Leading
Developing world-class Leadership Capability
Kaizen Training Limited has a global reputation in developing leaders in a wide variety of businesses - large and small.
We design integrated programmes, rather than just stand-alone training courses. Any leadership intervention we provide is likely to include these elements:
High impact, brain – friendly workshops
These may focus on the core skills and practices of Transformational Leadership identified by Kouzes and Posner:
- Modelling the Way
- Inspiring a Shared Vision
- Challenging the Process
- Enabling Others to Act
- Encouraging the Heart
Alternatively, we can design workshops based around your own leadership competency framework.
We explore best practice in transformational leadership in accelerated learning format leaving the rest of the time for activities designed to help you integrate and apply the learning in your unique context. You get to design the rest of the experience - depending on your specific personal development plans, arising from your 360-degree feedback results.
Additional choice workshops
In the choice workshops you’ve personally chosen to attend, you will learn how to apply the latest, leading-edge strategies used by outstanding leaders across the globe. Recent participants have chosen workshops on such topics as:
- How to create crystal-clear and compelling outcomes for yourself and your team
- How to manage your energy, emotions and feelings so that you always have access to your most resourceful states
- How to build rapport with anybody – fast
- How to influence people - even those who are very different from you
- How to turn around conflict
- How to manage stress for real
- How to create real and lasting commitment and motivation in your team - even during the rough times
- How to identify limiting beliefs that are holding you back - and transform them into beliefs that empower you and those you work with
Real work based projects
During the workshop, we encourage participants to identify a project that would benefit both themselves and the business. By working on such projects can truly embed the learning and achieve measurable results for the business. Achievement of these projects can also be used as part of the strategy for evaluating the training.
If there is one phrase that sums up our Leadership Development Programme it is:
"Substance and Sizzle!"
The Substance is provided by cutting edge, researched and proven material used successfully in businesses and industries worldwide.
The Sizzle comes from the way the programmes are designed and facilitated. They are high-energy, fun and inspiring. We model transformational leadership in the process of learning about transformational leadership.
These are not 'chalk and talk' interventions. They are highly experiential, shaped by the personal needs and wants of the participants and use the latest principles of brain-friendly learning. Our passionate and highly skilled facilitators see their role as helping you become the best leader you can possibly be…
360-degree feedback
We firmly believe that a massive part of being a great leader is self-awareness. To this end, we encourage using 360-degree surveys.
Prior to the programme, 360-degree feedback can be collected using a web-based, or paper based questionnaire – whichever is your preference. Kaizen Training provides you with a detailed personal profile on the first morning of the Leadership Programme, based on the responses from the people who know you best.
Why Leadership? Why now?
We are in the midst of profound and revolutionary changes in the way we live and do business. Intense global competition, the explosion in information and information technology, and the demand for split-second responsiveness have put incredible pressures on businesses worldwide. In order to survive, companies must be able to mobilise all their resources. They must call on each member of their team to participate fully.
The ability to motivate people to give their all is leadership.
Anyone can take the helm in calm seas. In times of turbulence and change, we need transformational leaders to guide companies through the stormy seas.
In their book, The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner describe the practices of individuals who exhibit exemplary leadership. These individuals interact with others in a manner that inspires commitment and dedication to the pursuit of organisational goals.
1. Challenging the process
This reflects a commitment to continuous improvement. Leaders are early adopters of innovation - they are willing to take risks, innovate and experiment to find new and better ways of doing things. They might not always be the creators or originators but their primary contribution is in recognising good ideas, supporting them and being willing to challenge the system to get new products, processes services and systems adopted. Leaders know well that experimentation, innovation and change all involve risk and failure - but they proceed anyway. They ask ‘What can we learn’ when things don’t go as expected.
2. Inspiring a shared vision
Leaders have a desire to make something happen, to change how things are; to create something that no-one else has ever created before. They seem to live their lives backwards…. they gaze across the horizons of time and picture in their mind’s eye what the results will look like even before they have started their project. Their clear image pulls them forward and yet a vision is not enough to create movement or significant change in a company -leaders need to have an intimate knowledge of their people’s dreams, hopes, aspirations, visions and values to enlist support. Leaders cannot command commitment; they can only inspire it and people do not follow until they accept a vision as their own.
3. Enabling others to act
It is highly unlikely that we can accomplish anything significant without the help of others and leaders know that no-one does his or her best when feeling weak, incompetent or alienated. Provide individuals with as much control as possible over the resources they need to do the job; ensure that everyone is “in the know” and has access to required information and resources. Leaders listen to the ideas of others; they encourage them to feel that they are a vital part of the team and whenever possible allow them to make the decisions. Leadership is a relationship, founded on trust and confidence. Without trust and confidence, people don’t take risks. Without risks, there is no change. Without change, organisations die.
4. Modelling the Way
It’s not the title that wins respect - it’s the behaviour. Leaders go first, they model the way through personal example. Just as behaviour outweighs the title, deeds are also more important than the words - and the actions must be consistent with the ideas. To model effectively, the leader must first be clear about their principles and as a leader is supposed to stand up for their beliefs, they need to have some beliefs to stand up for! Practice what you preach - be as dedicated and devoted as you expect others to be.
5. Encouraging the Heart
Celebrate “small wins”. People can become exhausted, frustrated, disenchanted and are often tempted to give up - it is part of the Leader’s job to show people that they can win. Sometimes this is best done in private with a note or a word of appreciation - at other times, public praise can be the best strategy. Experiencing and seeing genuine acts of caring uplifts the spirit and draws people forward. Encouragement can come from dramatic gestures or simple actions - it’s how leaders acknowledge every contribution and visibly and behaviourally link rewards with performance.