There is no substitute for effective leadership. If we want to develop more effective leaders, and to do that more rapidly and sustainably, we need a more comprehensive approach. The Leadership Circle has taken the best of what has been learned over the last half century and woven it into the first Unified Theory of Leadership Development to arise in the field. Based on this unique framework, we offer a complete and integrated System of Leadership Development. The combination is unparalleled. We support leadership transformation – change that evolves authentically from the inside out. We offer tools, methodology, and support for deepening the conversation with leaders so that change can occur on a deep, significant, life-altering level.
*The Leadership Circle Profile™ (LCP)
The Leadership Circle Profile is a true breakthrough among 360 degree assessments. It is designed to accelerate leadership effectiveness beyond traditional competency-based approaches. The first to connect a well-researched batter of competencies with the underlying motivations and habits of thought, it reveals the relationship between patterns of action and the internal assumptions that drive behaviour. The Leadership Circle Profile provides insights into actionable strategies to lift your leadership to a higher level.
*The Collective Leadership Assessment™ (CLA)
The Collective Leadership Assessment™ delivers a powerful “litmus” test of your collective leadership effectiveness. It reveals valuable data that tells you how your people view their current leadership culture and compares the reality to the optimal culture they desire. Analysing this “gap” allows the CLA to identify key opportunities for leadership development. In comparing your collective leadership effectiveness with that of other organisations, the CLA offers businesses an active competitive edge.
The ResultsEngine® Follow-Through Tool
Creating successful and effective leaders requires support and an active follow-up process. This web-based ResultsEngine works with the Leadership Circle Profile and the Leadership Circle workshops to ensure that managers and leaders take the necessary steps to achieve their goals. The fastest and most effective way to improve outcomes from development planning initiatives is to actively support and manage the follow-through process. In doing so, you create ongoing and lasting change.
The Leadership Circle tools affect change by identifying the competencies and motivations that drive behaviour. By revealing the gap between the current and desired effectiveness of leadership, you are able to engage in strategies to develop specific areas of growth. Most importantly, the Leadership Circle tools offer ongoing support and feedback to ensure the changes made help leaders reach their long-term goals.
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.
*The Leadership Circle Profile™ and the Collective Leadership Assessment™ are created and owned by The Leadership Circle®. Certified by The Leadership Circle®.
Increasingly, the idea of the workplace ‘culture’ has become an important part of what makes an organisation attractive to both employees and customers. At its core, the workplace culture is the shared behavioural norms and expectations that influence the way individuals approach their work and how they interact with one another. Many organisations will espouse some philosophy of what their ideal culture looks like. The way their people act however, may not fall in line with those ideas. This is the difference between the ideal and the lived, or current cultures. Determining your organisation’s ratio can help you to identify key areas to improve overall performance at the individual, group, and organisational level.
Individuals
Effective individuals are aware of how their own thinking influences their outlook, their response to others, and the impact of their behaviour on those around them. The Life Styles Inventory™ enables individuals to discover new ways of thinking and behaving to improve their interpersonal relationships. By identifying how their actions are supporting or detracting from being able to provide quality performance, participants learn to better cope with stress and change.
Leaders can take this even further as they shape the culture by role modelling behaviours that influence the ways that others operate in their work and interactions. The Leadership/Impact® and Management/Impact™ surveys measure leadership effectiveness and can help to identify the relationship between how you lead and the impact it has on the behaviours and performance of others. By assessing a leader’s actual impact, specific leadership strategies can be devised to meet that of their desired impact.
Groups and Teams
Through highlighting factors that both help and hinder performances teams are empowered to change the way they operate and behave. The Group Styles Inventory™ provides a valid and reliable measure of how people in groups interact and work together to solve problems. Participants are given a safe opportunity to talk about their behaviour and have in depth conversations to identify their impact on group performance. Engaging in conversations that matter, teams are able to improve individual ability to work collaboratively.
Organisations
Organisational performance is directly impacted by the organisational culture. As with leadership, the impact of organisational culture is a dual measurement of the Organisational Culture Inventory and the Organisational Effectiveness Inventory. Both of these instruments work together to provide a complete picture of the behaviours and factors that drive the culture. They monitor and manage culture over time and continually identify targets for change to enhance strategy implementation. This is important because of the ways culture influences how the business strategy is executed and how effectively it adapts to operational changes.
Managing a high performance culture is one of the most important tasks of any senior executive, regardless of the size of the organisation or industry you are in. A partnership with The Leadership Sphere enables you to develop leadership capability in a way that creates value through leadership effectiveness. We can help individuals, groups, and organisations to understand the value of constructive thinking and behaviour to make them more effective.
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.
https://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screen-Shot-2021-08-20-at-11.29.38-am.png644968Philliphttps://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TLS_Blue-Grey-Horizontal-300x124-fix.pngPhillip2021-08-20 14:45:012022-02-21 15:53:58The Tools of Human Synergistics
The Everything DiSC® profile personality assessment provides insights and strategies for improving working relationships, resulting in a collaborative workforce with an elevated organisational culture. Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness. These are the four personality profiles of the Everything DiSC personality testing suite. Each distinctive profile is designed to help participants better understand themselves and others.
(D) ominance
People who fall into the Dominance personality profile tend to be confident and outspoken. They place an emphasis on accomplishing bottom line results and ‘seeing the big picture.’ Though people in this quadrant can be viewed as demanding or assertive, they will often be willing to face challenges and take action. Being competitive in nature, they are able to leverage their creative thinking to overcome opposition. As leaders, they are pioneering, resolute, and focused on achieving results.
(i) nfluence
Influential personality types are able to shape their environment and persuade others though their enthusiasm, optimism, and trusting natures. They prioritise relationships and collaboration as motivators to reach team goals. i style leaders engage their teams by generating excitement and enthusiasm for projects. They will often take on the role of coach or counsellor due to this ability. The perception that they are charming and supportive people aids their proficiency in influencing others in their leadership.
(S) teadiness
The person who falls within the Steadiness quadrant may have difficulty in adapting to sudden changes, though they value collaboration and consensus driven problem solving. They aim to cultivate harmony and stability while striving for team accomplishments. Leaders with the Steadiness personality profile do not seek recognition for personal achievements. Instead, their humility drives them to favour cooperation. They will be supportive of others and use their influence to help them reach their fullest potential.
(C) onscientiousness
Conscientious leaders largely value quality, expertise, and competency in themselves and their teams. They can be extremely detail-oriented and may find it difficult to delegate tasks. Despite this, they are disciplined in providing high-quality results through careful analysis and planning. Their conscientiousness drives a curiosity to attain new skills and knowledge. Critical thinking plays a significant role in their ability to provide objective feedback and in challenging the status quo to achieve better results.
Each Everything DiSC profile is designed to help participants better understand themselves and others. Gain insights on why we behave and perform the way we do, that is based on over 40 years of research. Leverage these insights to improve communication and organisational skills in all areas of the business. From engaging each individual to building more effective relationships, teaching managers successful leadership skills to tackling workplace conflict, there is an Everything DiSC profile to deliver strategies and insights.
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Actionable Conversations™ are an innovative training platform that connects individuals to organisational objectives and enhances team culture. Engaging in meaningful conversations establishes better relationships and leads to lasting, measurable change. This is achieved through the powerful combination of authentic conversation, technology, and insight-driven data. It is a three stage process that happens on the job, around the real issues your people are currently working through. Investing just one hour a month develops: stronger leaders, individual skills, and enhances team culture.
Sustained, social learning helps to reinforce key principles in ways that contextualise them within the bounds of day-to-day responsibilities. It is supportive of real-world application that takes learning out of the ‘classroom.’ This enables participants to understand the practical effectiveness of what they are learning and how it applies to what they do. By putting lessons into immediate practice, their retention for the material is heightened and becomes ingrained in an ongoing routine.
SCALE
You are able to cascade key concepts by leveraging live sessions and engaging in better conversations that improve your relationship with your teams. It reinforces learning through teaching. Were it possible for every individual employee to attend development training, many of us would surely jump at the opportunity. However, this is not practical in today’s fast-paced working environment. To truly make changes sustainable throughout an organisation, it is up to those who do attend to pass on the knowledge to the entire team. Not only does this reinforce the learning for themselves, but they are able to build it into the culture and onboarding programs so that current and future employees also experience the benefits.
SYSTEM-WIDE
It is a cost effective way to get all stakeholders across key information while quickly and easily translating organisational objectives into relevant actions at an individual level. As we’ve already discussed, lasting change only occurs when each individual is engaged and committed to putting those changes into action. Success in this is determined by each person’s willingness to engage in discussions that lead to meaningful problem solving. These conversations must seek to provide tangible and actionable steps that can be followed, measured, and reviewed when necessary.
Actionable Conversations™ are a way for teams to connect with each other to address concerns and concepts that help them to engage in meaningful problem solving and create lasting change. It is a platform that improves workplace effectiveness by building better relationships and measurable behaviour change.
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
The prime objective of performance management is to work towards the improvement of performance at the overall organisational level. To achieve this, efforts must be made to develop the skills of all employees. Without support and regular communication with leaders, you can not hope to see improvements in effective performance management. Small changes can have a significant impact on both performance and productivity.
Frequent Feedback
Performance management differs from performance reviews that are usually only an annual reflection of past behaviours. In comparison, performance management involves providing regular feedback that allows for improvements to be made when they will have the most benefit. It is better to take preventative measures to identify potential skills gaps and correct them immediately, rather than address them after the fact. By engaging in frequent feedback conversations, you increase employee engagement and productivity in high performance teams.
