lets grow services
TRANSCRIPT
Services to grow your frontline managers into frontline leaders
Grow your frontline leaders and watch your organisa7on thrive
About Karen Schmidt Karen Schmidt from Let’s Grow! is a frontline leadership expert who helps organisa:ons grow their frontline leaders so they performer be=er, which improves team produc:vity, giving your senior leaders peace of mind. The seeds for her role as a speaker, facilitator and coach were planted early in her career when she encountered disengaging leaders and colleagues who were performing below their capabili:es. Originally a Human Resources prac::oner, Karen has been nurturing frontline leaders for more than 20 years.
She is an award winning speaker and the author of 5 books including “Greenhousing: nurturing the next crop of leaders” and “Green Thumb Leader: how to grow from a frontline manager into a frontline leader”. Karen has worked with clients from over 20 industries across Australia, New Zealand and Asia including corporates, government, associa:ons, educa:on and not for profits.
• Are you concerned your frontline leaders don’t have the skills to be effec:ve? • Is there high turnover at the frontline as a direct result of poor leadership? • Do you send your frontline leaders on training but don’t seem to be geRng results?
I want to start a grassroots change to the way we develop frontline leaders so they can go from surviving to thriving and help your organisa:on to grow. Using my Prac:cal Leadership Development model let me show you how to increase the return on investment for your frontline leadership development budget. • Stocktake of your development strategy to increase your return on investment • Budding Leaders Program to give frontline leaders the founda:on skills to succeed • Learning Café sessions focused on prac:cal, every day skills frontline leaders need • Coaching to fast track their development and get them ready for promo:on • Facilita7on to help leadership teams take ac:on on important projects
Stocktake
Do you want to improve the way you develop your frontline leaders? Your organisa:on has in place a range of leadership development ini:a:ves but how effec:ve are they? Before you spend another dollar on leadership development take a step back and make sure you are geRng all the details correct. In a complex and busy workplace it is easy to lose sight of the benefits an effec:ve leadership development program can offer. It is cri:cal to regularly assess your ac:ons against a set of criteria based on a proven model of success. That is where a stocktake can help. Using a quick and simple 40 point checklist I appraise your present situa:on to see what’s working, what isn’t and how to bridge the gap. That way you can invest your :me, money and energy into the most useful ac:vi:es to grow your leaders.
The process 1. Conduct an interview to assess your current policies, procedures and systems to iden:fy
what is really happening in prac:ce. I also compare your ac:vi:es to the Prac:cal Leadership Development model to see if you are geRng the right balance of ac:vi:es.
2. Produce a short report using a ra:ng scale and highlight key strengths and areas for
development plus benchmark your stocktake results against those of other organisa:ons I have surveyed.
3. A follow up mee:ng where we go through the short, prac:cal report to discuss the specific steps you can take to get your leaders growing.
The process can be done face to face or over the phone. Your investment is $997 and 90 minutes of your :me.
”The Stocktake was a really simple and user friendly tool that helped us get a true picture of both our strengths and opportuni@es to improve.” Mel Godber, Na-onal Learning and Development Manager, Australian Red Cross
Stocktake
Benefits of the stocktake Whether you have a detailed development plan in place or your organisa:on is just star:ng out on the process, the Stocktake process has a number of benefit: • Increased confidence that the :me, money and effort you are inves:ng will give you
a good return • BeHer decision making so you avoid reac:ve, adhoc solu:ons that you later regret • Provides a framework for looking at frontline leadership development in a
systema7c way without losing sight of the human factor • Follows a step by step approach with each phase providing a strong founda:on for
the next • Allows you to take into account your unique circumstances and customise the model
so it works for you
“The Stocktake was an informa@ve process and Karen’s recommenda@ons were well explained as well as cost and @me efficient. I would recommend the Stocktake to small, medium and large businesses that want to create a great team of leaders.” Maria Hemara, Human Resources Advisor, BHD Oilfield Services
Prac7cal Leadership Development Model
Budding Leaders Program A program for people who lead at the frontline Crea:ng engaging leaders takes :me. You can’t achieve results overnight by simply offering a selec:on of workshops and hope that your frontline leaders will implement the ideas. What they need is a systema:c approach to their development, one that offers them a learning journey over :me rather than a number of one off events. That’s why I have designed the Budding Leaders Program. This flexible program is specifically tailored to the needs of frontline leaders. It covers what I believe are the 5 most important skill sets for people who lead at this level: 1. The role of a frontline leader 2. The engaging leader mindset 3. Leading styles 4. Communica:ng as a leader 5. Growing as a leader
