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Even Champions Need Coaches

Our philosophy of executive coaching follows the analogy of a professional golfer's caddy. While our clients are the "pros," making decisions in their business roles, we are along carrying their bag of tools, ready whenever the "pro" needs assistance in tool selection, execution or "reading" their environment.

The role of modern executives is often complicated by difficult decisions that cannot be openly discussed within their organizations or among people with the appropriate experience. That is among our roles as an Executive Coach. We are the "sounding boards" who understand the requirements of discretion and confidentiality; with both the theoretical knowledge of leadership and management, as well as the practical experience of managing small and large organizations.

Leadership

Our philosophy of developing effective leaders and managers is based upon the hierarchy of management skill development as well as the strategic goals of your organization.

Coaching is specific to the goals and the desired culture of your organization, as well as the level of management that will be trained.

Developing Leaders Systemically

Contemporary Human Capital development encourages organizations to consider five factors that enhance the development of an effective internal process.

1. Creating sustainable behavior change requires a developmental process, not a
     single or even a series of training events; it needs to be a lifelong, learning
     process.

2. The process needs to be experiential, and integrated into day-to-day work to
     support a lifelong, learning process; examples of experiential learning are:

     a. Classroom training
     b. Targeted, stretch assignments requiring reading, journaling, critical thinking
          and effective written communication skills
     c. On-the-job application of classroom training, utilizing learned skills in
          effective presentations; communication; training delivery; leadership;
          management; and coaching
     d. Monitored, objective feedback
     e. Coaching

3. Potential organizational constraints should be identified, considered and
     resolved. Expecting participants in any development process to absorb their
     learning within their existing workload, with little reward, incentive, recognition
     or acknowledgement that adjustments may be necessary, often results in
     lowered attention and prioritization.

4. Candidate selection is an important element in the development process. The
     likelihood of a candidate successfully completing the initial development
     process and adopting a lifelong, learning process is enhanced if the candidate:

     a. Has the ability to recognize and understand his or her own behavior, which
          is important to self awareness
     b. Is able to make multiple and fine-rained distinctions and connections
          between concepts; and to ask questions of himself or herself regarding his
          own thoughts and concepts; e.g. What am I thinking? What am I feeling?
          What is holding me back?
     c.  Has the discipline, conscientiousness and responsibility to undertake a
          learning process
     d. Has a strong desire to learn and for self-improvement
     e. Has the self-esteem to be in management, and the ability to distinguish role
          differences
     f.   Is open to learning, self-discovery and change

5. Preparing the candidate for the learning and development process must also
     be a part of the process. Initial classroom training should include:

     a. Understanding that past successes may not translate to future success;
          along with "resetting," or letting go of past challenges
     b. The importance and relevance of critical thinking and interpersonal behavior
          skills

Management Development

Tell us what your performance goals are, and the challenges that you are facing. Then let us help you with actionable solutions, using the most effective tools for your situation.

Examples of tools may be our core Performance Enhancement and Behavior Style courses; our Talent Management consulting; or our Management Courses.

The Capability Development Model for Management Skills

Principals of the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) are used to define the Capability Development Model. The CDM is a set of levels that allow an organization to assess where it is relative to the development and capabilities of its management team. In this context, "management skills" refer to a range of people form entry-level supervisors to senior executives. The commonality is that there is responsibility for the management of human capital.

These levels are presented on a scale that moves from "inconsistent practices" to "optimized."

By using such a scale, an organization can determine where it is, define where it wants to go and, if it identifies a gap, it can do an analysis to translate the findings into appropriate training and coaching. Reference points can be added to the scale. Comparisons can be performed with what others are doing, if the data is still available, and the organization can determine optimal emerging and industry best practices.

Below is our Management Development curriculum. These are expectations for anyone managing Human Capital, from new supervisors to experienced executives.

A. Terminology and Assessment

     1. Understanding Management and Leadership

     2. Understanding Organizations

     3. Self-Assessment and Profiling

B. Prerequisite Skills

     At this pre-CDM level, the curriculum focuses on basic

     Life Skills;

     1. Appearance

     2. Reliability/ Attendance/ Punctuality

     3. Responsible/ Accountable/ Initiative

     4. Honesty

     5. Balancing Personal and Work Responsibilities

     6. Good Work Ethic

     7. Positive Attitude; Not "Entitled"

     8. Disciplined/ Focused

     9. Good Manners

   10. Ability to Understand and Receive Directions

C. Initial Management Skills

     1. Initiative

     2. Confidentiality

     3. Willingness to Learn

     4. Ability to Communicate Directions

     5. Task Management

D. Proactive Management - Technical Skills

     1. Planning and Controlling

     2. Organizing, Staffing and Training

     3. Directing and Delegation

     4. Four Quadrant Time Management

     5. Labor Law and Legal Considerations

     6. Use of Technology

E. Human Capital Development Skills

     1. People Skills - Understanding Behavior Styles

     2. Communication and Presentation Skills

     3. Emotional Intelligence

     4. Teamwork

     5. Customer Service

F. Quantifiable Conceptual Skills

     1. Decision - Making and Problem Solving

     2. Quality Management and Benchmarking

     3. Leadership

     4. Coaching and Mentoring

     5. Cultural and Generational Diversity

     6. Use of Information; Data Mining

G. Optimizing Performance Culture

     1. Continuous Improvement

     2. Culture of Excellence

     3. Adaptive Change

     4. Adoption of Industry Best Practices

     5. Innovation

     6. Organizational Alignment