Learning and development is no longer seen as a luxury. Forward-thinking organisations know that leadership development and capability building generally, is mission-critical in driving organisational success. We also know that learning will continue to be a critical element in driving change in organisations (see diagram below: Sources: 1) McKinsey Quarterly, Why agility pays, 2015).
Yet for many organisations, 'cracking the code' of learning can be challenging, balancing every-day operational demands, resourcing, training costs, ensuring a return-on-investment, and ensuring learning is integrated in to learners' roles. The answer does not lie in one particular domain, rather, it lies in a planned, structured approach to capability building. Actionable Conversations provides a key piece of the puzzle by empowering managers and leaders in the organisation to engage in meaningful conversations to create behaviour change that will ultimately drive the strategy.
Introducing Actionable Conversations
Leader-Led Learning
Learner, leader & organisational growth in one–hour bursts. Actionable Conversations is a simple yet powerful platform that dramatically improves workplace effectiveness through better relationships and shifted behavior. What makes Actionable Conversations unique is the triple impact of learner skill development, leader credibility enhancement, and real time insight for the organisational leaders around measurable behavior change and leader impact. All in roughly an hour a month.
What it Offers
Actionable offers the following benefits:
Individual behaviour change with enterprise-level impact
Measurable change outcomes, in every possible learning scenario
Change integrated into individual work (which Josh Bersin calls “learning in the flow of work”)
Understanding of where change is happening, if gaps exist, and how leaders are working with
their teams to drive change
Impact in Three Ways
Actionable Product Portfolio
Product Portfolio Snapshot
There are a number of solutions that can powerfully contribute to improved learning outcomes.
Snapshot
Please see below for a detailed description of each product offering.
Live Event Habit Builder
Description
Following a live session (whether a workshop, webinar or keynote), participants are invited to commit to one small habit over the next 30 days. Participants are prompted to check-in regularly (self-rating on a scale of 1 – 10), reflect on their progress through optional use of journal entries and selecting an accountability buddy to stay engaged along the way.
Benefits
The 30-day Habit Builder bridges the gap between learning new skills and establishing lasting habits, andprovides visibility into how new behaviours are becoming embedded in your organisation. When individuals embrace new behaviours, you can start to see the real return on your investment in their development, collectively achieving better results in the process.
Process
Coaching Impact
Coaching Impact
Description
This product allows coaching to include the Habit Builder, allowing coaching to move from 1-2 hours per month into a 30-day practice and application experience that keeps coaching participants accountable for integrating the changes that are created together.
Benefits
The 30-day (12-month) Coaching Impact provides automated support of regular touch points to keep participants focused on behaviour change goals andallows us to measure the outcomes of coaching programs. The 30-day Habit Builder bridges the gap between learning new skills and establishing lasting habits, andprovides visibility into how new behaviours are becoming embedded in your
organisation. When individuals embrace new behaviours, you can start to see the real return on your investment in their development, collectively achieving better results in the process.
Process
Peer-to-Peer (Sustain)
Description
Participants meet monthly to revisit key concepts from the live training event they attended. Sharing responsibility for hosting the monthly conversations, they discuss how to integrate learning into their work.
Benefits
By revisiting key concepts from the session, and empowering individuals to apply those concepts in their daily work activities, we can sustain learning over time and create positive business impact. This thin slicing of key concepts provides the reinforcement and practice and the data that shows real time application in the workplace.
Process
Leader-to-Team Cascade (Scale)
Description
Leaders are provided with the tools and materials to bring concepts from live training sessions back to their teams.
Benefits
The Cascade program allows participants the opportunity to discuss new ideas or concepts in the context of work and individual roles, while measuring the desired behaviour change. Insight from the data provides a view into future program needs, based on observed gaps and ensures the content
reaches deeper into the organisation.
Process
Strategy Implementation
Strategy Implementation
Description
Ideal for organisations who may be looking to make significant changes to the way they work - whether new values, skills, knowledge or abilities that shape how work is done. Actionable provides a way for leaders to effectively build buy-in for strategic initiatives in a way that motivates their team(s) to take action.