Establish Expectations
One of the most successful ways to ensure high performance is to have a clearly defined set of expectations for your team to adhere to. Engaging in a high performance training program and useful in establishing roles and goals beyond the job description alone while providing participants with the skills to achieve them. Getting clear on expectations reduces confusion on the part of both employees and leaders that would otherwise lead to miscommunication and potential errors.
Provide Support
To achieve successful performance management, your teams must have the support of executive level leaders. Not only through verbal communication, but in their actions and the culture of the organisation. Developing leadership excellence should be a priority of executives who wish to cultivate a culture of high performance. When leaders participate in the same performance management processes as their direct reports, they project the importance of developing skills in order to reach new levels of success.
Adaptive Goals
One hindrance to achieving high performance is in setting non-negotiable goals. Specificity and deadlines are necessary for goal completion, but failing to account for changes in market conditions or other circumstances beyond a person’s control will only have a negative impact on performance. Making goals that are adaptable reduces pressure felt to deliver results when conditions may prevent it. Regularly reviewing goals ensures that both leaders and employees feel there is a balanced workload and identifies opportunities to set stretch goals.
Leader Coaching
There is a direct relationship between effective coaching and managing high performance teams. Leaders who invest the time to coach and develop their employees are more likely to see an increase in performance. Building leadership excellence allows leaders to become coaches capable of positively influencing the progress of others. Ongoing development conversations between leaders and their direct reports support better outcomes and have a positive impact on individual performance.
Leadership development training for both leaders and employees makes it possible to build effective performance management processes across the entire organisation. Engaging in conversations that address the goals and expectations of an individual’s role help to foster a workplace culture that values development and filling skills gaps. Providing role clarity, opportunities for growth, and regular feedback are simple ways to improve performance management that can make a significant impact on your business.
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.
Organisations who achieve regular success have leaders who understand the importance of constant growth. They know that to reach their goals, they must rely on their direct reports to bring their purpose and vision into fruition. To do this, they establish strong personal relationships with their team and support them in their development.
Purpose Clarity
Great leaders know that success begins with defining the purpose of the work you do. Understanding why it matters, and more specifically, why it matters to you. Leadership development programs help participants to understand themselves better both personally and professionally. Through the use of leadership assessment tools, their sense of purpose can make itself known. To achieve leadership excellence, you must be passionate about your purpose and able to communicate it with your team in ways that will inspire others in working towards the same purpose.
Embrace Vulnerability
The scope of what leadership looks like has had a significant shift from being purely authoritative to now requiring the development of personal relationships. The research of Brenè Brown places vulnerability at the centre of daring leadership. The Dare to Lead™ Program, based on her work, encourages participants to embrace vulnerability in order to form stronger personal connections with others. When we lead with authenticity, we foster a culture of trust that results in better communication, collaboration, and success.
Empowering Leadership
Training for leadership excellence teaches participants to lead others through empowering them to reach higher levels of performance. Empowered employees have greater autonomy in their day-to-day tasks and have more creative problem-solving skills. In organisations where empowerment is common, company loyalty is also higher. This creates a sense of community where individuals are more willing to volunteer for additional assignments and assist one another. Both of which contribute greatly to improving overall performance.
Ongoing Improvement
Even the highest performing teams and organisations understand the benefits of reviewing their best results. Developing leadership excellence is an ongoing endeavour. There is value in revisiting past success in order to determine what worked well and how it might further be improved in the future. Providing access to leadership training programs ensures that you and your team are knowledgeable of the most recent trends in your field. This gives you a competitive edge and allows you to remain at the forefront of your industry.
In the pursuit of leadership excellence it is important to first define your purpose and share your passion with your team. A leader’s success is often measured by the performance of their team, so empowering them to perform at their best will have significant benefits for you both. Leadership excellence is a continually moving target that requires you to have an invested interest in your own development and the growth of your team’s capabilities.
In what ways to strive for excellence in your leadership?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
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There are many benefits to developing leadership excellence for both individuals and teams. In building a deeper understanding of your personal leadership values, you establish stronger relationships with your team. The importance of these relationships is fundamental to creating meaningful change across all levels of your organisation.
Coach, Grow, Develop Others
The benefits of leadership excellence extend far beyond only those in executive or management positions. Great leaders know that success comes from the combined efforts of everyone in the team. It is therefore the responsibility of leaders to facilitate the growth and development of others. In training for leadership excellence, leaders learn to take on the role of coach. As a coach, you provide support to those on their own development journey by helping them to implement their learning into their day-to-day responsibilities. By serving your team’s development, you also ensure your collective success.
Values Driven Leadership
There is no singular practice of leadership that applies to all situations. We often need to adapt our behaviour as the situation calls. What is important to remember when faced with a difficult decision to make, is to act in accordance with your values. Executive leadership development helps participants to explore their values and narrow down those they feel are most important to practice in their role as a leader. Exhibiting behaviour that aligns with your identified values shows your team that you are dedicated to your commitments. You position yourself as trustworthy while establishing a culture of collaboration.
Create Meaningful Change
Leadership excellence is needed for creating meaningful change within your team and organisation. Through the development of leadership skills at the individual, team, and organisational level, executives can ensure their vision for success is a foundational component of daily practices. Interpersonal leadership skills are necessary for creating change. Leadership training programs teach us to communicate with clarity to inspire passion for the work. Those you share your vision with will become responsible for implementing it under your guidance.
The positive impacts of training for leadership excellence flow from the individual level to ensure the growth of the team and organisation as a whole. Leadership development training provides a platform through which individuals and teams gain a greater understanding of their personal values. This contributes to the formation of deeper relationships and establishes a mutual trust. Trust is needed when creating change and coaching others.
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.
To truly exemplify what it means to have leadership excellence, you must understand what it is to be led as well as lead. It is the difference between demonstrating leadership and simply having authority. There are four key levels of focus that are discussed when developing leadership excellence. We will be looking into the first two below as they form the basis of this development from which the latter two progress – Leading Self, and Leading Teams.
Leading Self
Great leaders are those who lead themselves well before leading others. Leaders that know their own goals and are capable of clarifying the roles of their direct reports, earn the respect of those on their team. Leadership training programs can help participants to build the self-awareness and emotional intelligence that will allow them to develop a deeper understanding of themselves. The use of assessment tools in leadership excellence programs highlight the level of emotional intelligence participants have and identify methods of improving or harnessing it to develop a deeper level of self-awareness.
Demonstrating the ability to lead the self suggests to others that you are someone who can hold themselves accountable. Accountability is one of the most valuable traits that a self-aware leader can possess. Senior leadership training shows that you are willing to put the work into developing your own skills, and actively making improvements in areas you may lack knowledge of.
Leading Teams
Training for leadership excellence at the team level is centred around developing group dialogue skills. Establishing a form of communication that uses dialogue specific to the team helps them to have conversations that lead to effective implementation of ideas and improve performance. It ensures that everyone comes from the same place of understanding when it comes to having crucial or difficult conversations.
Being able to communicate effectively when having difficult conversations means the potential for conflict is reduced and your interaction will be much more constructive. The Dare to Lead™ Program is a type leadership development training that teaches us to lead with clarity. One of the key ideas, ‘Clear is Kind, Unclear is Unkind,’ reinforces the idea that honesty is the most important factor in managing conflict.
Engaging in an executive training program can help you to understand the importance of being able to lead yourself as well as lead your team. Learning to lead the self demonstrates initiative and a willingness to become a high performing team member. It provides you with a strong foundation of leadership skills should you have the opportunity to lead a team of your own. Being a great leader depends on developing an intersectional skillset of effectively leading the self and leading teams.
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
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Executives understand the impact of goal setting for achieving high performance. For those aiming to grow their business, it is imperative that the goals of the organisation are aligned with team and individual roles. In cases where a lack of alignment exists, there is often an increase in workplace stress and illness. This misalignment is a result of individual’s being unclear of what their responsibilities are in relation to overarching goals. The most successful organisations ensure that every individual has a clear understanding of how their work contributes to that success.
Alignment at all Levels
Having both long and short term goals helps individuals see how their efforts specifically contribute to organisational goals. It is critical that leaders contextualise the daily tasks of individuals within the larger picture of what the team, and organisation, are trying to achieve. Leadership development programs offer participants the opportunity to establish goals that relate directly to their roles. Clarifying the role and responsibilities of each contributor enhances collaboration while also establishing trust between leaders and their direct reports.
Connecting to Your Goals
When goals are aligned across an organisation, it fosters an environment in which individuals will unite around a common task or idea. The sense of sharing a connection with others has been shown to lead to higher levels of motivation and performance. Training for leadership excellence shows leaders how to implement methods of engaging teams and individuals with their vision. This provides people with the sense that their work has purpose and a meaningful impact within the organisation as a whole.
Links Strategy and Performance
In developing leadership excellence, leaders should be aware of the importance of aligning strategy and performance. Setting clear goals that support corporate strategy allows executives, team leaders, and direct reports to easily assess how their performance is contributing to achieving goals and adjust tasks if necessary. Aligning goals throughout the organisation creates a shared accountability between individuals at every level.
Measure Progress by Goal Setting
By setting goals that align with an individual’s role, they are given a metric by which their performance can be measured. Executive leadership training helps participants to formulate goals for themselves that they are encouraged to track their progress in. Goal setting instills a focus on reaching smaller milestones rather than creating a far off objective that might be achieved ‘someday’. Having specific targets allows you to see how far you have come and motivates you to continue working towards success.
Improves Quality of Feedback
By measuring progress against specific goals, you are able to relate the feedback you give to those goals. A person’s performance may be deviating from those goals. They would benefit from feedback that aims to refocus their attention on the ways in which their role contributes to achieving them. Senior leadership training coaches participants in providing feedback effectively by creating clarity for all employees.
