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5 Benefits of Executive Coaching

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5 Benefits of Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is an important tool of leadership development because it allows those in positions of leadership the opportunity to become responsible for their own learning and development. It differs from other leadership development programs in that it can be a much more collaborative experience between participant and coach. Executive coaching provides an individually tailored approach to helping leaders understand their strengths, how they are perceived by others, as well as creating a safe space for them to grow and work through new ideas. All of this is crucial for leaders who may benefit from the presence of a trustworthy environment in which they can be supported. It also provides a safe place for leaders to take time out and reflect on past, present and future events and that helps minimise risk and maximise opportunities for the leader and the teams they are responsible for.

Navigate Change

Change is constant in all areas of life, but particularly in business. Organisational change can be difficult to implement without the skills to do so. Executive coaching can be a beneficial resource during times of change or transition to aid managers in leading their teams through it. 

Objective Support and Feedback

Executive positions come with the expectation that they will hold the answers to questions posed by their teams. What tends to happen far too often is that the higher a position a leader holds within an organisation, the more difficult it is to receive support. This support can be given by executive coaches who take on a mentor role for leaders. They provide a confidential space that allows leaders to work through issues, new ideas, and make decisions. The objectivity of executive coaching means they can provide constructive feedback free from any potential agenda. Their feedback may stem from their own observations of the organisation or executive coaching programs like the Hogan 360 Report.

Customised Leadership Development

The benefits of coaching encompass the development of critical leadership skills and qualities with time and space dedicated to providing leaders with the opportunity. While there are countless leadership development options available, not all of them will be beneficial to all organisations or indeed, all leaders. Executive coaching programs focus on providing tailored solutions that meet the specific needs of the individual and their position. By customising the executive coaching program to the individual, leaders can achieve their goals and have an easier time incorporating their learning into the workplace. 

While there are countless leadership development options available, not all of them will be beneficial to all organisations or indeed, all leaders.

Improved Productivity to Achieve Results

A main objective of leadership is to ensure that you and your team achieve results. Coaching programs help to enhance goal management and achievement by strengthening skills in performance, support and productivity. Productivity is particularly important for achieving results. There has been a prevalent culture in business of working later and longer in order to ‘prove’ our dedication and commitment; when often all this does is overwork us, create stress, lead to poorer quality work, and in fact, decrease productivity. Executive coaching provides refreshed solutions to bettering work-life balance and productivity that directly leads to achieving results. 

Builds Confidence

No matter who we are, or what position we hold within our organisation, we are all prone to self-doubt every now and then. As leaders, we often feel as though we aren’t ‘allowed’ to be anything less than completely confident at all times. When we don’t, we may begin to overthink or second guess our skills as a leader. Executive coaching provides the opportunity for you to strengthen your existing skills in a way that encourages you to take ownership of your development and become confident in utilising your abilities in the workplace. Coaches can also help leaders to remain balanced over time and deal with the ups and downs that are all part of being a leader!

The benefits of coaching are far reaching not only for the participants, but the teams they lead. Great leaders can not begin or continue to serve their teams without also attaining support themselves. When leaders have the confidence to realise their full potential, they can better navigate challenges and assist their team in reaching goals. For this reason, The Leadership Sphere understands the importance of creating customised programs that are based on leveraging strengths and addressing capability gaps identified using the assessment tool that best suits your situation. 

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can help you unlock performance through leadership, by supporting your leaders at every level of the organisation with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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5 Benefits of Executive Coaching

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How to Develop and Sustain a High Performance Team

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How to Develop and Sustain a High Performance Team

High performance teams are ones that we all strive to create or become a part of. Why is this? The great appeal of such teams lays beyond their ability to consistently achieve results. In most cases of high performance teams, there is a strong willingness for individuals to go above and beyond in their efforts to contribute to the success of the team. They are motivated to perform at their best because there is an understanding of the inherent value of each person’s role. As a team, they are focused on a common goal and support each other to achieve it. In this article, we will be taking a closer look at some of the factors that make high performance teams possible, and why you should consider incorporating them into your development.

Keep Size in Mind

If you’ve ever tried to speak up in a large group, you understand how difficult it can be to have your voice heard. For this reason, it is important when building high performance teams not to oversaturate them with too many people. However, you must not sacrifice skilled team members for the sake of keeping numbers low. Instead, consider the logistics of coordinating teams and communicating effectively among a larger group. Teams with fewer than 10 members provide a more manageable balance that allows for each voice to be heard. This leads to quicker (and better) decision making as well as greater productivity. 