Key benefits of the program • Reduces turnover and increases produc7vity in your frontline leaders • Improves the engagement levels of your frontline staff • Gives your frontline leaders founda7on skills to get their career off to a posi:ve start • Focuses on leadership skills relevant to the type of role they will perform • Offers support systems to ensure that learning is translated into behavioural change
“The value I received from comple@ng the Budding Leaders program is enormous. I wouldn’t have been able to con@nue in my present role without Karen’s guidance.” Philippa Alford, Centre Director, Headland Montessori
“The Budding Leaders Team program was exactly what I was looking for – an emphasis on developing prac@cal leadership ap@tudes and sharing of experiences to build teamwork” Teri O’Toole, WA State Manager Migra7on Support Programs, Australian Red Cross
Budding Leaders Program Contents
1. The role of a frontline leader • Recognising the difference between managing and leading • GeRng the balance right between managing and leading • Understanding the key responsibili:es of a frontline leader • Iden:fying what frontline leaders don’t do • The role of a frontline leader in nurturing culture
3. Leading styles • Iden:fying the key theories behind leading styles • The impact of effec:ve and ineffec:ve styles • Analysing your natural style • Understanding how your style develops • Recognising opportuni:es to demonstrate your style
5. Growing as a leader • The stages of growth every leader goes through • Analysing the key areas where you need to grow • Iden:fying the best ways for you to keep growing • Designing a plan for your ongoing growth • Your role in helping other people to grow
4. Communica7ng like a leader • Recognising the importance of effec:ve communica:on • Analysing factors in communica:ng with the frontline • Iden:fying the communica:on needs of your team • Understanding how effec:ve leaders communicate • Dealing with a range of communica:on situa:ons frontline leaders face
2. The engaging leader mindset • Understanding the different leader mindsets • Defining engagement and it’s role in team performance • Iden:fying behaviours that engaging leaders demonstrate • Developing your personal philosophy towards leading • Recognising how the leader’s mindset impacts on team engagement
The program is based on my unique Workplace Gardening Philosophy which resonates with the prac:cal people who lead at the frontline. It is memorable and logical, which aids reten:on and increases understanding so people learn quicker and change faster
Budding Leaders Program Delivery op7ons
Online program This is a group coaching based program conducted over 4 months. The one hour sessions are conducted virtually so par:cipants can be located anywhere. If you have at least 4 people you can run a program for your organisa:on or your frontline leaders can join in one of the regular public programs offered each year. This delivery op:on is ideal for • People living or working in remote loca:ons • When you have only a few people who need development • For organisa:ons that want to expose their leaders to best prac:ce in other industries
Self paced program Ideal for those people who prefer to manage their own learning, the Self Paced program allows you to work through the 25 topics at a speed that suits your learning style and work commitments. It is also ideal for organisa:ons that have their own Learning and Development team who can support par:cipants during the program and are looking for a model to follow
Team program This is a group coaching based program conducted over 9 months for groups of 8 to 12 people. Sessions are conducted face to face at your offices. With the sessions running for 3 hours each, this provides more support and an opportunity to involve your senior leaders as guest speakers. This delivery op:on is ideal for: • Organisa:ons with a team of leaders in one loca:on requiring development • Organisa:ons that want to develop the team work of their leaders • Organisa:ons who have the support of senior leaders to be involved in the program
Individual program This program follows the same model as the online group coaching program but is designed for people who are looking for a one on one experience. This allows you to receive more customised support and is par:cularly helpful for people who are concerned about privacy or confiden:ality issues associated with a group program. It can also be delivered live for par:cipants in Brisbane.
Budding Leaders Program What you receive
“Karen’s style is very natural making her easy to communicate with. Our coaching sessions provided me with posi@ve affirma@on that what I was doing to deal with the challenges of my role was correct. She helped me to see that I have the capability to lead”. David Phillips
Coaching For leadership teams Being an effec:ve leader is about more than the skills of working with your team. Every leader is also part of a leadership team and this requires a different set of skills. Most of the :me when a frontline leaders get together they are focused on discussing specific opera:onal issues of their team. I believe they are missing out on a vital opportunity to learn from and support each other. The goal of the group coaching sessions is to help your leaders: • Create a posi:ve leadership team dynamic • Iden7fy barriers to opera:ng as a leadership team • Recognise opportuni7es for working together • Discuss common issues that affect all leaders • Support each other with ideas and input
You can purchase a coaching package of 6 sessions over 3 months or 6 months for $6,997 or 12 monthly sessions for $9,997.