The importance of role and goal alignment should not be overlooked by leaders looking to develop high performing teams within their organisation. Engaging in a leadership excellence program assists participants in aligning goals within the context of their role. This reduces the likelihood of workplace stress caused by a lack of clarity and direction.
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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Understanding leadership excellence is important for leaders at every stage of their development journey. It establishes a clear measurement of where they have started, how far they have come, and where they still hope to go. Such measurements can be calculated through the implementation of leadership assessment and development tools. Receiving these assessments regularly are a valuable part of any leadership development journey.
When assessing leadership excellence, the two facets most often associated with strong leaders are their character and influence. In particular, it is how a person’s character contributes to their influence that indicates their level of leadership excellence.
Character
A person’s character is the driving factor behind their ability to influence and lead their team or organisation. Those with a strong character tend to be viewed by others as being trustworthy, responsible, and fair in their decision making. It is these skills that make them appealing and incite positive responses from other people.
It can be difficult to assess for a quantifiable measurement of these aspects of character, but it is possible to gauge these characteristics by interpreting how a person’s peers and employees perceive them. The 360º Feedback Report is designed around this model of assessment. Both the individual and a select group of those they work with are asked to complete a survey that, when compared, provides a complete picture of the leader’s character.
Influence
Influence is one of the biggest measurements of leadership excellence. Being able to inspire and motivate others into reaching their fullest potential is a critical aspect of your role as a leader. By making use of leadership tools for individuals as well as groups, you begin to form a clearer impression of the impact that the individual’s leadership skills have on the performance of their team.
An individual’s ability to influence the behaviours of those around them stems from their existing interpersonal relationships. Having good character and establishing trust between yourself and others, allows you to build effective interpersonal relationships. The benefits of leadership assessment tools like the Trust Inside Assessments include in-depth measurements of a person’s ability to build trust at both the individual and team level.
Character and influence are two of the defining aspects of leadership excellence. The higher a person’s character is perceived to be, the greater the amount of influence they are able to impart onto others. To gain a full understanding of an individual’s measurement of leadership excellence, the best leadership assessment tools should be administered at both the individual and group level.
What characteristics are most important for you as a leader?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Developing leadership excellence should be a top priority for leaders at every level of an organisation. Making leadership assessment tools accessible provides current and future leaders with the opportunity to begin their development journey. Investing in the further education of your organisation’s leaders, ensures that you remain at the forefront of innovation within the industry.
Complete a Leadership Circle Profile™
Developing leadership excellence begins with identifying key areas and opportunities for improvement. Completing a Leadership Circle Profile™ provides a holistic measurement of an individual’s competencies and, more importantly, why they are the way they are. This can have a greater impact than just completing a 360º Feedback Report that only evaluates competencies. Understanding the reasons behind your past behaviours is imperative to being able to take the necessary action to lift your leadership to a higher level.
Integrate Learning
Forward-thinking organisations understand the critical importance of developing high potential talent, though are concerned about the challenge of maintaining day-to-day operations while training occurs. Actionable Habit Builder is a leadership development tool that allows participants to incorporate their training into everyday practices in a way that creates meaningful and noticeable change. It empowers individuals to take control of their learning by identifying the habits they want to build, and encourages regular reflection to track progress. By integrating your learning, you establish lasting habits that lead to continued success.
Build Team Alignment
Trust and clarity are the two most important factors in building team alignment. Identifying where the lack of alignment lies can help you to re-establish your team’s commitment to achieving goals. Though an unconventional tool for measuring leadership excellence, the Team Alignment Survey will reveal the specific areas that are blocking the team from communicating effectively and what needs to be done to remove those barriers. Collaborative teams are more efficient, will generate better ideas, and share in the responsibility of decision making.
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
It is widely understood that to be successful in business requires intelligence and expertise in your industry. But to be a successful business leader requires much more than a practical knowledge of the products or services you offer. Long term success in performance also requires having a strong emotional intelligence, or EI. Emotional intelligence is a measurement of your own self awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation. All of which contribute to the way we form relationships with co-workers and clients. Developing a strong EI and relationships with your team will have a direct impact on improving your leadership excellence.
Leadership Impact
Leadership excellence is often thought of in terms of the level of influence an executive has over the behaviours and resulting performance of others. Effective leadership assessment tools will be able to determine whether an individual’s influence is prescriptive or restrictive. Do they guide others towards goals, or do they create limitations? The Leadership Impact Survey is designed specifically for senior managers and CEOs to evaluate their current effectiveness against their desired impact. When developing leadership excellence, you can not ignore the significance of the influence you have on those around you.
The best tools for assessing leadership excellence are those that provide valuable insight into an individual’s current behaviours. More importantly, discovering your subconscious or forgotten reasoning for certain actions establishes a starting point for reinforcing strengths, and unravelling weaknesses. For a complete understanding of your impact as a leader, it is helpful to assess your leadership at the individual, team, and organisational levels.
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.
How Executive Coaching Builds Leadership Excellence
Executive coaching can teach us ways to approach our daily life with balance and mindfulness. Developing leadership excellence provides the opportunity for leaders to build a high-level capacity for visionary thinking in addition to improving the practical skills needed for driving performance within their organisation. Receiving support in their development journey, creates a leadership team that values continual education and improvement to remain competitive.
Skills Assessment
All leadership coaching must begin with an assessment of current strengths and developmental needs. To get a complete picture of what this looks like, participants will find great benefit in completing both introspective reflection as well as gaining insight from a 360º Feedback Report. Engaging with both styles of skills assessment significantly reduces biases – especially when conducted anonymously – while also demonstrating how your self-perception aligns with that of those around you.
Know the Leadership Skills Most Often Needed
Discovering your areas of improvement will be most effective if you are aware of the core skills leaders most often need. The best executive coaches will be knowledgeable of what these are and how you might work towards building them for yourself. Though it is important that you conduct your own research into these as well. Leadership has been studied for decades and the definition of leadership excellence has altered over time. There are some competencies that have remained consistent. To be an effective leader you need emotional intelligence, expertise, influence, and the right character. Each can be developed, but all will take dedication and hard work to grow into leadership excellence.
Develop Personal Understanding
One of the primary goals of an executive coaching program is to establish a strong understanding of yourself and your personal leadership style. There can be as many ways to lead successfully as there are leaders. Finding what works for you and your team is more important than fitting yourself into a preconceived model of what leadership ‘should’ look like. Coaching for leadership excellence aims to provide participants with a deeper understanding of themselves and how they may use their ‘life-story’ as a touchstone for leadership. It is how your developed personal capabilities fill gaps that make for effective leadership.
Unlock Leadership Potential
The phrase ‘executive coaching’ is not an indication of the seniority of its participants, rather it refers to the high level of leadership skills you are able to develop through engaging with the program. Providing senior leadership training to individuals looking to expand their capabilities unlocks previously untapped potential and creates cohesive leadership throughout your organisation. Leaders who feel more supported will have an increased engagement and overall performance within your organisation.
The development of leadership skills through executive coaching programs helps to create meaningful, sustainable change at the individual and organisational level. Coaches guide participants to realising the full scope of their abilities through regular one-on-one sessions. Current and aspiring leaders benefit greatly from learning how to incorporate their own experiences into establishing a leadership style that engages and inspires those around them to reach their highest potential.
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.
In developing leadership excellence we cultivate a workplace environment that encourages constant growth and improvement. Throughleadership excellence programs, participants gain the confidence and capability to lead teams effectively. They are role models of behaviours that become standard practice and inspire others to perform beyond expectations.
Leaves Room for Improvement
Often when we talk about leadership development, people confuse excellence with perfection. It is impossible to achieve perfection, attempting to do so limits creativity and results in more failures due to added pressure. Striving to achieve leadership excellence, allows space for mistakes to be made and performance to be improved with each iteration. Executive leadership training emphasises the importance of reducing workplace stress that frequently accompanies organisation with a totalitarian approach to achieving goals.
For teams to become consistently high performing, it is necessary to both develop and sustainleadership excellence. Sustainability means that there is always the goal of producing the best quality product or service, while also striving to be better in the future. Processes, technologies, and industries progress all the time. Believing that your organisation already has the ‘perfect’ version does not leave room for innovation or improvement. Ignoring the value of creativity will leave you stagnant and struggling to catch up to more open-minded companies.
Executive coaching programs provide leaders with a means of developing innovative thinking that opens the doors for input from a diverse range of sources. Coaching for leadership excellence requires an established, trusting relationship between coach and client. The right coach will be able to challenge you to expand your capabilities and become more receptive to new ideas.
Become a Role Model of Leadership Excellence
Leadership excellence programs aim to teach participants ways to coach, grow and develop the people they work with. The most effective way leaders can do this is to set the example of influence they are hoping to impart. It is the actions we perform that others will watch and critique. Your team will notice if you are not living your values. If you are expecting excellence, you must also become excellent.
It is much easier to influence the behaviour of others and unlock their potential by being the model that you wish to see.Senior leadership training doesn’t only benefit participants, but everyone they work with from then on. What is learnt in such programs impacts the way you lead and develop others. Being the standard and role model of excellence, you not only realise your own potential but the potential of those around you as well.
Learning how to harness and model leadership excellence can have a number of advantages on individuals at every level of the organisation. While it is important that our leaders provide a clear example of behaviours to be followed, they should also set the expectation that perfection is not the ultimate goal. Leaders who engage inexecutive coaching programs to develop their ability to influence their teams, will see an increase in overall performance throughout their organisation.
How do you demonstrate excellence in your workplace?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
In developing leadership excellence we cultivate a workplace environment that encourages constant growth and improvement. Through leadership excellence programs, participants gain the confidence and capability to lead teams effectively. They are role models of behaviours that become standard practice and inspire others to perform beyond expectations.