Inspiring Leaders

For teams to sustain high performance, they most often are led by those who are able to inspire motivation and enthusiasm. These are not the kinds of leaders who simply assign the work and expect it to meet high standards. Rather, inspiring leaders encourage passion from their team that creates a level of dedication that will naturally produce excellence. When we feel that our work has value and that it is important to us, we are more driven to make it the very best that we can. When building high performance teams, consider whether the person calling the shots is capable of this. Not just as a leader, but also when facilitating the volume of each individual member. Remember, the best leaders support and bring out the best in their people, and provide a safe place for people to speak up and have equal say is an important part of this. 

Communication

A team that is given a clear direction is predisposed to high performance. This is of course not limited to assigning tasks at the beginning of a project. Great communication should be rooted in giving and receiving feedback and regular check-ins with individuals that foster strong relationships. The adage “clear is kind…unclear is unkind” is a significant focal point of the Dare to Lead Program that encourages leaders to communicate effectively without being misconstrued or coming across as rude. High performance team leaders keep people focused, informed and on-track. They encourage people to voice their thoughts, and to do so in an honest, clear and deliberate way. After all, there is a real efficiency in clear communication that helps a team get to where they want to in a shorter time, whilst not unnecessarily wasting energy in the process.

Adaptability

To sustain high performance over the long term, your team must be able to quickly adapt to sudden changes. The advantage of adaptability means that there is no stagnation in work processes. The team can identify potential problems early and adapt their processes to overcome these challenges. Adaptable teams can find multiple solutions to every problem, giving you options for each new project. This means that there will always be other ideas to implement if the occasion calls for it. With adaptability also comes the mindset of a champion team, and that is to enjoy the journey as much as the destination!

Trust in Leadership

Finally, the mainstay of each of the qualities discussed above is trust. Specifically, trust in leadership. A leader that is not trusted cannot be inspiring, will be doubted, and won’t be looked to when guidance is needed. Building and maintaining trust within teams should be a top priority. This is something that we cover extensively throughout our Dare to Lead Program and other leadership development and high performance team programs. Trust is the foundation of all healthy relationships, both personal and professional. Leaders who encourage openness and honesty in their teams, must exemplify these qualities themselves. This kind of transparency in leadership shows that you have nothing to hide and builds your team’s trust in you. Trust is also the one element that cannot be falsely manufactured, and that is what makes it so powerful, because when it comes to leadership, people are motivated most by the authentic you, the vulnerable leader who deals with issues with integrity and courage, and helps others to do the same.

When working with organisations to develop their leadership talent, The Leadership Sphere helps to make strategic intent clear for leaders and the people they support, develop capability in leaders to better connect people to the strategy, and enable leaders to contribute in a way that unlocks performance and helps others be the best they can be. To build and sustain high performance teams, you need to keep these factors in mind. As previously discussed, clarity is the key to open communication and vision. Capability is needed in every member, and each member must be able to contribute effectively when challenges arise.  The most important contribution of the leader is to invoke trust and motivation within their teams to reach their highest potential. 

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can support your leaders with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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How to Develop and Sustain a High Performance Team

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Making The Move To Online Learning For Leadership Development

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Making The Move To Online Learning For Leadership Development

The way we connect, learn, and work has undergone a significant overhaul since the Coronavirus pandemic reached a global scale at the beginning of the year. As we approach the final weeks of 2020, let us reflect on the impact that this shift in operations has had and what lasting effects we may take into 2021 and beyond. Online learning has been one of the most discussed and debated issues to arise in the wake of this continual change. Though the focus has largely been on schools, it is worth investigating how we might approach the topic as it relates to online leadership development. Incorporating virtual leadership programs into your learning and development benefits not just the participants, but the whole organisation. Delivering this kind of training online, participants can take ownership of their own learning. Interesting though is the varied perceptions of what online learning is, and we should note that online learning may be self paced online learning, or a virtual classroom (which is an adapted version of face to face, for learning and development activities such as leadership development, which has best impact when delivered by an expert facilitator, live).

Advantages of Online Learning


Flexibility

Often, face-to-face training programs are run over the course of one or two days thus limiting the amount of time participants and facilitators must dig deeply into the material. When participants are given control over how and when they interact with their program means that they can take the time they need to truly immerse themselves in the learning. It also allows for the learning to take place around a potentially busy schedule rather than interrupting several days work on other commitments. This kind of self paced leadership training makes it possible to revisit topics of interest or misunderstanding as much as is needed. 

