Individual Leader Discovery – The Leader’s Core Design
Today’s leaders should focus on leading in concert with the way in which they are “hardwired” – that is to say, naturally designed. Many leaders ignore their hardwiring instead of learning to understand and make it work for them. Utilizing the internationally acclaimed MyHardWired™ assessment, Leaders Advantage reveals and analyzes the leader’s strengths, how the leader relates to others and how the leader acts or reacts under stress and pressure.
The goal of this process is for the leader to discover his or her own leadership qualities and characteristics and to align to them while formulating a Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP) resulting in their own Leader’s Legend.
[su_spoiler title=”Why the MyHardWired™ System?” class=”my-custom-spoiler” open=”yes”] Welcome to the MyHardWired™ Profile. More than a simple behavioral test, MyHardWired™ products are designed to illuminate understanding in the most common challenges one faces while dealing with people and in situations that might be contrary to one’s own perspective.
Our developmental programs are designed to help people capitalize on personal strengths. First and foremost, the significance of individual results is focused on one’s strong behavior and characteristics that are manifest in positive contribution and personal success. All the while, the MyHardWired™ profile also advances one’s understanding of “blind sides” without making him or her feel as though something is broken that needs to be fixed. Becoming more aware of a blind side is no different than right-handed people learning to use their left hand when the need calls for it. It’s not about being right or wrong, it’s about learning to modify behaviors to become more effective.
People who achieve a higher degree of self-awareness say it not only opens up new opportunities, but it is quite rewarding to become more effective while just being you.
(Note: The MyHardWired™ Profile employs the Ipsative method for determining behavioral awareness: measuring yourself against yourself: using yourself as the norm against which to measure something, e.g. your present performance against your past performance rather than the performance of others). We are confident that your experience will help you discover just how you are “hardwired”. Not good, not bad…just you and your personal “wiring”.
[/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Get Profiled” class=”my-custom-spoiler”] To be an effective leader you must understand how your leadership style affects those around you. MyHardWired™ takes the guesswork out of understanding just what that means. Being an effective leader means understanding how to meet the specific needs of those around you. The MyHardWired™ profile is designed to be a virtual operator’s manual explaining just what effective communication and motivation means to each individual you lead.
Get Started Now!
MyHardWiredTM is an online behavioral assessment that is very simple to access and complete. We call the effort “Get Profiled” and you can click on the link here and begin immediately.
Investment $95.00 per assessment
Individual report and summary are immediately available
Not only can you read about yourself, the system will audibly describe the MyHardWiredTM system and its result for you.
[/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Executive Coaching” class=”my-custom-spoiler”] Through the course of a career there may be events that cause course changes and may dramatically affect an individual’s performance. During these times the value of a personal coach can help in making the course changes in order to revitalize the person and a career. Coaching might include: a unique relationship which offers an extraordinary level of guidance, inspiration, and encouragement in order to help one clarify, articulate, and manifest his/her directions and development as a leader. Personal involvement, extensive experience and individual encouragement are key to the success in this project.
The approach is straight-forward and begins with a setting of expectations by the respective organization and individual. That is to say that our understanding of the resulting objectives for our time together must be firmly understood and agreed upon. A Coaching Covenant will then be forthcoming which “contracts” coach and coachee as a formal engagement document (see below). Since this experience is all about relationships, both between the coach and individual being coached and further extends into organizational/personal relationships, our coaches will engage the coachee in a behavioral assessment, MyHardWiredTM. Internationally acclaimed, this profile actually captures a three-dimensional profile of who the coached individual prefers to be, his/her expectation of others and when under stress how he/she relates to others. We will use this tool for the individual and his/her direct reports to understand himself better as he/she defines his/her Personal Leadership Philosophy and preferred leadership style.
At Leaders Advantage our motto is:
“Know and share your story”
“Know the story of those around you”
“Know your job”
This “story” takes the form of a Personal Leadership Philosophy:
In the Leaders Advantage world, when a leader discovers his/her core leadership philosophy we call that The Leader’s Legend. This Legend is intended to be a narrative of human actions and behaviors written to describe a person who inspires – leader! In this context, each leader who intends to excel and impact others is encouraged to produce his/her own legend that will ensure reaching the pinnacle that is authentic leadership.
Authentic Leadership is a combination of consistency and predictability.
Consistency and Predictability create two important by-products:
Credibility and Trust
These are the target areas that should be most suited for a coach’s time.
Areas like:
• Personal and professional growth
• Leadership enrichment and development
• Communication and critical conversations
• Setting and instilling expectations and objectives
• Growing others
• Building trust
• Team development
can be expected to receive focus and awareness by our coaches.
I would suggest that we plan a ten-step process:
• Coach meets with sponsor to discuss this project and decide on expected outcomes we hope to achieve.
• Review this coaching event with individual to be coached.
• Half-day session with Individual o kick off the sessions and get a feel for his/her operation and the challenges he/she faces.
• Direct reports take the MyHardWired profile.
• Interview direct reports to report to individual with his /her immediate supervisor.
• One-on-one meeting with Coachee to debrief interviews with his direct reports and prepare him/her for the upcoming MyHardWired session.