Leaves Room for Improvement
Often when we talk about leadership development, people confuse excellence with perfection. It is impossible to achieve perfection, attempting to do so limits creativity and results in more failures due to added pressure. Striving to achieve leadership excellence, allows space for mistakes to be made and performance to be improved with each iteration. Executive leadership training emphasises the importance of reducing workplace stress that frequently accompanies organisation with a totalitarian approach to achieving goals.
For teams to become consistently high performing, it is necessary to both develop and sustain leadership excellence. Sustainability means that there is always the goal of producing the best quality product or service, while also striving to be better in the future. Processes, technologies, and industries progress all the time. Believing that your organisation already has the ‘perfect’ version does not leave room for innovation or improvement. Ignoring the value of creativity will leave you stagnant and struggling to catch up to more open-minded companies.
Executive coaching programs provide leaders with a means of developing innovative thinking that opens the doors for input from a diverse range of sources. Coaching for leadership excellence requires an established, trusting relationship between coach and client. The right coach will be able to challenge you to expand your capabilities and become more receptive to new ideas.
Become a Role Model of Leadership Excellence
Leadership excellence programs aim to teach participants ways to coach, grow and develop the people they work with. The most effective way leaders can do this is to set the example of influence they are hoping to impart. It is the actions we perform that others will watch and critique. Your team will notice if you are not living your values. If you are expecting excellence, you must also become excellent.
It is much easier to influence the behaviour of others and unlock their potential by being the model that you wish to see. Senior leadership training doesn’t only benefit participants, but everyone they work with from then on. What is learnt in such programs impacts the way you lead and develop others. Being the standard and role model of excellence, you not only realise your own potential but the potential of those around you as well.
Learning how to harness and model leadership excellence can have a number of advantages on individuals at every level of the organisation. While it is important that our leaders provide a clear example of behaviours to be followed, they should also set the expectation that perfection is not the ultimate goal. Leaders who engage in executive coaching programs to develop their ability to influence their teams, will see an increase in overall performance throughout their organisation.
How do you demonstrate excellence in your workplace?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
It is necessary to make use of leadership excellence to drive performance and success over the long term. Many high performance teams are capable of operating independently of direct leadership. Though to truly reach their highest potential, there must be a guiding presence who can assist them in accomplishing greater feats. It is the responsibility of team leaders to inspire and motivate others to outperform expectations by delivering critical business imperatives.
Encourage Collaboration
A defining characteristic of the best high performance teams is their ability to work collaboratively in service of common goals. Leaders who foster an environment that encourages and relies on collaborative processes, will see consistently successful results in the work their team produces. High performance training programs help teams to establish stronger trusting relationships and to provide clarification on team purpose. This establishes a basis on which strategies and processes can be built.
Avoid Shortcuts
As companies grow, most executive leaders look for ways to streamline processes without sacrificing quality or performance. Efficiency in productivity can be extremely beneficial, though it can sometimes lead to the creation of shortcuts that do little for maintaining high performance. To combat this phenomenon, leaders must establish clear expectations that can not easily be misunderstood. Leading high performance teams requires exceptional communication so that each individual understands where they are heading and how to get there.
Be Exceptional Decision Makers
The self-sufficiency of high performance teams is often seen as one of their many beneficial qualities. The role of leaders of high performance teams is that of guide, ensuring that their path to success remains clear. Often this means that they are there to provide answers and make decisions when the team is unable to do so. In developing leadership excellence, individuals are taught to recognise and solve important challenges. Being able to make the right choices for their team is a key marker of the best high performance team leaders.
Show Commitment
Leaders who do not openly display their commitment to their teams, should not expect others to commit to them or their vision. If you are not willing to dedicate your own efforts towards achieving the very goals that you set out, how can you expect your team to do the same? High performance team leaders provide much needed support to those they are asking to realise their vision. In doing so, they create a culture of belonging within their team. Establishing personal connections can have a positive impact on the team’s emotional well-being, productivity, and performance.
Nurture Growth
One of the best, and most direct, ways for leaders to improve performance is to actively advocate for the growth of their team’s skills. Developing high performance teams fosters a sense of loyalty that employees often will reciprocate by making a greater effort in their performance. The quality of work is much higher in teams who share a mutual appreciation with their leaders, than in teams led through fear or intimidation.
The influence of positive leadership actions can not be understated. Inspiring leaders who understand the complexities of their team and how they operate as a unit will be able to see a greater increase in performance and productivity. By demonstrating their commitment to the growth of their team and being clear communicators, they foster a culture of collaboration and success.
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.
It is easy to recognise leadership excellence when we see it, but when asked to define what that looks like many people struggle to identify specific characteristics. The truth is that leadership excellence looks different to everyone. However there are two key areas which, if intentionally cultivated, help to bring us closer to defining leadership excellence. Training programs that focus on these two aspects of excellence should form the basis of your executive leadership development.
Practical Excellence
There is no escaping the necessity for leaders to see to the practical day-to-day operations of running a team or organisation. Ensuring that tasks are completed on time and are of high quality is an important aspect of successful leadership. Demanding excellence from your team is not enough to guarantee that their resulting work will meet high performance standards. It is the role of a great leader to set, and then help them to achieve goals for your team that will push them beyond their perceived limitations.
To do this, you must be clear with your team about what these goals are and why they are important. Providing them with motivation to reach their goals will result in more success and stronger performance overall. Developing leadership excellence in a practical manner does require that your team has access to the resources they need to achieve the goals you set out for them. This demonstrates to them your own dedication reaching those same goals with excellent results.
Interpersonal Excellence
Establishing strong interpersonal relationships with the individuals you work with is pivotal to building a high performing team. Developing senior leaders must understand this and strive to create these connections early in the formation of their teams.
Leadership development programs like Dare to Lead™, teach participants how to form these deeper connections within their workplace in order to build trusting and honest relationships. Gaining a personal understanding of the individuals on your team can have lasting mutual benefits. Learning the personal values and goals of your team allows you to offer support and opportunities for them to develop their skills while they are contributing to a greater vision.
Training for leadership excellence should include a focus on both practical and interpersonal excellence. Individuals who have strong personal connections with their leaders are far more likely to be motivated to perform at a higher standard and aim to reach their goals. Executive leadership programs that teach participants to establish and sustain trusting relationships are the foundation to developing leadership excellence.
What is the most important aspect of leadership excellence for you?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Leadership excellence is not always a measure of how successfully a manager’s directions have been followed. True leadership excellence is much more the result of their ability to inspire their teams to achieve the extraordinary. They must be effective communicators, decision makers, visionaries, students, and coaches. Undertaking senior leadership training programs can help leaders become more effective and successful.
Integrity
Maintaining a consistency in your beliefs and values affords you the ability to lead with integrity. Operating with a guiding set of principles will make it easier not to compromise those values when faced with challenges. To lead with integrity we must first develop an understanding of what our personal values are. A personal values assessment will help to determine how the qualities you value in leadership align with your perception of the current and desired culture of your organisation. Hold yourself accountable, and others will do the same.
Recognition
Everyone likes hearing that their efforts are appreciated. Great leaders know this and express their gratitude freely, no matter how small the contribution. This is not to say that they are over praising individuals when they are meeting expectations. Rather they display genuine appreciation for necessary but often overlooked efforts made that have a significant or positive impact on the project. Acknowledging your team’s ongoing hard work and celebrating their accomplishments, reinforces a strong work ethic and fosters a positive team environment.
Honesty
The key component of genuine praise and criticism is that it is provided honestly. Compliments mean more to us if the person giving them, truly means what they are saying. Similarly, we are less likely to take personal offence to criticism if we can recognise the truth of it ourselves. An often cited example of this idea comes from Brene Brown. In her book Dare to Lead™, she states that “Clear is Kind, Unclear is Unkind.” This is a significant focus of the Dare to Lead™ leadership development program. It is better to be honest in your critiques to allow for development, than it is to be vague in an attempt not to hurt someone’s feelings.
Delegation
If you have ever found that your team’s progress on a project has stalled because they are waiting for your approval, you may consider removing yourself from the process if possible. By delegating entire processes to your team and entrusting them with more responsibility, you empower them to make better decisions and become high performers. Engaging them in leadership training programs, and even coaching them yourself, promotes autonomy and accelerated performance amongst your team. Delegation does not mean that your role as leader transfers from you to someone else. In developing leadership excellence, you understand that mistakes will occur. You should still be following up on delegated tasks and providing support when necessary.
Vision
Having a clear vision or direction for your organisation is an integral trait of leadership excellence. Defining this vision and communicating it effectively with your team ensures that each individual understands the goal you are aiming to achieve. Communicating vision and inspiring others to act on it is a trait that is not always considered particularly skilful. This could not be further from the truth. Developing insightful foresight takes just as much practice and experience as any other leadership skill. Doing so can be the difference between a successful execution or an unsuccessful one.
Learning
Great leaders constantly seek to improve upon their existing skills to keep up and even get ahead of industry trends. Training for leadership excellence means identifying areas that can be improved and building upon already proven strengths. For some, this may require them to identify those areas with the help of a Hogan 360º Report or assessments from an executive training program. Industry standards and processes are always evolving and leaders must evolve their expertise along with it to continue to grow their success.
Building leadership excellence requires dedication to both yourself and your team. Senior leadership training can be an effective tool to help leaders understand their own values and how to become better communicators. Leadership development is an ongoing process that will only result in benefits for you, your team, and your organisation as a whole.
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.
The process of identifying those capable of taking on senior leadership positions is an ever evolving challenge for most organisations. Potential candidates whether they be internal or external, must be assessed on both their existing skills as leaders, and their ability to develop the necessary competencies for more senior roles in the future
One tactic for building effective leaders has been to engage prospective candidates in simulation-based learning. It allows individuals to develop the specific skills needed while giving them practical experience in applying them. From here, the challenge becomes how do we assess the outcomes of this learning? How does this feedback contribute to the creation of a focused, development plan?