Saves on Resources

Just as online leadership programs provide a flexible option for participants, they are also a flexible option for organisations. This is because online training can be delivered at a fraction of the strain on resources as classroom style programs. Several of the costs associated with face-to-face programs can be eliminated – space, time, and distance often being the biggest obstacles. The greatest benefit of this approach is that it may allow for more people to be offered the opportunity to participate as these added restrictions are no longer a factor. As a result, team members would not have to miss out on reaching their highest potential as leaders or developing vital skills.

Progressive Learning

Though virtual programs were popular prior to the outbreak of Coronavirus, the pandemic forced many who weren’t already using the available technology to adapt quite quickly or risk falling far behind. The globalisation of most industries means that in order to be forerunners in the field, you must be embracing of innovation. The switch to remote learning and operations is something that has been occurring more and more over the last decade, even for areas beyond compliance, such as leadership development programs, development of high performance teams, executive coaching and other leadership initiatives. What might have taken another few years to become ‘the norm’ happened rapidly over a few short months. By adopting the use of new technologies as early as possible, the more prepared your leaders (and organisation) can be for the future of learning and development.

Improved Virtual Communication & Collaboration

In addition to gaining the technical skills to keep up with new learning tools as they are developed, participants of online training programs also gain the advantage of discovering how to work with others in a virtual environment. This is an unquestionable advantage in the face of globalising industries. The far reaching access to online training allows participants to take part from anywhere in the world. This provides the opportunity to discuss ideas and network with people with a broader range of past experiences and perspectives, expanding your own cross-cultural understanding. Leaders have adjusted the way they manage teams because of remote settings, and how we coach and mentor in new ways that make staff feel that they are supported, albeit from a different physical location.

It was for these reasons above that The Leadership Sphere made the decision to move the extremely successful Dare to Lead Program from being an in person workshop to an online facilitator-led course. In doing this, we have been able to continue to provide this service in a way that allows leaders in different states and  even countries to come together to share in their learning. In a global environment that is constantly shifting and evolving in new ways, we must prepare ourselves with the skills needed to evolve with it. By making the move to online learning for leadership development we can remove some of the obstacles that may hold us back and instead, allow ourselves the advantage of learning from those with whom we may not have otherwise had the opportunity. 

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can support your leaders with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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Making The Move To Online Learning For Leadership Development

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Do You Have The Right Leadership In Place to Survive Coronavirus?

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Do You Have The Right Leadership In Place to Survive Coronavirus?

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the daily workings of all businesses, directly and indirectly, depending on the type of business you are in, we must stop to consider all of the ways in which it has forced us to become innovators. Without the convenience of having our co-workers and clients nearby we’ve become even more reliant on email, phone calls and web conferencing to stay in touch with each other and conduct networking and maintain personal and professional relationships. With many of us working from home rather than in the office, it is more important than ever before that our leaders are well equipped to propel us forward in times of sustained uncertainty. Corporate leadership programs offer businesses the opportunity to provide their leaders with fundamental skills that will allow them to not only survive turbulent times (not only during this pandemic), but to thrive.

Here are three key leadership skills to getting through times of uncertainty:

Accountability

It can be difficult to remain self-motivated when you’re constantly surrounded by distractions and aren’t confined to a formal office environment. Even if you’re an incredibly dedicated person, everyone has their limits. This is where it becomes important for leaders to provide their teams with a level of accountability beyond a mere deadline. Deadlines might ensure that the work gets done, but accountability serves as a greater motivator to produce excellence. Through regular check-ins with teams and individuals, employees are encouraged to assess their own progress and ability to deliver.

Clear Expectations

While we might have resolved the issue of how we communicate with our teams by incorporating a greater use of technology in our work lives, what and when we are communicating can at times be infrequent. Strong communication goes far beyond setting a list of tasks for employees to complete and leaving them to it. Providing clear expectations and understanding of individual tasks, as well as team and company goals, is vital to ensuring those expectations are met.

Resilience

Resilience is a vital skill (yes….. it is a skill!) that leaders and organisations have always had to have but now it has become critical because operating under unpredictable circumstances has now become business as usual. Since the coronavirus pandemic reached its peak in March 2020, the resilience of our leaders has been tested in unprecedented ways. Even great teams will face difficulties at some point. It is how we deal with these difficulties that determine whether we succumb to the pressure or bounce-back stronger. Targeted leadership capability development should include a focus on resilience and creative problem solving.


Knowing what the right leadership capability skills you need can be a confusing proposition, as there are many and varied opinions on what is the right investment. Interestingly, there has been a direct correlation between those organisations that are continuing to invest in leadership development and those who are finding new ways to thrive during these uncertain times. The Leadership Sphere tailors targeted programs to the needs of individual businesses as there can be no one size fits all approach when it comes to executive leadership development. Though there are several skills that prove to be integral to high performance leadership time and again. Without considering the benefits of creating accountability and setting clear expectations, during normal times and in the middle of a pandemic, we can not hope to build resilient leaders.