• Bring the team together for a 2-hour session to describe the MyHardWired findings.
• Follow the recommendations created during the interview process.
• At least two individual sessions and two phone sessions per month over the four month period.
• A stage gate meeting to assess our progress after 2 months.
Our Coaching Covenant Date: __________________
Client
I am excited about working together on the following transformational goal(s):
I will diligently complete the action steps we agree on, and be punctual for our meetings so we’ll make the most of our time together. I will consistently take the initiative with you in this relationship. I am responsible for my life, my current position and my progress. I will make and follow through with my choices about what actions to take and what we will work on together.
I will be a trustworthy partner, honest and open with you about what is going on in my life and handling what you share with me with respect and discretion.
Coach
I am excited about coaching you in this area. I covenant with you to be punctual and well-prepared so we can make the most of our time together. I will be a trustworthy partner, honest and open with you about what is going on in my life and handling what you share with me with respect and discretion. I am committed to believing in you, supporting you in your change goals and helping you live out your destiny.
Practical Expectations
1) Meeting frequency:
We will meet _____ times a month for ______ minutes each session.
2) Alternative contact:
Making contact by telephone and e-mail can be an acceptable substitute for a personal meeting.
3) Commitment:
We are committing to work together in a coaching relationship until: ______________________
4) Review:
We will make time to review how our relationship is going and make any needed adjustments at the half-way point of this initial agreement.
5) Action steps:
Our appointments may be cancelled if agreed on actions have not been substantially completed or operational duties dictate a change.
6) Schedule:
We will make every effort to respect each other’s schedules by making every effort to hold rescheduling and cancellation to a minimum.
7) Initiative:
If I cannot make a meeting or meet expectations, I will take initiative to let you know and reschedule with as much notice as possible (24 hours minimum).
________________________ _______________________
Client Coach
[/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Consulting” class=”my-custom-spoiler”] Consulting for Leadership and Organizational Development
There are four specific reasons for the Senior Leadership Team to take this time to formulate the future direction of the organization. The four specific targets are:
1. Organizational Values-based Alignment
2. General Manager- focused Leader’s Credo
3. Alignment by the Senior Leadership Team to this values-based organization
4. Press these alignments of organizational, General Manager and SLT down into the entire organization
The Executive Leadership Development Plan
1. Executive Assessment Session – a designated process for leadership to complete the MyHardwired questionnaire and then assemble for a half-day session in which the individual profiles are blended in a unique team session of discovery and unity. This will occur before the Strategic Alignment retreat discussed below. Since this assessment is completed online, there is unlimited access to the profiles upon completion. One powerful capability of MyHardwired is a comparison report which objectively creates comparison reports between any two individuals in the group. A very useful tool in professional, communication and collaborative team alignment. Thus begins the creation of each individual’s Personal Leadership Philosophy (PLP) and “knowing one’s self” as the team bonds.
2. Strategic Alignment – after the Executive Assessment Session, the key players will meet for the remainder of the two-days during which the foundation is set for the entire Strategic Alignment and brings the group into focus to help them work together more effectively. The products of this event are your purpose, values, vision, and mission that are then reduced into “roles and responsibilities” for each team member. The responsibilities will be delineated and timelines developed for achievement and incorporation into the operation of your working unit. The alignment will focus on accomplishing these goals as they are rolled down and translated at each level. The expectation is that the entire team will share and translate the products from the workshop at all levels of leadership and throughout the organization.
After completing the workshop, participants will feel a sense of enhanced teamwork and accomplishment. They will realize that they have gone far in building the foundation for future strategic planning and team performance. Specifically, they will be able to make the following statements with a high degree of confidence:
• We have common agreement on where we want our part of the organization to go for several years.
• We know the major action steps to get us to this common vision.
• We understand what the mission is and how that mission is to be accomplished within our department.
• Finally, we will have crafted our specific roles and responsibilities within our group to more effectively carry out the shared purpose and mission.
3. General Management Leadership Legend Development – under an executive coaching plan, the most senior leaders of the organization work to create Personal Leadership Philosophies. As part of “knowing thyself”, each leader will create a Leader’s Legend which contains:
a. Definition of Leadership
b. Core Values
c. Expectations of self and others
d. Priorities
e. “Hot Buttons”
f. Idiosyncrasies
g. Commitment
h. Write it! (In first person)
4. Senior Leadership Team Development – Once each member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) complete Individual Leader’s Legend, the team meets back together for a discovery session and the launch of a strategic alignment throughout the organization. The deliverables from this dynamic will create the following:
a. A Team of Trust among the Senior Leaders
b. A Statement of Direction aligned to the Company’s Strategic Alignment
c. Individualized Leader’s Legend by each senior leader for dissemination throughout individual divisions and departments
d. Cultural alignment and relational leadership using the MyHardwired assessment throughout the organization
e. The creation of “normative behaviors” structured from the Company’s Strategic Alignment, yet tailored for individual divisions and departments
5. Cascading Strategic Alignment and Leader’s Legend – each division manager or department head will roll the Strategic Alignment down into respective operational units t establish an aligned organization, customized to the individual culture of the respective senior manager.
Where do we go from here?
LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT → SUCCESSION PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT [/su_spoiler]