing expectations Quarterly workshops exploring motivational goal-setting, strengths-based performance, collaborative working and peer challenge 1-to-1 coaching focussing on authenticity, building trust, and holding staff to account |
Q12 score (change)
4.62 (+0.44) 4.37 (+0.18) 4.79 (+0.48) 3.41 (+0.17) |
“ThinkingOn has worked with me and my leadership team over the past year and it's really helped us to grow as a team. We meet every 8 weeks or so and focus on a different topic or skill each time. ThinkingOn's style is very open and challenging - which is just what we need!” |
“ThinkingOn has had a very positive impact in relation to supporting me in my leadership role. I have valued their input, challenge and expertise.” |