Assessing Potential Leaders
When developing high potential leaders, simulation-based learning can be used by senior executives to get an idea of the candidate’s strengths and provide them with opportunities to improve. The feedback that candidates receive is integral to their development as future leaders. Leadership assessment tools such as the Hogan 360º Report help in building a leadership profile for candidates that outlines the competencies in which they are skilled as well as those that they are developing. Executives who hope to support the career goals of their employees can also use these assessments to build focused development plans for those individuals. This may include leadership training programs or providing them with an executive coach who will work closely with them to achieve their goals.
Developing Potential Leaders
Whether one, the other, or a combination of both, the candidate should also be accessing leadership assessment and development tools regularly in order to keep track of their progress and success. By building regular assessments into their development plan, potential leaders are able monitor their growth using measurable data. When the time comes that they are being considered for an elevated position within the company, executives can look at the various assessments that have been made through their development and determine whether they have achieved the necessary competencies for the role.
Assessment is a vital component of leadership development, though it is not one that many individuals regularly take advantage of. Building effective leaders can only begin once a profile of the competencies has been completed. Leadership assessment tools should be prioritised as a primary resource for executives and potential talent for ensuring that individuals are receiving the training that will have the greatest benefit for them and the organisation as a whole. Leaders who develop a tangible awareness of their abilities become more effective in leading their teams because they understand their limitations. This establishes a culture where the most important thing is not to have all the answers, but to collaborate in order to find the solution.
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Leadership strategies and methodologies get much attention particularly during times of uncertainty and change. It can be difficult to determine where individual and organisational leadership capabilities rank amongst industry peers, or what is the best method to understand this. That is why a leadership assessment tool can be a useful way to evaluate your current performance and help understand what leadership development activities will be most suitable for your organisation. The benefits of using leadership assessment tools extend far beyond the individual level. The feedback you gain from such assessments can impact on the development of high performing teams and with the culture of your organisation.
Establish Leadership Profiles
One of the benefits of leadership profiling is that it allows you to form a complete picture of an individual’s capabilities as well as their potential for development. Effective leaders are aware of both their strengths and actively seek to improve in areas they may not be as successful. Establishing leadership profiles allows executives access to a resource that informs them about those high potential employees who are just beginning their development.
Develop High Potential Employees
When we are looking to fill leadership positions internally, the most obvious choice may not be the right one. Using a data based approach, we are able to assess potential leaders in order to determine the best fit. Completing leadership assessment tools for individuals gives current leaders an unbiased look into the capabilities of high potential employees. Even those who may not be right for leadership roles just yet, may have development plans created in order to support their advancement and career goals.
Filling Skills Gaps
Before embarking on a development program, participants and executives should be aware of what gaps exist within their skillset or organisation. Leadership assessment tools provide insight into exactly this. An executive coaching survey will outline an individual’s particular strengths as well as areas for improvement. Completing a leadership assessment prior to any training programs allows both the individual and the organisation to reap the highest benefits.
Remain Competitive with Industry Standards
For those who have been in positions of executive leadership for several years, it can be easy to believe that you don’t need as much feedback as you did earlier in your career. This is simply not true in industries that are constantly innovating and expanding. The best leadership assessment tools will help you to understand how your skills match up against the current industry standards. You may be surprised to discover that there are some competencies you need to build upon so that you and your organisation can stay ahead of the competition.
Track Development Progress
Many leadership assessment and development tools are used simply to track an individual’s development processes. The Hogan 360º Report can be re-done at regular intervals to get an external perspective. Actionable Habit Builder is a fantastic tool for self-reflective assessment of progress towards specific goals. No matter how it is done, individuals looking to develop their leadership skills should utilise assessment tools to track their progress in a tangible way. This demonstrates a commitment to the role and the organisation that executives will look at when considering prospective leaders.
Motivate Performance
Continually assessing a team or individual’s skills development allows them to not only track their progress, but the improvements in their overall performance as well. Being able to look back on past performance instils a sense of accomplishment that motivates further improvement. By assessing performance as goals are achieved, you can look for methods that worked well and identify ones that hindered success. In doing so, you have a ready made benchmark from which to set new goals and further optimise performance.
Improve Company Culture
Leaders who participate in assessments set an example of commitment to growth within an organisation. A willingness to have your own leadership assessed demonstrates what is expected and supported across all levels. It promotes a culture of growth, education, and development. Organisations with a culture that places value in these areas foster a positive workplace environment where morale and performance flourish. Leadership assessments encourage frequent communication that establishes deeper levels of trust between leaders and their teams.
The development of those who participate in a leadership training program is predominantly determined by their own willingness to grow. Undertaking a leadership assessment prior to a training course helps to set the basis of their learning. The best tools for leadership development will reveal both the strengths and shortcomings of potential leaders, giving them a measurable starting point from which they can begin their leadership journey. Building an organisational culture of growth and development can have a significant and positive impact on performance both now and in the future.
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.
https://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/leadership-assessment.png363536Philliphttps://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TLS_Blue-Grey-Horizontal-300x124-fix.pngPhillip2021-06-24 14:30:132022-02-28 14:22:157 Reasons to Consider a Leadership Assessment
When it comes to coaching in support of professional development, a coaching culture is one that takes what has been taught in development programs and continues to prioritise learning outside of a formal setting. In building a coaching culture, it is important to remember the impact that emotion and mental health play in performance. Leaders who coach, as opposed to manage, their team will see a greater improvement in performance and success.
Coaching vs. Managing
Many management styles of leadership tend to focus on task delegation and optimising work practices in order to achieve as much as possible. While this is great for the bottom line, it is not always so great for our employees. The pressure to reach certain targets can often lead to poorer performance and unsatisfactory results. When individuals fail to meet expectations, a manager may reassign them to another project, leaving the cause of the issue unresolved.
A coach will instead take the time to work through mistakes with individuals to give them a better understanding of what has gone wrong. This allows them the opportunity to develop the skills needed to perform their task correctly while remedying their mistake. It addresses the issue directly without punishing the individual. One of the positive effects of executive coaching on culture is that it establishes an environment that builds high performers by allowing them to gain valuable experience.
Coaching to Lead
When leaders develop a coaching strategy, team performance improves due to increased engagement and personal relationships. Using leadership and coaching tools for cultural change is the most effective way to increase team performance. Leadership coaching uses a combination of formal feedback reporting and honest communication to establish trusting relationships between leaders and their teams. By developing their own coaching skills, leaders establish a precedent of continual development and education.
Executive coaching helps leaders understand their strengths and work towards achieving their personal and professional goals. By employing these same techniques in their leadership practices, a culture of coaching naturally develops. To make skills development a sustainable component of an organisation, establishing leaders as coach rather than manager is necessary. When leaders become educators, the autonomy and productivity of teams improves.
Establishing a coaching culture can have a significant impact on how your organisation approaches skills development. It shifts the role of leaders from being directive and task oriented, to being much more of a mentorship. Teaching your leaders how coach skills build teams that are more independent and collaborative. Coaching reduces the fear of failure and builds confidence in individuals that allows them to take more risks and become more innovative.
What coaching strategies do you employ to promote skills development?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Many of the best leaders also act in the role of coach for their teams and company. It is a critical position that requires the implication of both assertive and passive management techniques. Leaders who have worked with executive coaches themselves, understand that individuals do not always need direct instruction in order to perform well. There are a number of coaching skills that leaders who wish to develop and inspire their teams in achieving their goals, may learn to include in their own management practices.
Offer Support
For leadership development programs to be successful, participants should be placed in an environment that provides support and encourages honesty and vulnerability. Being equally as vulnerable with participants, demonstrates a leader’s commitment to developing a coaching culture that reduces power imbalances which may make individuals hesitant to share their personal experiences. When adopting a coaching style of leadership, a mutual level of trust must be established to allow the person who is being coached to feel confident in making significant decisions.
Provide Guidance
The best leadership coaches understand that their primary role is to guide others through the decision making process without imposing their own agenda. Executive coaching programs are most effective when a collaborative relationship is established. The coached individual should be given the permission to dictate the focus of the coaching session. Let them decide which goals to work on and even methods for improving. Experienced coaches will of course be able to provide knowledgeable advice on a number of topics, but for the participant to get the most benefit, they must be afforded the opportunity to make the ultimate decision for themselves.
Encourage Reflection
For most people, personal and professional growth occurs when they are able to reflect on their past experiences and are open to learning from them. By analysing what has worked well and what has not, leaders and potential leaders develop a deeper understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. Assessment tools like the Hogan 360º Report are often used prior to beginning executive coaching programs to provide a clear indication of which areas the participant most needs to improve. Regular reflection should be a component of the ongoing coaching sessions as a means of tracking the individual’s progress. Using tools like the Actionable Habit Builder provides further support to help the person who is being coached to reflect in their own time privately, and this tool also allows the coach to post comment, challenge and encourage along the way.
Growth Culture
In a culmination of the above three skills, establishing a culture of growth within your organisation can result in a more open and collaborative team. What we have so far discussed can be focused on singular instances where decisions need to be made or mistakes have occurred. By coaching the individual through a mistake rather than punishing them, you provide them with an opportunity for growth. When you conduct leadership coaching for cultural change, you create an environment that reduces fear of failure and encourages experiential learning.
Adaptive Communication
One important and effective coaching strategy that leaders should engage with is that of adaptive communication. This means knowing when to be active or direct in your approach, and when to back off and let the coachee take the lead. Communication is the most versatile coaching and leadership skills at your disposal. Passive communication like listening and asking questions, help coaches to understand concerns and receive information. Active communication is used to move processes forward and to deliver feedback.
