Style of Leadership & Team Development

Concept : The program “Style of Leadership & Team Development” departs in a fundamental way from traditional leadership training in that it puts the accent on understanding self and others through self-learning and exchange. Attempts over the years to help participants gain such understanding from psychometric test reports have proven unsatisfactory, as the “outsider” analysis provided by such reports is not assimilated clearly and rapidly enough by the participant to allow him to exchange the information readily with other participants. The simple self-learning method used in “Style of Leadership & Team Development” enables participants to understand in a short time who they are and how they are different from the other participants. This in turn makes it possible for them to assimilate and practice the leadership and team building principles and techniques presented in the program easily and with great effectiveness.

Style of leadership varies from one leader to the next. This is not because leaders WANT to be different, but because they ARE different by nature. In other words, there are different types of leaders just as there are different types of people in any sphere of human endeavor. Different types of people in any field possess different strengths which are accompanied by different negative tendencies. Even though some us might realize that we are different from other types of persons, we don’t necessarily understand very well what those differences are. “Style of Leadership & Team Development” provides an easy way to acquire that understanding.

This self-learning method is simple and surprisingly revealing. It allows participants to literally build a body of knowledge about people and about themselves in record time. The program starts with participants making personal discoveries about the type of leader or potential leader they are and how they are different from other types of leaders. This leads to a new understanding not only of how each can improve the way they function, but also of how they can help each other to improve.

Throughout the program, learning of self and of others is interwoven with the learning of leadership and team building principles. In this manner, self-knowledge and knowledge of others enables participants to understand and apply the leadership and team building principles and techniques in a personally significant manner.

The results are nothing short of remarkable. As participants exchange their personal discoveries in each session, they develop team spirit, openness to change, and the desire to find opportunities for improvement.

The program also breaks with traditional training in its approach to goal setting. The program’s premise is that goal setting requires strong focus to succeed. Such focus is achieved by concentrating on one or two priority goals and setting new goals only after having achieving them. Tackling a multiplicity of improvement goals all at once has proved ineffective time and again. The advantage of the priority-goal method is its built-in follow-up, requiring continuous review of goal achievement and of priorities.

Participants learn and develop on two levels.

First, through a process called “STRENGTH INVENTORY” they make several simple choices about their strengths and accompanying negative tendencies. They start with an unique exercise which prepares them for the next step, the determination of the classic type of persons to which they belong. During this process, a natural exchange of information takes place, and participants get to know each other’s type. They learn the differences between different types of people and develop an understanding of how these differences are reflected in their behaviors. The result is an often surprising change in participants’ attitudes. They become more tolerant, more team oriented, and more ready to look for continuous improvement, individually and collectively.

Second, as this general knowledge of self and of others evolves throughout the sessions, participants apply that knowledge to the principles and techniques of leadership and team building presented during the sessions. Participants are enabled to make those principles and techniques their own as they set personal leadership goals in accordance with the strengths and shortcomings they have identified in themselves. The ongoing exchange between participants, which is a natural part of the process, creates strong growth of team spirit, of a sense of belonging, and of collective vision.

The six workshops of the program are delivered over four to six half-day sessions once a week or every two weeks. The style of learning is approximately 25% theory and 75% practice through small group discussions, self-reflection, paired exercises, communication exercises, role playing, simulations, case studies and learning reinforcement games. A highly trained and skilled facilitator delivers the workshop in a dynamic style utilizing the most advanced adult learning methods. Participants are given assignments to complete between each session and are asked to report their progress at the next session. As goals take shape, participants are guided in developing action plans. Each participant receives a course manual with forms to complete exercises. The manual will also serve as a reference tool for the future. As well, included for each participant is the book “ZAPP! The Lightening of Empowerment”, which they will read in between sessions and will be used as part of workshop 3.