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can support your leaders with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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Do You Have The Right Leadership In Place to Survive Coronavirus?

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Trust is the Key to Healthy and High Performing Teams

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Trust is the Key to Healthy and High Performing Teams

A lack of trust in a relationship can be distressing – in teams it can be devastating. It can take a huge personal toll and in teams it can light the fuse of self-destruction. Relationships fracture, shaming and blaming are prevalent, productivity goes out the window, reputations are soiled, and people leave. While not all teams suffer from these extremes of course, the consequences of low or patchy trust severely reduce the work a team should produce and also impacts our own sense of engagement and energy.

Conversely, high trust organisations experience 32x greater risk-taking, 11x more innovation, and 6x higher performance (Edelman Trust Barometer). And at a human level, treating each other with respect and forming good relationships feels like the right thing to do. 

In this article we’ll discuss why trust may be the most important element that needs to be present in a team. In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we laid the foundation about why braver leadership and fostering more courageous cultures in our organisations matters. In Part 3, we explored vulnerability and in Part 4 we identified that values form the touchstone of who we are and how we show up. And sometimes, our values are all we have as we enter the arena. According to Brené Brown, brave leadership and courageous cultures require four kill sets: (1) Rumbling with Vulnerability; (2) Living into Our Values; (3) BRAVING Trust and (4) Learning to Rise. 

Why Saying ‘People Have to Earn My Trust’ is a Cop Out

Over the years I have heard repeatedly from leaders that people ‘have to earn my trust.’ The problem with this management credo is that it requires others to do the heavy lifting while the person who holds this belief sits back to assess whether they’re up to it. This isn’t how trust works except if we view trust in a transactional sense – you have a job to do or task to complete. Did you complete it successfully? If yes, transactional trust increases. If not, transactional trust goes down. If transactional trust is all you want, then go for it. But transactional trust is just that – it revolves around a task. Real trust, the type that propels a team’s performance, is much broader and deeper. Real trust requires vulnerability and vulnerability requires trust in a dynamic interplay. 

In this article, we will further explore trust – a topic that has been written about extensively, indicating its importance – and challenges. Trust is a big topic. Given that this series revolves around the work of Brené Brown and in particular her book Dare to Lead, we will focus on her framing of trust through the mnemonic BRAVING.

“Real trust requires vulnerability and vulnerability requires trust in a dynamic interplay.”

BRAVING Trust

BRAVING Trust is a mnemonic formulated by Brené Brown (Dare to Lead) and it stands for:

Boundaries: You respect my boundaries, and when you’re not clear about what’s okay and not okay, you ask. You’re willing to say no. Boundary management, as I like to call it, means that we establish our boundaries, communicate them, and then provide feedback if they’re not respected. An example for me is being clear about timeliness around meetings whether in a professional or personal context. For example, if I anticipate being any more than 1-2 minutes late for a dentist or hairdresser appointment, I will phone ahead to let them know. Sometimes they are surprised, but mostly they are grateful for the courtesy.

Reliability: You do what you say you’ll do. At work, this means staying aware of your competencies and limitations so you don’t overpromise and are able to deliver on commitments and balance competing priorities. This can sometimes be a challenge, but the question is ‘Do you deliver what you say you will deliver?’. Again, I see this as related to timeliness and keeping our promises and commitments. If you say the report will be done by Wednesday, to build your reliability muscle, it should be there on Wednesday before close of business.

Accountability: You own your mistakes, apologise, and make amends. In Part 4 (Values), several examples of value-destroying leadership were outlined or what I termed ‘Breakers’ (value-destruction) as opposed to ‘Builders’ (value-creation). All too often we hear and see ‘everyone was accountable and no-one was accountable’. We must strive for single points of accountability. This is different to responsibility, which is about who is actually performing the work. 

Vault: You don’t share information or experiences that are not yours to share. We need to know that my confidences are kept, and that you’re not sharing with me any information about other people that should be confidential. Brené Brown describes people who share information inappropriately as those who try to ‘hotwire connection’. It doesn’t work because people start to wonder what they might share about their conversations with you.

Integrity: You choose courage over comfort. You choose what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy. And you choose to practice your values rather than simply professing them. This is similar to ethical leadership in that we need to determine what is right. Brave leadership is actually doing it, even if its hard. So we can be either ‘in integrity’ with a stated value or ‘out of integrity’. It’s about our behaviours, not our intentions. Someone once said that we judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.

