learning leaders forum

1

Copyright, © 2004 eePulse, Inc.

Learning Leaders Forum

Introduction and Screen Shots

Based on Leadership Pulse Research

Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne

Developing Learning Leaders

2


What is the Learning Leaders Forum (LLF)?

• New approach to executive learning

– Data and Dialogue Driven Leadership

• What’s new?

– Real-time data from managers used to foster dialogue to tackle today’s “hot issues”

– Teaching drawn from “next practices” • As defined by managers today

– The next evolution of benchmarking • Trendmarking™ (benchmarking trends)

• Leadership Confidence: Key metric #1

• Leader Energy: Key metric #2

– Focused learning based on research streams defined by member firms

• e.g. Diversity, globalization, outsourcing, culture, etc.

3


How The LLF Drives Success• Leaders learn from people they trust

– Their peers.. other leaders provide the input (learning stories ) – Case studies written based on “their own” data – their own opportunities and

challenges

• Leaders learn about today’s issues– Data collection (minimally one data collection per quarter; up to monthly) with

immediate report out capability – Analyzed and turned into education through collaboration with leading

universities

• Action-based learning drives performance– Proven success in delivering cost savings, stock price growth, reduced

turnover, and more

• Track leadership confidence and energy– Key metrics that predict business outcomes

4


Who’s Delivering The Offering?

• eePulse, Inc. technology and research offering– Founded in 1996 by Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne– Experience with firms such as British Telecom,

General Motors, Sun Microsystems, ABN Amro, Toyota, NW Memorial Hospital, IBM, Washington Mutual Bank, Classmates.com, and more

• Executive Education at host school and through a consortium of universities– Host school: Provides forum, briefings, and educational

resources for their select learning community

– Learning Leaders Consortium: Allows all members to access experts from a variety of disciplines, who are in universities around the world

5


Real-Time Results

• Every participant (person taking a survey) receives a personal report – Shows their scores vs. benchmarks (company data,

industry data)– Engages participants in immediate learning

• Internal business “owners” – Immediate access to your group reports and benchmark

data • Data can be “cut” by any groups of interest to your team (by

department, location, high potentials, seniority, gender, etc.)• Predictive nature of data gives most senior executives

“breaking news” they cannot obtain any other way

6


Proven Results

• Core learning process used in over 70 organizations since 1996

• $17m savings in 10 months• Turnover reduced by 26% in 6 months• Stock price increase in 6 months• Merger integration success• Proven leadership development

7


Screen Shots

Based on data from Leadership Pulse

Research Study

8


Background on Leadership Pulse

• Started in June, 2003• Sample of approximately 4,000 senior executives have

participated • Trending:

– Leadership confidence • 5 questions, measure confidence in aspects of

organizational leadership

– Resource growth• 5 questions, ask executives to predict growth in 5 aspects of

business for following quarter

– Energy Pulse• One question, assesses degree to which employees are

energized (e.g. motivated, engaged) by work

• Extensive use of open ended comment data for peer learning

9


Sample Trend: Leadership Confidence Question

10


Auto Categorization Used With Comment Data

Highlight function puts sentence in red that is related to the particular category (in this example, leadership is the topic)

11


Comments Graphed

Reports with random samples of comments or “most relevant” comments (with relevancy scores from categorization statistics) can be provided.

12


Sample Energy Pulse Trend

This “slice” of data is for Director level respondents only. The goal for Energy is to be “in the zone” or between the two dark lines labeled prod high and low (prod is short for productivity; this zone is the range in which employees are most productive).

13


Sample Benchmark Report: Energy Pulse

This report shows those same directors’ scores (prior slide) vs. senior executives and all other job levels. Benchmarks for any “view” (in this case by job level) can be provided.

Note that you have both overall change (average at time 2 minus average at time 1) and WPC (within person change). This is important data to assess accuracy. In this case, both #s are in the same direction; this is not always the case.

14


Sample Energy Pulse Trend Chart Company Going Through Major Change Successfully

Real change happens gradually; this Fortune 100 company started out “below the zone” overall. In this case only 2 of the 10 business units that made up the organization were within their own “zones” (zones are customized for subgroups) at the start of the organization change process. As of 9/4/04, 8 of the 10 business units were in their own zones. The graph shows a continuous trend upwards for the organization overall. Other data shows this trend is related to other financial and product-related outcomes. Comments from the first week forward were used to drive communications, change, and learning.

15


Success StoriesAsked Executives to Talk About Winning Sales

• “Follow up, Follow up, Follow up with your prospective clients after a sales call/contact! DO what you said you would -if you can't then get back to them right away - there is nothing like honesty in communications. No customer likes to be left high and dry when they are least expecting it!”

• “With competition remaining fierce, we have looked to smaller clients to fill the void. Also, we have gone back to successful actions when the company was in a high-growth mode to replicate those actions in today's market.”

• “We have converted our "customer service" department and migrated them into our sales team. When calling on over due invoices they found they were able to share new product introductions to these on-going customers. We now take 2 days each month and have all sales reps call on their own overdue invoices. Aging of invoices is now reduced and sales have increased.”

Stories Start Dialogue Drives Learning

16


One Last Sales Story• “In an important final sales presentation, we were running over our allotted time, primarily due to

the prospective client's questions. One of the key decision makers interrupted me and said "I have to go and pick up my daughter now at gymnastics - why don't you come with me and continue your presentation?"

My colleagues looked completely confused as to how to handle this situation, but what else could be done? Of course, I responded that I would be happy to accompany him.

We drove together to pick up his daughter from gymnastics, then back to his house where I met his other daughter and wife. We talked about many things, but very little about the investment strategy my company was pitching. There were several points I was anxious to emphasize about our product, some key advantages that we offer that I desperately wanted to make sure were clear to him, but I refrained from elaborating beyond a few direct answers to his business related questions.

We ended up winning the business, but my guess is that it was not due so much to the hundreds if not thousands of hours we spent preparing our presentation, responding to the initial RFP, or any perception of a huge advantage our particular company and product offered. This particular executive wanted to learn a little more about the people behind the product. We ended up winning the business.

Sometimes the best sales pitch is to take off your sales hat and be yourself. Show the client that you are a real person with a SOUL and with other non-work related challenges and dreams. Especially if you are selling something where personal service is part of the package, a key consideration for the prospective client will be "how will I like working with these people?".

If you are wondering whether your managers will write enough detail to be meaningful, consider the comment above. We find that managers, and even the most senior leaders, are willing to share their best “stories” and best practices.

17


Sample “Research Stream” PageFocus: Organization Culture

This is the first page a manager of a group would see. Note the space available for learning tools (in this case an action guide associated with the particular culture survey authored by Dr. Bob Quinn).

Managers can be provided with an analysis (interpretation) of questions as well as overall statistical results

18


Scale report for culture surveySample of research stream study

This bar graph displays items from high to low scores

Order of these items can be alphabetical, or in this case, they match the teaching manual

19


Sample Benchmark Report One question (overall industry view)

Member #100 4.75 (.25)

20


Next Steps

• Current activity: Initial organization

of consortium

schools and

charter members

For additional information:Dr. Theresa M. Welbourne

734-429-4400 or

[email protected]

learning leaders forum

Documents