Incorporating coaching skills into other leadership styles can have a greatly positive impact on individuals within a company. Using coaching skills to develop high performers and potential leaders creates a workplace culture that demonstrates a value in gaining experience as a means of education. The organisation becomes an environment where learning and development is built into day-to-day practices, and mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth.
For more information about The Leadership Sphereand 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.
https://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/coach.png290549Philliphttps://theleadershipsphere.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TLS_Blue-Grey-Horizontal-300x124-fix.pngPhillip2021-06-18 13:37:352022-02-28 14:26:065 Coaching Skills all Leaders Need
Change is an inevitable part of the modern business environment. Learning to cope with change and actively participate in driving change is crucial to successful change management. While change is often viewed as something to be wary of, developing a culture that embraces change can provide a multitude of benefits for individuals and organisations.
Strategy Alignment
By having a clearly defined business strategy, leaders are able to align everyday organisational practices in service of achieving performance goals. Communicating this strategy with teams creates consistent practices at every level of the organisation. Driving change through high performance training establishes expectations for both leaders and teams from the outset. It ensures that, regardless of position within the company, all individuals are well informed of both what the strategy is and how to implement it successfully.
High Performance Culture
In order to achieve successful strategic alignment there also needs to be a culture of high performance. When employees at all levels of the organisation are motivated to contribute towards company goals, a high performance culture naturally develops. Leaders who are committed to driving change should prioritise developing a high performance team to ensure there is cohesion in understanding and in practices. High performance is about challenging achievement, and over achievement of goals and continuing to learn from the challenges we face. It is also about not allowing poor performance or misconduct.
“The careful planning that occurs when leading through change management reduces the risks associated with change.”
Minimises Potential Risks
Driving change management greatly minimises the potential risks when a new project is implemented. When change happens too suddenly or faces resistance, projects and processes can fail. The careful planning that occurs when leading through change management reduces the risks associated with change. By taking the time to carefully plan and strategise for upcoming change, teams are able to predict and account for possible hindrances. The best high performance teams will be able to prevent the risks most likely to derail success.
Shorter Transition Periods
In a fast paced business environment, implementing changes quickly and efficiently can have a significant impact on their success. Large changes cannot happen overnight, however having a detailed change management plan in place that marks smaller milestones will help your team to see what they have achieved. By developing a high performance culture that celebrates the progress being made, team motivation builds upon each success and individuals are continually inspired to reach new performance goals. Large scale changes seem less daunting, more manageable, and the time taken to fully integrate them is shortened.
Alleviate Stress
Resistance to change often stems from a fear that jobs will be lost or of being unable to keep up with new organisational developments. Leaders tasked with change management must understand how it affects motivation, performance, and loyalty. It is possible that top talent may want to leave the company during times of change or commit to seeing the challenges through. Teams who participate in a high performance training program learn strategies for working through periods of transition without losing momentum on established projects. This helps to alleviate the stress and anxiety of managing day-to-day operations whilst simultaneously adjusting to new processes.
The advantages of a high performance training workshop to help teams cope with change instill in teams the skills needed to overcome the many challenges that change can bring. Such training programs allow organisations the opportunity to plan for upcoming changes and prepare individuals for smoother transitions. Every business will be affected by change. Communicating that change and training for high performance is integral to driving it to success.
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.
A company’s culture can be difficult to define as it is so intangible and immeasurable. In fact, some might say that culture is best explained by the feeling you get when you walk around the office, or worksite that best represents culture. It is this feeling which represents the totality of values, assumptions, and accepted norms and that is what affects the behaviours of individuals. For such behaviours to become engrained throughout the organisation, executive leaders must be the primary examples and set the standard to which others can follow.
Defining Culture
Driving change leadership takes more than simply implementing new processes. Individuals must be inspired to change their mindsets, behaviours, and beliefs. Leaders must have within themselves a clear vision for what they want the culture of their company to look like and then ensure that they have the right team in place to actualise it. Engaging in leadership training for culture change can make a great impact on integrating new or re-defined ideas from the outset. Onboarding and leadership development programs offer organisations the opportunity to instill the importance of their core values in their employees and to build a culture that reflects those beliefs.
When shaping company culture it is important to develop a strong understanding of why you are doing so. Why is it important to the company? And why is it important to your employees? To do this, you may consider engaging in executive leadership training to develop a deeper understanding of your personal values in relation to what you hope to accomplish as a leader. The role of an executive coach is often one of support and discovery. By asking the right questions they are able to guide their client to reaching the answers for themselves. This can be an effective tool for leaders building towards a shift in culture.
“Why is is important to the company? And why is it important to your employees?”
Reinforcing Culture
It is not enough for leaders to decide on a new approach and expect that their employees will immediately adapt to these changes. Communication and accountability are both paramount to the success of leading culture change. Information must be clearly and regularly communicated across all levels of the organisation, and leaders must be willing to be held accountable for following through themselves. Through leadership and management training courses, employees throughout the organization can be kept informed of new processes and given the means to further their knowledge to members of their team.
A single leadership training course is not enough to shape an entire culture on its own. It must become a regular part of a company’s agenda in board meetings as well as in everyday conversations between team members. A culture can be built with relative ease, sustaining it, and making it second nature to individuals is a challenge within itself. By discussing change and why it is happening, creates a company-wide understanding of what is most important. What is taught in a leadership training program becomes contextualised in the realities of everyday practices. Different levels of leaders get different take always from leadership development programs, and like most professional development, as a minimum, it serves as a reminder of the things we should be doing, but have not set as a priority to do so. These little things all add up to make a big difference when it comes to driving a positive workplace culture and creating a high trust organisation.
Culture is often first shaped by leaders wishing to take their organisation in a new direction. However, it is most successful when those leaders are able to have a positive influence on their teams to inspire a shift in mindset that drives behaviour. In an era where diversity, inclusion and belonging are becoming even more important, good leadership and positive workplace cultures is becoming a differentiating factor for businesses of all sizes and industries.
What is most important for you, as a leader, to shaping culture?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
Traditional executive leadership training has placed a large focus on the development of the practical skills needed to manage teams. Increasingly, leadership development is shifting from this model to one that establishes soft skills that are key to decision making and performance. As the global business community continue to focus on diversity, inclusion and belonging, these secondary or softer skills are becoming primary drivers of leadership development programs. For leaders to get the most out of their development, there are several options that organisations have to ensure they are providing programs that offer a diverse approach to learning.
Understanding Values
When embarking leadership training for culture change, it is important to have a clear understanding of the values you wish to instill in your employees and greater organisation. Developing this understanding of personal values and how you can build them into your day-to-day practices can play a significant role in establishing and sustaining workplace culture in the long term. This is a particular focus of the Dare to Lead™ program. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their personal beliefs and inspect the ways in which they practice their values in how they conduct their work.
Evaluation
It can be useful to run an assessment of a team or individual’s strengths prior to their participation in a leadership training course. Knowing what they already do well and in which areas they could improve, help to establish what kind of program they would receive the most benefit from. The 360º Feedback Report provides insight into how leaders are perceived by their teams and exposes key areas of success and growth. This can be a valuable tool for re-assessment and tracking the progress being made.
Be Vulnerable
Open and honest communication is key to establishing the interpersonal relationships that help sustain a positive workplace culture. It relies on leaders allowing themselves to show vulnerability to their teams as well as a willingness to listen to their feedback and concerns. Leadership development programs that teach participants how to embrace vulnerability and establish a culture of trust throughout the organization leads to improved performance and success. Vulnerability is not a skill that you download in one go, it is rather complex, but at it’s core is honesty and transparency, however, there are always elements of what to disclose and not to disclose. Transparency without thinking through what you disclose as a leader can be dangerous, as can more traditional leadership styles of armouring up and showing no signs of vulnerability in the process. It is the balance of both extremes that creates leadership that enables a high trust organisation.
Be Challenged
A strong measure of effective leadership comes when leaders are faced with uncertainty and challenges that push them towards innovation and creative problem solving. Leadership training programs that focus on developing creative thinking as well as practical skills, result in leaders who are better equipped to overcome unexpected challenges. As we have seen during times of challenge such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, leaders are required to respond to challenges over a longer term period of uncertainty and that requires new strengths in resilience and support and is a big part of leadership development programs to help organisations maintain organisational health through difficult times.
Establish Development Culture
Many leaders who profess a desire to improve their personal and professional development often put off doing so until they ‘have the time,’ without realising that the time to start is always now and that “some time” far too often becomes “no time”. Prioritising performance over development is to disregard the opportunity to get the greatest benefit out of both outlets. When learning and development are integrated into everyday practices, we establish ways of becoming better leaders in ways that enable us to improve overall performance. The evolution of leadership within an organisation is very much about a consistent loop of evaluation followed by a continued challenge of development where you need it most, and those who do it best are now building leadership development and high performance team programs with values and vulnerability at the core.
The development of leadership skills and practices is an integral part of both personal and organisational growth. Where performance is concerned, so too should leadership training be. The success of any organisation depends upon those who put in the effort each and every day to ensure it. Companies must provide support and opportunities for leadership and management training if they want to see performance exceeding that of their competitors.
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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Leadership Assessment and Development Tools Explained
Senior leaders know that leadership capability and good leadership is not about inherent ability alone. They also recognise that the days of a senior title commanding respect have gone, and instead each leader at every level of an organisation is being assessed based on their ability to lead and how supportive they are of their teams and others across the business. But why do some leaders make it look so easy and others find it a constant struggle? One of the reasons for this is because the most effective and influential leaders understand the necessity of continually improving their own leadership skills. It isn’t just about inspiring teams, it’s about knowing yourself first. The best leadership assessment tools provide valuable insight into how leaders perform and, in some cases, why they favour particular behaviours. However, when you dip into assessing leadership and assessment profiling tools it can be quite confusing as to which one to use.