Nonjudgment: I can ask for what I need, and you can ask for what you need. We can talk about how we feel without judgment. We can ask each other for help without judgment. Judgment is very easy and seductive. Our primitive brains, built to help us survive, are prone to judging others. We stereotype, put people in a box, or dismiss them based on our judgement. At the very least, it is likely our approach and behaviour will change around that person as result of our biases and judgment. usually in a negative way.

Generosity: You extend the most generous interpretation possible to the intentions, words, and actions of others. Generosity is closely related to judgment and is in fact the opposite. If we are able to hold a positive interpretation of other’s behaviour, we will open our minds to other alternate explanations to why someone did what they did. Being generous with others allows them to grow, flourish and perform better. It is important to note that being generous in this way doesn’t mean that we don’t hold people accountable. On the contrary, the research suggests that the people who are the most generous are also the clearest about their boundaries – in other words what is okay and not okay. When boundaries are loose or non-existent, then the interplay or dance between two people can become muddied. When boundaries are clear, it is immediately apparent if someone has acted within our boundaries or not.


I recommend that you focus on one element of BRAVING Trust for others and for yourself for 21 days, then shift the focus. In terms of others, you could practice Reliability by being exactly on time for everything (and if you’re not going to be let people know well ahead of time). We incorporate the building of habits such as these via our online Habit Builder application, which helps people track their progress as well as make journal entries to help their learning. In terms of Reliability for yourself, you might set one personal goal around exercise or something else that is just about you – and then stick to it. 

Phil is the Managing Director of The Leadership Sphere, a firm that focusses exclusively on strategy, leadership and performance. He is a Certified Dare to Lead Facilitator, conducting public and in-house Dare to Lead programs for teams and organisations.

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Trust is the Key to Healthy and High Performing Teams

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Five Reasons Why Executive Coaching Is Critical During Turbulent Times

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Five Reasons Why Executive Coaching Is Critical During Turbulent Times

Executive coaching has been used as an important tool for leadership and business growth. Prior to COVID-19 lockdowns leadership coaching was seen as something important for those on the C-Level journey. However, with COVID-19 restrictions on many businesses, we have seen significant changes to working conditions, with working from home top of that list. With change becomes even more reason to deploy leadership coaching and support for senior executives and for management teams. With quarantine, isolation, and social distancing having significant impacts on daily operations it is unsurprising that we aren’t feeling as connected to each other as we once were. Interestingly, the sense of being ‘connected’ with others is an ongoing theme in coaching and mentoring conversations during business as usual settings, and it is no surprise that this is the number one reason why companies are reaching out to organisations such as The Leadership Sphere to provide structured and supportive coaching services as a way to help people better understand the change process and adapt to new ways of living and working. In this way, corporate coaching programs can have far reaching benefits for individuals and teams and let’s take a closer look at the five reason why executive coaching is critical during turbulent times.

Gain Greater Self-Awareness

Having self-awareness is often overlooked as being a skill because it seems fairly simple. However, we are all the main character of our own lives and the majority of us tend to overlook (or are simply unaware of) our faults or the deeper emotions behind our reactions to certain situations. Coaching programs for managers can help to develop a stronger emotional intelligence that will allow them to become better at understanding where their strengths lay and where there is room for growth.

Become More Empathetic

Learning to truly understand the emotions of other people will lead to stronger relationships with colleagues and teams. This builds trust between leaders and their teams. In particularly turbulent times, trust between leaders and teams could not be more important. When issues arise, they are likely to be solved sooner when an individual knows that their concerns will be met with kindness. There is no hesitation in bringing it to the manager’s attention. The Dare to Lead Program that is run by The Leadership Sphere helps leaders to connect with the mantra of ‘Clear Is Kind’ and provides good counsel around how to apply this to your own life and approach to leadership.

Improve Emotional Intelligence

While self-awareness and empathy are aspects of emotional intelligence, the importance of developing our overall emotional intelligence should not be forgotten. Self-regulation, motivation, and social interaction are also key pillars of a person’s emotional intelligence. It is important to have a strong understanding of each of them. In times of uncertainty they serve us well in terms of building relationships and connecting with each other. When we understand our limits, we know when to reach out for help. Knowing how we react to situations and recognizing our own feelings and being able to observe first before drawing conclusions are all skills that can be developed when provided with the right coach to prompt us to reflect and consider the world through the view of what others are experiencing, rather than simply the goals and objectives that we have in front of us. 