The benefits of team coaching The leadership team group coaching process is a different approach to development that can be a cost effec:ve and :me effec:ve way of growing your leaders. The key benefits of this approach allow your frontline leaders to: • Get ideas from others as they can see their situa:on with fresh eyes • Learn from the experiences of others so they can avoid mistakes • Be=er understand the impact of their ac:ons on other teams • Prac7ce their skills in team work for when they are promoted to more senior roles • Role model coaching so they can learn the skills and use them with their own team
Coaching
For individuals The learning process is different for every individual, depending on their role and their strengths. Individual coaching allows them to get the personalised a=en:on they need to grow. This speeds up the process and helps them to focus on the areas that are of most value to them. Sessions are held face to face or online depending on your loca:on and needs. Coaching sessions are :med to fit with the individual's work schedule and can be held out of business hours for no extra charge. For each one hour coaching session you can expect: • A structured approach that will create maximum return on investment • Prac7cal advice that can be applied immediately • The right combina:on of support and challenge • Session notes and an ac7on plan for moving forward • Extra resources to help boost learning
You can purchase a coaching package of 6 sessions over 3 months or 6 months for $2,997 or 12 monthly sessions for $4,997.
How a coach can help As a coach there are five ways I can help you to grow as a leader: 1. Iden:fy your strengths and capitalise on them 2. Outline strategies for dealing with specific issues 3. Upgrade your skills in cri:cal areas 4. Increase your confidence 5. Help you to set goals so you can reach your full poten:al
“As this is my first @me being a leader Karen’s coaching has helped me to develop a new mindset and begin to move from being a friend to my team members to thinking of myself as their leader”. Sally Shaw, Property PorGolio Manager, Elephant Property
Learning Cafe
Mee7ng the needs of busy frontline leaders Frontline leaders are now busier than ever. Their role requires them to be knowledgeable in a wide range of topics that impact their team. And it’s ojen difficult for them to be away from their workplace to learn what they need to know. This creates issues including: • How to support frontline leaders learning regularly day-‐to-‐day • GeRng frontline leaders to leave their team to a=end development programs • Younger genera:ons wan:ng shorter and more prac:cal training programs To meet the development needs of this important group of leaders you need short sessions delivered over lunch so they can experience “bite sized learning”. Your frontline leaders learn a lot from collabora:ng with their peers as well as learning from experts. Par:cipa:ng in an informal learning environment allows them to discuss common issues and learn from the experience of others in the same situa:on.
Benefits of this approach This is an opportunity for your frontline leaders to explore specific issues that impact their roles in a prac:cal and collabora:ve atmosphere. • Structured, :me effec:ve development opportuni:es for your frontline leaders • Encourages an open exchange of ideas between your frontline leaders • Creates an environment where frontline leaders can be=er work together as a team • Helps iden:fy important issues that require further explora:on in a longer session • Offers follow up materials so the learning is embedded
Three phase approach The program is designed so learning takes place in three ways: Before Pre reading to get people ready to talk During A short presenta:on followed by discussion and group work to get everyone thinking and contribu:ng AXer A series of 3 follow up emails lis:ng key points from the session with ac:on items
Process Sessions are run fortnightly or monthly, depending on your opera:onal needs. Packages are available for blocks of 4, 8 or 12 topics. The café series is ideally suited for groups of 10 and 30. I recommend you appoint a Café Co-‐ordinator to assist with logis:cs and marke:ng the events. To increase the benefits of the program include your next level leaders in any emails so they can discuss with par:cipants later.
This is more than just a chat over lunch. The sessions are structured to maximise learning transfer and even if some of your frontline leaders can't a=end on the day they can s:ll benefit. Each topic is a standalone so people can just a=end the ones that are of interest.
Topics covered The Frontline Leaders Learning Café format lends itself to discussing a range of prac:cal issues faced in organisa:ons of all shapes and sizes. There are 20 topics in the series with other topics available on request.
1. Taking over a new team 2. Leading up 3. Having asser:ve conversa:ons 4. Leading people older than you 5. Leading complex teams 6. GeRng your team no:ced 7. Leading in busy periods 8. Leading in a crisis 9. Leading produc:ve mee:ngs 10. GeRng ideas from your team
11. Coping with failure 12. Filling in for a team leader 13. Taking leave as a team leader 14. Making more effec:ve decisions 15. SeRng and achieving team goals 16. Dealing with stress 17. Being more produc:ve with your :me 18. Dealing with difficult people 19. How to delegate so things get done 20. GeRng yourself ready for promo:on
Learning Cafe
Facilita7on Why you might need a facilitator Every team of leaders will eventually find themselves in a posi:on where they need to undertake a major planning process to help grow the organisa:on. Although your frontline leaders may have great skills in their individual special:es, the process of successfully planning for the future involves different skills. This is when the team can benefit from working through the process under the leadership of a facilitator, someone who can guide them in crea:ng a clear and concise ac:on plan. A facilitator can help your leaders to deal with a number of scenarios including: • Strategic planning • Project planning • Preparing for a major change • Improving team work • GeRng input on leadership ini:a:ves
What all these scenarios have in common is they will require the input of your frontline leaders if they are to be successfully implemented, which is why they must be involved in the planning.