DiSC
The DiSC profile is designed to help participants build more effective relationships through engaging with a deeper understanding of themselves and others. It is a leadership assessment tool that offers insight into engaging individuals, tackling workplace conflict, and teaching leadership skills to managers. Your DiSC assessment will fall into one of four profile types that indicate whether a person is more task or people oriented. Some may criticise this as being a generalisation of personality type, or somewhat of a “labelling” exercise, but knowing your DiSC profile can be helpful in understanding how you approach certain challenges.
Hogan 360º Report
The 360º Degree Feedback tool is one of the top ways to profile leaders to help them understand their leadership style. It involves collecting feedback from colleagues and team members about the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. From this, they are able to gain insight into how they are perceived in terms of their attitude, behaviour, and performance. As this assessment can be answered anonymously, honest feedback is invited though there is a possibility of also receiving unconstructive comments due to personal bias. To get the most out of the Hogan 360º Report, it is best to get as many responses as possible to better identify any recurring trends.
Human Synergistics
The Human Synersistics Circumplex measures constructive, passive, and aggressive behaviours. It is used in both the Life Styles Inventory and Group Styles Inventory assessments. The LSI is a leadership assessment tool for individuals that helps them clarify their personal understanding of their own behaviour and the thinking behind their actions. The GSI can be used for teams to assess behaviours during team decision-making processes. It provides insight into how the group functions as a whole, allowing them to clearly identify what helps or hinders their performance. Leadership assessment tools for teams serve as a means of demonstrating where improvements can be made in order to build successful high performing teams.
Regularly reflecting on past behaviours and performance is key to strengthening weaknesses and improving existing strengths. There are numerous tools available that leaders and teams can participate in to identify their leadership style. We have spoken about a small number of them here, and to discuss them all could become overwhelming. Each person or organisation will have different reasons for choosing to use tools like these. Selecting the leadership assessment and development tool, or tools, that best suit your needs is vital to achieving your desired outcome goals.
How do you incorporate reflection and development in your leadership practices?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance, and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
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6 Benefits of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI)
Updated: December 2025
What is the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument®?
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® is based on the Whole Brain Thinking® framework and is an assessment tool that evaluates an individual’s thinking process and how it reflects in certain aspects of their work-life. This assessment is typically used to raise people’s awareness of their strengths in ways that they can capitalise on to make better decisions, become more creative problem solvers, and improve overall performance.
Four styles of thinking for the HBDI assessment
There are four styles of thinking, or quadrants, that the HBDI assessmentaccounts for. The HBDI quadrants represent different cognitive preferences and approaches to problem-solving, communication, and decision-making. Understanding these styles helps individuals and teams leverage diverse thinking patterns for improved collaboration and leadership effectiveness. Here’s a closer look at each quadrant:
The A Quadrant – Analytical
This quadrant focuses on logical, data-driven, and fact-based thinking. Individuals with a preference for the A Quadrant excel in:
Analyzing facts and data: They thrive on breaking down complex information into logical components.
Processing numbers: They are comfortable working with statistics, financial data, and quantitative analysis.
Critical thinking: They approach problems with a rational, objective mindset, seeking evidence-based solutions.
The B Quadrant – Practical
The B Quadrant emphasises structure, organisation, and a methodical approach to tasks. Those who favor this style are skilled at:
Organising facts and details: They excel in creating order and ensuring all elements are accounted for.
Planning and execution: They are adept at developing step-by-step plans and following through with precision.
Attention to detail: They focus on accuracy and reliability, ensuring tasks are completed thoroughly.
The C Quadrant – Relational
Relational thinkers prioritise interpersonal connections, emotional intelligence, and intuitive understanding. Key traits of individuals in the C Quadrant include:
Interpersonal skills: They build strong relationships and foster collaboration within teams.
Expressiveness: They communicate with empathy and are attuned to the emotions of others.
Intuition: They rely on their gut feelings and emotional insights to guide decisions and interactions.
The D Quadrant – Experimental
The D Quadrant is characterised by creativity, innovation, and a focus on the big picture. Individuals with a preference for this style are known for:
Big-picture thinking: They excel at seeing overarching patterns and envisioning long-term possibilities.
Imagination and creativity: They generate innovative ideas and think outside the box.
Conceptual thinking: They enjoy exploring abstract concepts and brainstorming new approaches to challenges.
Breakthrough Thinking
Understanding the HBDI profile for individuals can mean the difference between making a right decision, and making the best decision. Leaders today must be able to adapt to rapidly changing situations that requires them to shift their thinking in ways that enable them to come up with the best solutions. No two challenges are the same, and a great leader needs to be armed with the tools to overcome them. This type ofpsychometric assessment provides insight into the patterns that determine which of the four quadrants they fall into when problem solving. It is important too, that an understanding of each quadrant is developed so that you have a more complete arsenal of approaches from which to draw.
Creates Well Rounded Teams
By utilising the HBDI profile for teams, leaders can adapt their communication and coaching to support their specific needs rather than applying a singular, one-size-fits-all approach. Teams can be built to consist of people with diverse thinking processes. When they learn to account for their HBDI, they are able to recognise when a challenge they face will require a particular style of problem solving. Calling on the skills of a ‘D’ quadrant, imaginative thinker for example can be useful when navigating cultural change. Their ability to conceptualise ideas in a larger context is helpful when projects are starting out to provide clarity about the end vision. Each style of thinking identified by each quadrant, provides an invaluable resource to productivity and performance.
Communication
Strong communication is an integral element of any high performing team or organisation. The efficiency of how we distribute important information with clarity is what allows productivity to flourish. Whole Brain Thinking® introduces a common vocabulary that allows for ideas and information to be shared and more importantly, understood, by everyone without the chance of being misunderstood. By revealing the HBDI profile for individuals, we gain insight into the way that they understand information. So, when we need to communicate complex ideas we can do so more easily by phrasing it in words that align with their way of thinking. Knowing theHerrmann Brain Dominance Instrument®profiles of others can also help us to understand the ideas they are sharing with us, as we more easily understand some of their background thinking.
Developing this deep level of understanding of each other’s ways of thinking and problem solving results in creating a more connected workplace culture. Strong communication and comprehension also builds a network of support. For example, a ‘C’ quadrant thinker might be asked for advice about keeping team morale high or, an ‘A’ quadrant thinker may assist in quantifying goals. Successful organisations have a culture that goes beyond accepting differences; they embrace and leverage those differences to push themselves further.
“Successful organisation have a culture that goes beyond accepting differences; they embrace and leverage those differences to push themselves further.”
Growth and Performance
Thought management tools such as the HBDI help us to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our approach to learning. We may struggle to understand new methods, not because they are too complex, but because the information is being delivered in a way that is incompatible with how we prefer to learn. Not many people know what their preferred method is. A focus on how new ideas and skills are taught can be equally as important as learning them at all. Improvement in productivity occurs when we approach skills development in ways that make the most sense for the individual.
Sustainable Change
Creating on-going and sustainable change is difficult for many organisations to achieve, especially for those who have a ‘the way it’s always been done’ mentality. Embracing new ways of doing business allows organisations to make continuous improvements. They don’t become complacent or reliant on outdated practices. Adopting a Whole Brain Thinking® approach to business practises, creates possibilities to implement more creative, innovative ideas that offer a competitive edge.
There is inherent value in exploring the strengths and weaknesses that affect how we process new information and solve problems. It takes a concerted effort to learn to approach challenges from a variety of angles. Discovering your individual or team Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® profile can play a pivotal role in decision making, performance, and success. Embracing it is important to avoid becoming too reliant on old patterns that prevent us from reaching our highest potential.
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.
Many industries today exist as part of a rapidly growing and constantly changing environment. As such, leadership models of the past that succeeded with command-and-control practices simply cannot provide the functionality they once did. To deal with the new challenges faced by leaders today, a different approach is needed. One that moves us away from a reliance on rigid management and towards providing support and guidance through constantly changing environments. Rather than the instructor, employees will engage with their leader as a coach and in some cases as both a coach and a mentor
Effects of Coaching on Culture
When we think of executive coaching, we often view it as the exclusive domain of C-level and other high-ranking personnel. In this new culture of the leader as a coach, we can see how coaching and leadership skills prove to be beneficial to employees at all levels. The best leaders understand that asking the right questions can spark insight in another person that leads to innovation and a deeper understanding of problem-solving. This can have an incredible impact on performance and one might say that coaching is a skill set that every senior manager and leader must have in their toolkit!
Executive coaching, when accessible by employees across all areas of a business, can remarkably impact its culture and environment. As coaching involves so much collaboration between the coach and the individual, it encourages creativity in ways that unlock hidden potential. The positive effects of executive coaching on culture reach far beyond improved performance. It is capable of affecting the confidence of individuals to work without specific instructions and instills in them the sense that they are trusted to continue to be productive. This is why we find such a high percentage of the best employers have structured coaching and mentoring programs as a way of doing business.
A Tool for Change
Leadership coaching is more than just a personal skill that managers must excel in. It is also a valuable source of cultural strength. By moving away from the top-down command style of leadership used in the past, you open the door to more high-performing individuals to become a part of the decision-making process. You teach them how to interact with each other as well as with clients more thoughtfully. Not only does this impact the culture of your business, making it a more positive place for those who work there, but it becomes a more positive place for those you work with.
Companies that do not upgrade their business model to include leadership and coaching tools for cultural change, may find that their growth and progress become stagnated. Companies that embrace this new approach by encouraging and supporting skills development in all of their employees increases the possibilities for innovation and growth. Change starts at the top. When leaders demonstrate their willingness to own up to their own information gaps and ask their team for assistance, a community is fostered that is based on trust and interpersonal relationships. By modelling this behaviour themselves, leaders are showing their teams that it is important and valuable to seek the knowledge you wish to gain that you don’t already possess.