Increase Adaptability

Change is difficult. There’s no getting around that. But change is a necessary step towards fulfilling our potential. In some cases we have no choice but to dive in head first; executive coaching can help to prepare us for this by giving us the skills to adapt quickly. We may even already be capable of this, but don’t always realise it until forced to put it into action. When presented with the opportunity to adapt and grow, we must learn to turn away from the initial ‘stress response’ toward one of curiosity. As the rate of change increases, so too does our need to provide executive coaching services and support for our senior leaders and managers, not in isolation, but as part of a broader leadership development program that is focused on enabling clarity, capability and commitment at every level of an organisation.

Become a Better Leader

The most effective leaders are those who take the time to show their teams that they care about more than just the work itself. Great leaders display compassion and understanding towards those whom they lead. They have invested in themselves (and by extension their teams) by actively trying to develop and maintain trusting relationships with their team on individual levels. A coach plays an important role in challenging us to become a better leader, they ask questions to spark reflection and consider where we are strong and where we have limitations.

What coaching support do you have for your leaders and managers?

When facing times of uncertainty, it becomes more important than ever to ensure that our leaders and managers are well equipped in their understanding of themselves and their interpersonal relationships. In order to effectively lead through turbulent times, The Leadership Sphere places significant value on resolving crises, connecting, and building before returning to work in a new way. By providing leaders with the opportunity to undertake corporate coaching programs, you are giving them the skills they need to develop trust and become better leaders. 

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can support your leaders with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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Five Reasons Why Executive Coaching Is Critical During Turbulent Times

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How To Transform High Potential Talent Into Future Leaders

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How To Transform High Potential Talent Into Future Leaders

One of the defining characteristics of a great leader is their ability to recognise the talents of members in their team. In doing so, you are able to nurture those talents and provide people with the opportunity for growth and becoming a future leader. One way in which this might be achieved is through investing time in high potential talent programs. A major benefit of high potential talent programs is the focus on building on existing strengths, rather than addressing weaknesses. Other key factors to take into account when considering leadership development programs is determining who will take part, and in fact, how we decide this is significant too. We mustn’t assume that the familiar choices are also the right ones. In order for our future leaders to be part of a global community, they should also stem from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Deciding Who Takes Part

When determining who within our teams displays high potential talent, it is vital that we make a conscious decision to remain as objective as possible. A true assessment of talent can not be made if managers are only nominating those to whom they feel personally connected. This is especially true if said managers have been directly involved in a person’s development up to this point. We must learn to look beyond the seemingly obvious choices and consider, without bias, the skills and potential of everyone. By remaining neutral and vetting everyone on an equal scale, we are able to avoid overlooking someone who might not yet be visible in the organisational hierarchy. 

High Potential Experience

On what basis should we now be deciding who we nominate for executive leadership training in order to create this unbiased and equal scale we’ve assigned ourselves? What you and your company require in your leaders will be specific to you, and will be reflected in what you consider to be high potential talent. But it is important that don’t limit this to any one particular skillset. Some individuals may be highly skilled in giving presentations but lack the ability to share what they gained from the experience at on a more significant level.

Focus on Strengths

Often leadership development programs are undertaken in order to solve existing problems or address particular weaknesses. While that is certainly necessary for improving shortcomings, it is a ‘reactive’ approach. In order to transform high potential talent into future leaders, the approach should be a ‘proactive’ one. Think about what your leaders do well already and how those skills might be built upon.  This provides them (and you) with the reassurance that should unexpected challenges arise, they are well equipped to face them. Focusing on strengths is a clear indicator to your team that you value their skills and are willing to invest in their potential. 

Ongoing Learning

How high performance team programs are delivered can be just as crucial to their success as the content within them. While an all encompassing intensive face to face program can excite and motivate participants in their jumping off point, it can also be overwhelming. The ability to connect and incorporate the learning to the daily schedules we operate under keeps it in the forefront of our minds. An example of a staged learning program is The Leadership Sphere’s Dare to Lead program is an 8 week virtual course that requires participants to engage with the material regularly outside of the weekly facilitator lead sessions. Unlike shorter programs, this allows participants to receive further support in their learning as they begin putting it into practice.

Creating a Shared Journey

The benefits of high potential talent programs have far greater reach when they have the support of not only course facilitators, but of their peers as well. By partaking in future leaders development as a team, you are creating a shared experience and a shared journey. The fostered sense of community and accountability produces a collective purpose that can be both inspiring and motivating. 

Becoming Part of  a Global Community

Truly effective development programs should encourage curiosity in having a greater worldview. In times where globalisation is increasing rapidly, having a global mindset could prove invaluable for the growth of any business. Our future leaders would be well served (and well serving) to be given the opportunity for boundary-less learning. Being equipped with an understanding of how international workplace cultures differ from our own, could be what sets your leaders above the crowd.

