Leadership development program
“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”
W. Clement Stone
The Organizational Culture has a major role in creating the proper environment for achieving best performance. Each of us has an important contribution to the creation and maintaining of this organizational culture, but the role of the leaders is the most important.
An Organizational Culture Inventory revealed what were the main areas we need to focus on in order to reach the desired management style.
I believe that leaders have the power to influence the employees’ behavior and this is why the constant investment in development programs is necessary.
This development program for managers and leaders, offered them effective tools for their own development and also for the teams they are leading, in order to maintain a Constructive Organisational Style.
Milestones in the project:
1. Defining the four managerial principles with the company’s Top Management:
At first the Top Management had to define in detail the values of the organization. Each manager completed a SWOT analysis for his teams and the leaders he was coordinating. Based on the strong points and areas for improvement identified, the desired managerial principles were created in order to be assimilated by the entire management team. The seminar ended with an action plan for implementing the principles. The strong points and skills desired by every manager became the basis for the training programs. The creative part of the seminar was that at the end of the 8 hours, each managerial principle was represented by the participants through a painting.
2. The visual communication of the four principles in the company:
- Posters
- E-mails
- Internal communication tool
- Communication within the Group
I can’t publish here the layouts but in short: advertise any change in your company like you would advertise it to your customers. Use emotions, inspiring pictures and simple and effective messages.
3. Workshops for middle management (office and retail)
All the training programs were based on three concepts: Learn it, Live it, Love it.
4. Follow up and KPI
- Leader's and Manager's evaluation based on the principles
- People Survey - changed in order to integrate the principles and then to assess how employees perceive the way each leader and manager applies them.
- Follow up sessions with the middle management and top management.
In the following 3 years it was a significant growth in employees satisfaction survey regarding their direct leader. Also the employees retention rate grew in this time. And the program continues as induction for all new leaders and managers in the organisation.
What were the principles about? Here is an insight:
People Care
“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”
Dale Carnegie
Lead by example
A true leader’s attitude is, as they say, unshakable. It’s contagious. When true leaders hear the word “problem,” they think “solution!” When they see or feel frustration, they immediately turn their thinking around to “opportunity!”
Customer Focus
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to serve him.”
Mahatma Ghandi
Risk Aware
Operational Risks can occur at any time, in any activity, which is why it is important to have a “Risk Aware” organizational culture. It is our responsibility to effectively manage risks. And this responsibility means to have a constant collaboration with those involved in order to sustain customer’s interest and constant vigilance against the risks of every employee’s activity.