As industries continue to change, so must the culture and leadership practices within them. It is impossible to rely on any singular, outdated model of management. Executive leadership programs provide the valuable tools required to improve upon practices that can lead to exponential growth in high-performing teams. What is needed now are leaders who are willing to affect positive change in support of their teams in ways that encourage learning and creativity.
As a leader, how do you use coaching and mentoring in your day-to-day conversations?
The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and high trust organisation.
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Executive coaches can play a significant role in the ongoing development of teams and leaders. Through a series of coaching sessions in which the coach and client work closely to construct a strategy to reach specific goals and build new behaviours, the client is empowered to take control of their own learning. In making continual assessments and tracking their progress, it becomes possible to see the tangible development of skills that contribute to ongoing growth and success. The relationship is one of accountability, development and support, and provides a safe place for an individual to talk through what is working and what is not working with their day to day business activities.
Analysis
For executive coaching to provide the most beneficial results, the coach must first work with the team or individual to identify performance gaps and their cause. This is typically achieved through executive coaching programs that aim to address the specific goals and desires of the client, as well as any behaviours they may wish to improve. Those behaviours that will provide the highest opportunities for advancement should be prioritised. In some cases, the specific goals for the coaching program may be aligned to other development activities, or will be agreed between the individual who is being coached and other representatives from the business.
Preparation
Coaching for behavioural or cultural change takes a significant amount of time and effort to be done effectively, and therefore should not be a rushed process. It may take several coaching sessions for there to be a noticeable change. Set an intentional objective prior to each meeting that focuses on one or two specific behaviours. Doing so means that you can solidify progress in those areas without becoming overwhelmed by trying to do too much at once. The preparation stage should also involve anticipating obstacles and discussing strategies to overcome them. As you begin to introduce new objectives, you can see the progress that has already been made. In some cases, leadership assessments and profiling may be required for a more detailed assessment of the individual who is being coached, or in other cases the main areas for behaviour and cultural change may be identified through conversation and consultation with the individual and/or others within the business. The most important part of this step is that everyone involved agree on the area that requires change, and are committed to making the change, and recognise the benefits of working through that process!
Collaboration
Executive coaching is a collaborative process between the coach and the client. Collaboration suggests relationship and for that reason, trust is a big part of any coaching program. Each session should involve open dialogue and shared perspectives to determine the options of moving forwards. Both coach and client must be fully engaged and motivated to achieve the goals set out. The best executive coaches understand that much of their role is simply to ask the right questions that lead the client to reach the solution for themselves. Of course, their experience and expertise will offer guidance in this but really, a successful coach will act as more of a sounding board for ideas rather than provide direct answers. What remains in the vault, is a big part of collaboration, and is a critical part of how a coach builds trust and ensures a healthy coaching relationship.
Documentation
To truly benefit from the positive effects of executive coaching, each session should take rigorous documentation of goals, the steps that need to be taken, and timing (if applicable) so that progress can be monitored. A useful tool for this process is the Actionable Habit Builder that allows the client to set, track, and reflect on their behaviour as they work towards their goals. The platform allows progress to be shared with the coach so that they are able to be kept up to date remotely. At the end of this program, the individual is asked to answer a series of reflection questions that allow them to delve deeply into self-analysis of their behaviour and emotions. The advantage of this is that it provides a measurement not only of what they did, but how they felt about it. By having a reference of what has been worked on and the levels of improvement, delivers the necessary feedback to keep everyone involved motivated to work through difficult situations and acts as a reminder to the value of the coaching relationship and progress that is being made.
Follow up
The best leadership coaching businesses do not succeed on the basis of a singular session. For there to be continual improvement there must also be continual assessment. The reaching of one goal usually leads to the forming of another. In this way we are always able to achieve growth in our business and leadership. A cycle of feedback is necessary for building upon previous success. The Hogan 360º Report feedback tool is excellent for creating this loop. At the end of each implementation, clients are again asked to provide feedback on the skills and behaviours that are either working or can still be improved. One of the advantages of leadership coaches is having someone who is willing to push you to succeed not just once, but time and time again.
The top leadership coaches know that change takes time, skill, and dedication. Through executive coaching programs and behaviour development tools, clients are able build within themselves the skills they need to grow and reach new levels of success. How do we know if we are reaching our goals if we do not assess our progress? By working closely with the coach and regularly monitoring their progress, clients become more confident and begin to take ownership of their own development.
For more information about The Leadership Sphere and how we can help you in creating value 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.
When we talk about developing a high performance culture within an organisation, we do so with the aim of cultivating an environment that makes employees want to come to work. In fact, positive company culture is often cited as a significant factor for those who are applying for roles. For companies looking to expand their workforce or simply to further incentivise current employees, investment in culture should be given priority.
Continuous Learning
Strong leaders must be willing to not only accept changes that occur within their business but encourage growth and innovation. The culture of the company should reflect their commitment to developing high performers by allowing them opportunities to demonstrate and expand their skills. High performance training programs help individuals by building upon their ability to engage constructive collaboration and the company then benefits from having established a culture that thrives on the passion of those individuals.
Empower Individuals
The best high performance teams course will teach participants to operate effectively with minimal direction from management. They have been entrusted to solve problems and make decisions that will produce high quality results. By recognising and even celebrating their success can have a lasting impact on morale. Something as simple as a thoughtful email will make a big difference. Remember this is about making your employees feel acknowledged and appreciated in ways that empower them to strive for success.
Collect Feedback
High performance culture thrives when feedback is regularly sought out and reciprocated. Not only does it allow teams to better understand the goals laid out for them, but by listening to the feedback of their teams, leaders learn what their teams require from them in order to continue their success. The Hogan 360º survey is designed to provide a feedback loop reinforces what is working well and what can be improved. The relationship this build between teams and management is deeply rooted in a sense of trust that allows for open and honest communication.
Encourage Accountability
One of the strongest assets of developing and sustaining high performance teams is their determination to achieve results. In order to do this they must hold themselves and each other to high levels of accountability to ensure that their goals are met. In building high performance teams, programs such as Dare to Lead™, can be useful in developing methods of communication that reinforce the importance of taking ownership of our actions. When the performance of the team relies so heavily on unity for success, accountability will define a large part of the culture.
Select the Right People
High performance teams should consist of individuals who are not only dedicated to their role and the project, but who also understand the organisation and its values. By providing them with training and experience, you can ensure that they are helping you to create the environment that fosters high performance. Engaging in creating a high performance team workshop allows you to provide the skills and experience you desire in your team while simultaneously demonstrating your own commitment to their growth.
Integrate Behaviours
It is not enough to simply state your desire to build a high performance culture. You must act. This is achieved through communicating clearly with employees at all levels about what is expected of them. The behaviours and habits required to succeed should be regularly talked about and engrained in the day-to-day operations of the business.
Set the Example
The old adage of ‘practice what you preach’ still holds true. In business, it means more to your employees if you show that you are just as willing to put in the time and effort towards tasks that you’re asking them to perform. As a leader, you set the standard. If you want others to adhere to the values of your organisation, you must live by them yourself to be effective at driving the culture.
How well your teams perform is tied closely with the environment in which they work. For teams to achieve exceptional results, they require a high performance culture. Developing and sustaining high performance team programs are an invaluable resource in establishing a positive company culture. Though it is something that cannot be done through skills training alone. It is up to the individuals on the team to cultivate and engage with.
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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For a business to achieve successful growth, they must have passionate and innovative leaders driving their ambitions throughout the company. Where there exists a gap between performance and potential, there is also an opportunity to develop leadership capabilities. In a McKinsey study conducted in 2011, it was found that ‘good’ leadership capability demonstrated no correlation to financial performance, but companies with leaders who showed ‘excellent’ capability also reached the top quartile in financial performance. There are three key areas of leadership in which an individual must focus their development in order to achieve leadership excellence.
Leading Oneself
Understanding your individual strengths and weaknesses as a leader is integral to understanding why others should follow your guidance. The majority of this aspect of leadership is centered around psychology and mindset. What is particularly important is your personal determination to develop your skills. Executive coaching programs can be a crucial tool for those looking to develop their leadership capabilities prior to applying for higher positions or taking on more responsibility. These are highly individualised programs that aim to help you achieve your personal development goals and manage change effectively. They drive engagement and increase the overall performance within the organisation.
Leading Others
To be an effective leader of other people, you need to be able to provide them with inspiration and motivation. Leading high performance teams to success is challenging. Excellent leaders are uniquely skilled in this because they have dedicated their own time to learning how. Organisational performance is closely driven by the relationship between leaders and their team. Leadership development training that utilise the 360 degree feedback model provides leaders with insight into how they are perceived by their teams. In this way, leaders gain a fuller understanding of their team’s mindset and how they can build a stronger relationship with them.
Leading the Business
Establishing a culture of high performance is an important aspect of leading the business. To have strong commercial performance, the output of your teams must be of consistently great quality. Linked closely to leading others, building high performance teams is done by establishing strong relationships that promote constructive collaboration and engagement with the work. One of the key capabilities of high performance team leaders is their ability to encourage innovation and inspire their team to reach greater levels of success by setting stretch goals. These leaders are able to balance the goals of the business while motivating their teams to outperform expectations.
For growth to continue and success sustained, leadership capability development must be incorporated into the system of the organisation. Doing so creates a pipeline for high potential employees to develop their skills and move into leadership positions. Though it may take some time, the leaders you nurture will be the best equipped to move the company forward in reaching its goals and achieving commercial performance.
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.