There are a number of benefits to high performance team programs, and The Leadership Sphere encapsulates many that have been looked at above. Investing in talent development leads to almost limitless growth potential over the long term. 

For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can support your leaders with leadership development, executive coaching and high performance team programs please visit our website or call us on 1300 100 857.

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How To Transform High Potential Talent Into Future Leaders

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Five Reasons You Should Invest Time In Building Your Team’s Skills

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5 Reasons You Should Invest Time in Building Your Team’s Skills

In a recent article, we spoke about the Five Benefits of Leadership Development You Need to Know About. We’ve already taken a closer look at one of the benefits outlined in that article – better communication. Now we will continue to explore how leadership development plays a pivotal role in the creation of each of the five benefits, with the second theme to be discussed being Recognising Talent.

One key to any company’s success is having the right people in the right roles. But how do we know who that might be? And how do we avoid overlooking someone who doesn’t appear to be the obvious choice?

Here are five compelling reasons to invest in your team:

1. Demonstrate Commitment to your Employees

Offering leadership development opportunities shows your employees that you are willing to go the extra mile to help them progress in their careers and within the business. It also signifies that you are dedicated to the betterment of the business as a whole by choosing to invest in your team rather than seeking to fill roles externally.

2. Nurture Future Leaders

A primary objective of any leadership development program is to provide employees with the opportunity to expand their skills and grow their career opportunities. Perhaps the perfect candidate to fill an important leadership position is already working within the company but doesn’t ordinarily get the chance to step into such a role. By investing in the potential of your future leaders, you support succession planning and ensure that your teams are built upon a strong foundation.

3. Diversify Employee Skillsets

Similar to what we’ve mentioned above, ‘up-skilling’ your employees to be able to perform in leadership roles will help to grow the effectiveness of your business. When each member of your team is well adept in a variety of areas – or ‘multi-skilled’ – they are able to perform better within those areas. This is vital in ensuring that they are capable of understanding different aspects of the business and can transition into other roles with greater ease.

4. Promote Employee Engagement 

Engaged employees have higher levels of enthusiasm and commitment to their work.  When we feel supported by our leaders, we are more motivated to work better and continuously for them. By providing support in the form of leadership development training, employees can see that there are opportunities for growth and upward mobility.

5. Creates Consistency

By providing the same leadership development opportunities to all employees, your entire team becomes more knowledgeable about tasks, processes and productivity. This increases the efficiency of the entire company when everyone has a clear understanding of how to best get tasks accomplished. It becomes easier to identify areas of concern, reach goals and meet targets.

When managers make an effort to provide all employees with opportunities to develop their skill set beyond the basics of their current position, the benefits are far-reaching. Not only does this create a more engaged team, but it also allows leaders to identify those people who are deserving of greater recognition and opportunity. In doing so, you are able to build and cultivate a strong team with aligned goals and motives.

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Five Reasons You Should Invest Time In Building Your Team’s Skills

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How to Improve Communication Between You and Your Team

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How to Improve Communication Between You and Your Team

In a recent article, we spoke about the Five Benefits of Leadership Development You Need to Know About. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be delving a little deeper into each of the benefits outlined in that article and exploring the integral role that leadership development plays in creating them. The first theme that we’re going to discuss is Better Communication.

Often, when there are issues facing any team or business, the key to finding – and then implementing – a solution is improving communication. We need to have the tools to be able to hear the concerns facing us, as well as the know-how to introduce long-lasting change.

Why communication is important for leaders

Building Trust – Communication is one of the best possible ways to build trust among employees. This is a two-fold process of not only being able to effectively get our own ideas across but also having the ability to listen to the ideas and concerns of others. It is in doing the latter that we begin to see trusting relationships form.

Fostering Unity – When we make the effort to communicate clearly with each other, the chances of being misinterpreted are far less. This is especially important for those in leadership positions. It alleviates the need for clarification and thus ensures that the whole team knows and understands the common goal.

Better Negotiators – Being able to negotiate in a fair and informed way makes for excellent communication. They are informed, consistent and receptive.

How to develop better communication

#1 Listen

Often overlooked, listening is an essential skill to focus on when developing our communication skills. Most people are sometimes too focused on what they want to say next that they don’t pay as much attention as they should to what the other person is saying. By listening closely and asking questions, we show the person or people, we’re speaking with that they have our respect and that their ideas are valued. Also, practice listening ‘beyond the words’ by listening for the real meaning behind what they’re saying. What values seem important to them?

