Leading for Engagement: Building Capacity Effectively

You need to find effective ways to build more capacity in the people who report to you. In doing so, you can then develop more capacity to engage in the high value work you were hired to do. As leaders, one of our goals should be to transform our business communications so we may create more engaged, productive individuals and teams.

How can you do this? Most leaders feel there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish their own objectives. In addition, you’re probably facing the following challenges:

1. Constant pressure to deliver results under a seemingly ever-increasing workload. Work can feel all-consuming. Finding the time to prioritize your commitments can be a challenge! Between daily demands, countless meetings and solving day-to-day issues, you may feel you are not only working too hard but also not as effectively as you could be.
   
   
2. Wanting to spend more time on strategy and the big picture but find yourself getting pulled down into the day-to-day operations too often. You sometimes feel frustrated because you’re not spending enough energy on the kind of work you feel you do best and what you were hired to do.
   
   
3. You need your team members to be more productive. You find yourself doing a lot of problem solving and decision making for your team members that they should be doing for themselves. You may also need to delegate more work. You find it easier to just do the work yourself rather than delegate it, but this will not get you out of that vicious cycle you’re now in now keeping you from doing high value work.
   

In other words, what you really want is to:

Find an efficient, effective way to develop your people – everyone on your team has unique needs and challenges. You want to be able to communicate in a way that zeroes in on the real issues and quickly, creating clarity for both yourself and them. Then you want to leverage their thinking so they formulate their own solutions and take ownership of their own work.

Take some of the load off your shoulders – you want to take the pressure off yourself to be the expert “go to person” or the one solving everyone’s problems. You want to delegate more work in a way that builds capacity and competency in our people but doesn’t leave them feeling unsupported or unacknowledged.

Develop a more self-reliant team – you want to develop your people so they solve their own problems now and in the future. You want to accelerate learning so people feel engaged, stimulated and approaching their work from a position of confidence and empowerment.

Increase creativity and innovation – you want your people to think bigger, consider more options, see more alternatives versus just settling for the first idea that comes to mind. You want to be able to generate many more effective ideas quickly and have your team members do the same.

Lead others through change with courage.  Organizations are in a constant state of flux.  There have been acquisitions, down-sizing, right-sizing, lay-offs, hiring freezes, mergers and somehow you are expected to lead with courage through these changes.

What is the solution to Leading for Engagement?

The Navigational Coaching System™

This comprehensive program gives leaders the skills to provide valuable coaching to their people in a way that creates clarity, expands awareness of possible solutions, has them formulate action plans and take more ownership for their outcomes. This program is designed specifically for organizational leaders interested in enhancing their capacity to develop others through effective coaching conversations. The material is as suitable for senior leaders as it is for individuals assuming a leadership role for the first time. The program begins with 2 days of facilitation upfront and is followed by extensive practical support in the form of 1-1 coaching, partner coaching, the coaching gym (group teleconference sessions) and a final ½ day wrap up program.

Organizational Benefits of the Navigational Coaching System™:

• Establishes a strong, unified foundation for the coaching conversation that is shared organization wide (everyone shares the same language and tools).
• Allows the employees to have a common experience of coaching no matter what leader they have in the organization.
• Allows organizations to evolve into learning organizations as coaching teaches people how to learn. People develop their own processes to solve problems immediately and in the future.

This program has also been customized to meet specific business challenges:

• During times of mergers or acquisitions in order to accelerate the development of a new leadership team
• In sales organizations in order to increase the effectiveness of the sales leadership team
• In Human Resource organizations in order to increase the coaching competencies of the Human Resource leaders
• To enhance or expand an existing leadership curriculum
  

What to expect:

As a result of attending, participants will:

• Learn the key principles that define successful coaching interactions
• Benchmark their current level of coaching effectiveness and assess progress
• Explore the difference between the problem-solving mindset and the navigational coaching mindset
• Understand where and when to apply a coaching approach
• Learn a tested and proven coaching model.

Explore fundamental coaching skills, including:

• The Art of Conscious Listening
• The Art of the Question
• The Art of Telling
• Practice key principles and skills and receive feedback on coaching
• Learn how to give both positive and corrective feedback
• Learn how to deal with more challenging situations
• Learn more advanced coaching skills.
  

Anyone in a position of leadership responsibility can learn how to incorporate coaching and leadership development into typical workday conversations. The Navigational Coaching model is a simple yet powerful tool that leaders can use to unleash the creativity and passion in their teams.

What you will receive:

Phase 1: Pre-work assignment followed by facilitation of the 2 day hands-on, interactive program. This may also be delivered as four half-day sessions over a 1-month period. Participants will receive an all-inclusive binder of materials where they can do their work and take notes and take away laminated cards of key concepts.

Phase 2: Following the initial program, participants will engage in two individual tele-coaching sessions. The skill of coaching is learned through practice and further integrated through the experience of being coached. Each participant will also be paired with a Coaching Partner to practice the skills from the workshop. The Coaching Partners will meet once per month to share successes, practice difficult coaching conversations and receive feedback. Participants will also participate in 2 teleconference sessions dedicated to fine tuning the skills participants have learned in the program. Participants will also receive weekly coaching tips. Post work assignment occurs as well before next phase.

Phase 3: A powerful half-day workshop 6-8 weeks that reconnects participants to the success and challenges of applying coaching skills in workplace and real life situations. Focus will be on the Art of Being a coach whereby learning is deepened, experiences are shared and skills are further practiced. At end of program each participant receives a certificate.

Why would I choose this program?

The marketplace is full of coaching programs. You’re looking for one that will give the leaders in your organization the tools they need to apply coaching skills immediately. You want something simple, practical and effective. You have found it. Navigational Coaching combines the key principles and skills of coaching with hands-on practice in a lively interactive format. The use of the navigational analogy helps illuminate coaching principles in a way that is clear, playful, and memorable.

If you’ve read up to this point, you may be interested in taking the next step. If so, I invite you to contact me for a complimentary strategy session.

In the session we’ll discuss the challenges you or your managers are facing, what you’d like to see change and whether or not Leading for Engagement may be the right fit or not. Regardless, as a result of our conversation, you will be clearer about the issues and the next steps you will be taking to resolve them. This conversation will take about an hour and can be done in person or on the phone.

If you’d like more information about how you can improve your own leadership effectiveness, feel free to download my report: “The 7 Ways Leaders Get in Their Own Way.”

Sincerely,
Mara Vizzutti

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