CORE Provides:
Leadership Development
Organizational Change Management
High Performance Team Building
Implementation of LEAN Methodologies
All Things Considered...
Culture, and the quality of it begins at the top. Leadership drives culture, It is a top down affect which percolates throughout an organization big or small, for profit or not. Consequently, we begin with;
A Brief Primer on Leadership
We at CORE Consulting believe very strongly that “leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations.” That quote was penned by the writing team of Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of the Leadership Challenge. That work sought to discover what were the ingredients that made up a ‘personal best' experience in leadership? What qualities and attributes shaped the win – where both leader and constituent experienced something meaningful, and by result vaulted the organizational goals forward – and, enriched the staff at the same time.
The results were astonishing, since the research of thousands upon thousands of cases distilled a few ordinary practices that were always present in successful leadership opportunities. They were as follows:
The Model
The Leadership Challenge® model identifies five practices of exemplary leaders . Each practice is associated with two commitments as follows:
Model the Way
• Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
• Find your voice by clarifying your personal values.
Inspire a Shared Vision
• Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
• Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
Challenge the Process
• Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve.
• Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.
Enable Others to Act
• Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.
• Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.
Encourage the Heart
• Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
• Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
Research shows that consistent practice of these behaviors significantly correlates with measures of leader credibility, commitment, teamwork and empowerment, and productivity.
Furthermore, twenty plus years of training with the model has led to some other basic conclusions:
"Leadership development is self-development " In the design of leadership development programs, we believe that principles come before prescriptions . So, let's take a look at a few other basic concepts that inform the architecture of the program. Regardless of content, learning activity, or setting, here are a few important principles that help to shape all our designs:
Leadership is Everyone's Business
Throughout the authors book, The Leadership Challenge (3rd ed.), there are stories of ordinary people who've gotten extraordinary things done. They speak of men and women, young and old, from a variety of organizations, public and private, government and third sector, high-tech and low-tech, small and large, schools and professional services. Chances are you haven't heard of most of them. They're not famous people or mega-stars. They're people who might live next door or work in the next cubicle. They're people just like you. The focus is on leaders like this because we firmly believe that leadership is about relationships, credibility, and what people do.
Leadership is a Relationship
Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who chose to follow. Sometimes the relationship is one-to-many. Sometimes it's one-to-one. But regardless of whether the number is one or one thousand, leadership is a relationship .
Leadership is Learned
It's nonsense to assume that leadership is genetic. There's no hard evidence to support that assumption, and worse, it dooms every one of us to accept our limitations as our destiny.
The truth is that leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities that is useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line, on Wall Street or Main Street. And any skill can be strengthened, honed, and enhanced if we have the motivation and desire, the practice and feedback, the role models and coaching, and the support and recognition.
Leaders Make a Difference
In our classes and workshops we ask people to share a story about a Personal-Best Leadership Experience—a time when they set their own individual standard of excellence. From this exercise we hope they'll discover for themselves the practices of exemplary leadership. We have another objective as well—we want them to discover the power that lies within each one of us to make a difference.
Leaders Practice Exemplary Traits of Leadership
Research has shown, and years of usage in development environments has borne out that with the consistent practice of Five Key Traits as listed above, Leaders can have enormous impact within the cultures they are apart of. Here they are again:
Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart
Benefits & Outcomes
If people are to become leaders, they must believe that they can be a positive force in the world. But some management scholars claim that leaders have little impact on organizations, that other forces—internal or external to the organization—are the determinants of success. Our evidence strongly demonstrates quite the contrary. Managers, individual contributors, volunteers, pastors, government administrators, teachers, school principals, students, and other leaders who use The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® more frequently are seen by others as better leaders. For example:
They're more effective in meeting job-related demands.
They're more successful in representing their units to upper management.
They create higher-performing teams.
They foster renewed loyalty and commitment.
They increase motivational levels and willingness to work hard.
They promote higher levels of involvement in schools.
They enlarge the size of their congregations.
They raise more money and expand gift-giving levels.
They extend the range of their agency's services.
They reduce absenteeism, turnover, and dropout rates.
They possess high degrees of personal credibility.
In addition, people working with leaders who demonstrate The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® are significantly more satisfied with the actions and strategies of their leaders, and they feel more committed, excited, energized, influential, and powerful. In other words, the more people engage in the practices of exemplary leaders, the more likely it is that they will have a positive influence on others in the organization.
Target Audience
One of the hallmarks of exposure to The Leadership Challenge® is that it promotes leadership at all levels. It has been conducted for youth leaders as well as for senior executives, for non-profit as well as for-profit leaders. In small community-centered healthcare organizations as well as large, multi-national IT firms. It has been conducted worldwide. It is not an American model, but a global model of leadership.
New Position Seeker
For you, a candidate seeking to land a new position, whether your first or a career defining new challenge, we desire to convey a simple truth to you:
In order for you to grow, really grow in personal and professional terms, you have to develop yourself – and – you need to think, act, and personify personal leadership . Whether you are the director or not,' leadership is everybody's business' . It starts with you.
If you would like to hear more on this subject, please contact us at info@core-wi.com
Thank You.