#2 Over-explain

While at first, this may seem counterintuitive to the idea of communicating effectively, when we are talking about communicating clearly, repetition can be a vital factor. This can include repeating the important points to ensure you are being understood. You may also find repeating or rephrasing the other person’s ideas in the form of a question, to be a useful tool in securing your own understanding of them.

#3 Know Your Audience

We wouldn’t speak to our colleagues, in the same manner, we speak to our families. We tailor the way speak to different groups of people in a way that is appropriate for the relationship we have with those people. You may have a well-developed shorthand way of communicating within your team that allows you to communicate complex ideas quite concisely. However, with a new team member, you may have to take more time to carefully explain yourself in order to get the same message across. And avoid jargon!

#4 Mindfulness

Similar to listening and knowing your audience, mindfulness in a communication context is about being aware of how you are being perceived. What kind of tone are you using? Is this the appropriate time and place to have this discussion? What is the intention behind your message? Ask yourself these questions before jumping into the conversation.

Remember that communication is about much more than just what you say. It’s also about how you say it, why you say it and when you say it. It can even be about what you don’t say. We are communicating all of the time, so be more mindful of what you are communicating, even when you’re not speaking. Lastly, be open to hearing the opinions and ideas of others too. Effective leadership communication is fertile ground for long, trusting relationships.

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How to Improve Communication Between You and Your Team

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The Five Benefits to Leadership Development You Need to Know About

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The Five Benefits to Leadership Development You Need to Know About

There is no denying that leadership development programs make an enormous impact on an organisation’s overall performance as well as to the performance of employees at every level.  The key is for people to be able to recognise their strengths as well as their limitations. It is only after identifying these areas that we may begin to address them. While organisations deserve and should expect a unique program to meet their needs, it is clear that no matter the starting point, the results of excellent leadership programs are the same.

One important goal of any leadership development training program is to provide the skills and know-how to be able to build trust and foster a healthy, safe culture. It could be said that a lack of trust is perhaps the biggest missing link in a company’s potential for success. In a recent survey by Edelman Trust Barometer, they found that only 37% of people thought their company CEOs were suitably credible or trustworthy (1.2). This is an astounding statistic and has a direct impact on performance.

Better communication

When leadership development opportunities are offered to all employees, we begin to see a shift towards an improved communication within teams, between management levels, and across departments. Leadership development programs open up people’s hearts and minds to new possibilities. Lower-level employees are encouraged to share more of their ideas and those in higher positions become more receptive. When employees trust those in management, communication improves, information is shared more freely and individuals are more likely to contribute in forums such as team meetings.

Recognising Talent

This is perhaps the most undervalued benefit to leadership development. Often times, the people who are best suited for leadership already exist within the company. Leadership development programs offer these people the chance to be recognised – particularly those not currently in a leadership role. These opportunities also help to foster a sense of company loyalty and employee engagement, while at the same time improving the efficiency of the business.

Creates Capable Leaders

By providing leaders with the skills they need to successfully navigate the ever-changing and often unpredictable business environment, organisations are able to overcome obstacles much more quickly (2). Capability in leaders also allows organisations to better shape their business strategy from the top-down by ensuring leaders are equipped to implement it.

Improves Company Success

Strong leaders are a fundamental element of successful organisations. When companies invest in placing the right people in leadership positions, other employees are then more motivated to perform better and achieve goals (3). Leaders who are ‘role-fit’ encourage creativity and innovation while simultaneously ensuring their team is focused on their common objectives. Companies who place greater value in leadership development are also shown to have stock market returns that are five times higher than those who don’t (2).

Employee Retention

As previously mentioned, leadership development is an important factor in enhancing company loyalty. Employees are much more likely to remain with the same company for longer when they feel they are being valued and supported by their leaders. In fact, a joint study conducted in 2018 by recruitment firms Accounting Principals and Ajilon found that 53.6% of individuals say “their top reason that keeps them from quitting their job is the loyalty they feel to their team, boss, coworkers or their company” (4). Essentially, what these people are referring to is trust.

What impact does trust have in these areas?

Everything we have talked about above coexists because of trust. Trust is the foundation for so much, including communication, the identification and development of competent leaders, and the fostering of a culture that values and encourages ideas to power up company success.

By taking the time to implement new leadership strategies it is possible not only to improve areas in which a company may be deficient but also to build upon existing strengths. When we look at the benefits of leadership development we can begin to see why such programs are important too, and impact on, all areas of business. Not only this, but we can see how each of these particular benefits stem from having a strong foundation of trust.

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The Five Benefits to Leadership Development You Need to Know About