Guiding you and your organization
As you might suspect, leadership is critically important to the success of any organization, group, team, project or program. Nearly everything that involves people coming together for a purpose benefits from great leadership and suffers when leaders are inept or yanked to-and-fro.
We've all had challenging jobs. Not because the work was hard, but because a boss was clueless. Or disengaged. Egotistical (always right). Insulting. Demeaning. Or a Jekyll and Hyde. One moment nice, the next a tyrant.
Yet leadership development programs that actually WORK, that deliver ROI, help leaders engage and develop employees, innovate, grow and support a great workplace culture—are as rare as snow in July.
Leadership development programs fail at an alarming rate. Most never deliver ROI, few produce significant positive change, and many are forgotten, yet duplicated every time a new leader takes the reins. The reasons programs fail vary, from a lack of senior leadership commitment to programs that ignore research and data on effective structure and content. By some estimates, nearly 90-95% of leadership development efforts crash and burn.
Why
After all, plenty of data exists on the basics—the must-haves—of a successful leadership program. Yet the huge majority of organizations either don't know how or ignore the data when they work with a leadership development consulting firm.
In our experience, which we've seen repeatedly, it comes down to one basic human emotion:
FEAR.
Fear of commitment. Fear of the cost. The time it takes. Losing control. Giving up power. Fear of failure. Senior leaders responsible for developing their organization's leadership capabilities almost always overlook these fears. The fear lies under senior leaders' level of awareness.
OK, so what do the data, research (and our experience) say?
• Time. Becoming a great leader takes time. Usually multiple sessions over the course of a year to 18 months.
• Experiential. Experiential learning is far more effective than classroom instruction.
• Beyond comfort zones. Learning occurs outside the realm of what's comfortable or expected.
• Same Workplace. Bringing people together from multiple locations might sound like a good idea. That's not the case. Participants need to work together.
• Empower participants. To change, grow, or strengthen your organization's culture.
The data and research fundamentally changed how we designed and developed our leadership programs.
AND, our own anecdotal experience, gleaned from many assumptions, countless missteps, and epic failures, has allowed us to fine-tune our programs. Our goal remains the same: to deliver leadership development programs that work at both the individual and organizational levels to effect positive, sustainable change.
HERE’S WHAT WE LEARNED:
• Critical mass matters. In our experience, organizations that take a 'critical mass' of leaders through a year-long (or longer) leadership program achieve sustainable success. In our experience, that's between 15 and 25% of all leaders.
• Nature is multiplicative. We try to take our programs outside—to a park, the woods or the beach—because a day in nature is far more impactful than a day in a hotel conference room.
• Make it fun. We play lots of games in our programs. Not just because WE love to have fun, but because they reveal authenticity.
• Make it challenging. Go outside your comfort zone. Avoid panic.
• Awareness needs time. Awareness of thoughts, feelings, ego, impact on others, and the ability to lead the energy in any situation doesn't happen overnight. It requires consistent practice.
• Intentionality is key. It's one thing to learn a tool or skill. It's quite another to intentionally use it to create a positive impact.
In our experience, most organizations are simply unwilling to commit the time, money and resources necessary to build a great leadership team and organization. American culture is partly to blame. We're a society oriented toward the short-term, and instant gratification.
If your organization is ready for sustainable success. If you want fully engaged employees and wish to attract and retain the very best people. If you're ready to become a truly exceptional organization, let's talk. We can help guide you to greatness.
WANT TO BE A CONSISTENTLY GREAT LEADER?
Wake up! And, STAY present. Notice the voice or your ego! Notice your thoughts and feelings. Notice. Notice. NOTICE!
Why Awareness, in its Many Forms, is Necessary for Great Leadership
Awareness is all about 'being awake' to reality. To what's actually happening in your mind and heart. With other human beings. And, in the world around you.
And, the human ego is tricky as all get out. And, just loves to get in the way, of any and all of that stuff.
What exactly is ego? It’s pretty simple, but frequently misunderstood.
Ego is a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance. The ego wants to 'protect' you. Put you above others (by being the one who's right, sounds good, and knows). The ego wants you to have more stuff (Bigger house, nicer car, cooler title, more money) and climb the corporate ladder.
It has zero interest in a human being becoming more aware.
When Awareness is not part of a human being's make up, there's lots of room for ego to take charge. And, that's almost never helpful, because decisions aren't based on reality or what's 'wanting to happen' in the moment. When the ego's in charge, based on looking good, being right, the one who knows, and...winning are way more important than, say being kind, fair or compassionate! The ego takes us for a less-than-joyful ride, without regard for impact on others.
A website can only tell a sliver of the whole story. The possibilities for you and your organization are best explored in conversation. So...let's talk!
When an organization puts the focus squarely on profit and growth, it can become a limiting approach. Exceptional companies put their people, and their values, at the center of their business. Profit and growth are the outcome of caring for your people and the space your organization works in. Three Tall Trees can help guide your organization to make its people the path to success. AND, have more fun...and fulfillment!
On that note, we believe there's not nearly enough FUN happening in the world of corporate America.
Far too few frisbees are flying around America's office complexes and outdoor spaces.
We're out to change that, too! Give us a call or drop us a line.
We'll Send You the Coolest Frisbee Ever!