“Throughout the 2 day event Karen kept us on task and focussed on clear outcomes. She ensured all par:cipants were involved, which was a cri:cal factor for success. Her facilita:on style was professional, suppor:ve and flexible.” Paul Mahoney, Program Manager, Australian Bureau of Sta7s7cs
Benefits of using an experienced facilitator Effec:vely facilita:ng a mee:ng of leaders involves a specific set of skills that you are unlikely to have internally. Even if you do have a suitable person there are extra benefits in using an external facilitator which can include: • Taking the team through a structured process that will result in clear ac:ons • Providing a neutral voice as they are not emo:onally invested in the outcomes • Ques:oning any assump:ons being made by the team • Offering new perspec:ves based on their experiences with other clients • Keeping the team on track to ensure they don’t get bogged down in details
Facilita7on
“We engaged Karen to facilitate a working party of 11 staff to develop our corporate Mentoring program. Karen’s amiable style enabled each par:cipant to be engaged and contribute to the dialogue and outcomes. Karen was effec:ve in her introduc:on of mentoring best prac:ce concepts and ability to challenge par:cipant’s views and opinions from a Mentor and Mentee perspec:ve.” Todd Stubbings, Human Resources Manager, Seymour Whyte Construc-ons
The process Before I work with you to design an agenda to suit your needs as well as gather background informa:on that will inform our discussions. This ojen involves geRng par:cipants to complete a pre event survey that I collate and analyse for discussion at the event. During The team is led through the agenda with the use of various ac:vi:es to draw out the key issues and get input from everyone involved. The discussions are structured so that a clear ac:on plan can be created. Everyone leaves the event knowing their next step. AXer I recommend a follow up session within one month to check in on ini:al progress and work through any barriers encountered plus plan the next steps.
How facilita7on works When you work with a facilitator it is important to understand their role as it is quite different to an MC, trainer or coach. Some key points to note include: • Facilita:on is about a process, not skill development. Ojen the resul:ng ac:on plan will
involve helping people to develop skills they need to implement the plan. • Your facilitator doesn’t need to understand the technical aspects of the project. Their role
is to help the technical experts share their knowledge with others to devise a plan. • The success of the process will be determined by the willingness of all par:es involved to
talk opening and honestly about the real issues.
Client feedback “The Budding Leaders program was exactly what I was looking for – an emphasis on development of prac:cal leadership ap:tudes and sharing of experiences across the program leadership team to build shared understanding and teamwork” Teri O’Toole, WA State Manager Migra7on Support Programs, Australian Red Cross ”Karen’s coaching has given me a new perspec:ve on the way I operate and helped me to think differently. Her prac:cal guidance has developed my personal resilience in the face of challenging situa:ons." Jonathon Khoo, Director Public Finance QLD, Australian Bureau of Sta7s7cs “The en:re team found the language from your program ideal for reflec:ve prac:ce, an asset cri:cal in Early Childcare. Personally I have been able to use the concepts in performance management and appraisal situa:ons. We will definitely be working with Karen again.” Jacqui Taylor, Centre Director, Rainbow Sta7on Early Learning Centre ”Karen’s approach to the coaching was very user friendly and allowed each individual to focus on the areas where they felt the most benefit would be gained." Manuel Pena, General Manager, Projects Queensland “As a coach Karen is inspiring, very personable and easy to communicate with. The value I received from comple:ng her Budding Leaders program is enormous. I wouldn't have been able to con:nue in my present role without Karen's guidance.” Philippa Alford, Centre Director, Headland Montessori “We engaged Karen to facilitate a working party of 11 staff to develop our corporate Mentoring program. Karen’s amiable style enabled each par:cipant to be engaged and contribute to the dialogue and outcomes. Karen was effec:ve in her introduc:on of mentoring best prac:ce concepts and ability to challenge par:cipant’s views and opinions from a Mentor and Mentee perspec:ve.” Todd Stubbings, Human Resources Manager, Seymour Whyte Construc7ons “Karen’s style is very prac:cal and energe:c. The content is current and well presented through the use of interes:ng and appropriate ac:vi:es and group work, which really encourages sharing of ideas and experiences. She definitely relates well to all genera:ons and knows her topic!” Chris7ne Reilly, Human Resource Advisor (Staff Development), Griffith University