Benefits
Strategy Implementation provides participants the opportunity to discuss culture and change elements in the context of work and their individual roles, while measuring behaviour change. Insights from the data provide a view into future program needs, based on observed gaps and overall, ensures teams understand why the strategy components matter and how it fits into the bigger picture.
Process
Culture & Change Implementation
Description
Organisations who may be looking to make significant changes to the way they work - whether new values, skills, knowledge or abilities that shape how work is done. Actionable provides an opportunity to discuss culture and change elements in the context of work and individual roles.
Benefits
With Culture & Change Implementation, using your content, anchored in the culture change
themes and messages specific to the client’s business outcomes, it provides participants with the space to practice and apply, while measuring the desired behaviour change. This approach bridges the gap between the change, as well as the tasks and measurables at the individual (and team) level. Insights gleaned from the data can also provide a better understanding of future program
needs, based on observed gaps.
Process
Case Study
A demonstrated return-on-investment
Case Study
North American Transportation Services Firm
Background:
Leadership team for 95-year-old company based in Toronto, Canada
Decision to make dramatic shifts in their culture to remain competitive and grow
top-line revenue
Launch of new brand promise, plus new behaviour and competency definitions
Actionable Program:
Conversations about the new value proposition, plus personal clarity about impact to their work
Included discussion about process improvements, with a goal of building new innovation, analysis and implementation skills, as well as encourage a “speak up” culture for greater levels of contribution and engagement.
Outcomes:
6 months of conversations and habit building
$40 million increase in top-line revenue in the first year of the program, which the
program sponsor attributes to the dramatic culture shift from the Actionable
program
How We Think About Leadership Development
Integrated Leadership Development
The Integrated Leadership Development Model firstly invites consideration of the ‘field of play’ or Context in which effective leadership is required. This helps to gain clarity about the reality of the organisation, team(s) and their leaders, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and an articulation of its short and long-term aspiration.
Once Clarity has been established, Capability must be built to fit. Finally, Contribution means the leader(s) and team(s) contribute in a meaningful and constructive way towards the strategy, the achievement of business results and a focus on people.
The three 'Cs' in more detail
1.Clarity of the context, strategy, aspiration, and leadership behaviours (current and future) which then allows purposeful…
2.Capability building ofleaders and their teams to achieve
results (people, customer, financial), including the right mindsets and
behaviours which then allows…
3.Contribution from leadersto the new state through alignment,
execution and renewal and role modelling the new way; build a healthy high
performing culture; drive impact.
What happens if one of the three domains is missing?
Benign Impact = Clarity x Capability – Contribution (nothing happens)
Blind Impact = Capability x Contribution – Clarity (hit and miss results)
Blundering Impact = Clarity x Contribution – Capability (human and resource cost)
Three Stages of Growth
Our DiagnosticConnect™ process helps teams and organisations identify which phase they presently are in and which phase they would like to be in. The table below maps the areas of Clarity, Capability and Contribution to the three phases of Realign, Sustain Success and Accelerated Growth. Our programs help ensure that there is insight, influence and impact in the right areas. Sometimes the stages are planned, while at other times organisations find themselves there unexpectedly. This is particularly true of the Realign stage where the organisation must gain better clarity (the 'what') on its future aspiration, the capability (the 'vehicle') required to get there and a pathway to get there (the 'how' to achieve it).
Importantly, our DiagnosticConnect™framework helps leaders understand where they are today and where they want to be in the future around the three stages of Re-alignment, Sustaining Success and Accelerated Growth.
Focus on the right thing at the right time
Our Levels of Leadership model creates a focus on the development needs of managers and leaders at various levels in the organisation and individual development pathways. It is also common for a program designed for an organisation's needs will incorporate multiple levels, usually beginning with Level 1 leadership and moving outwards to Levels 2, 3 etc. over time.
Five Levels of Leadership and the Integrated Leadership Model
Finally, by mapping the Five Levels of Leadership against the 3Cs, we can easily identify the key areas of focus.
Our values are important to us. These are the non-negotiable minimum standards to which all our work and dealings apply. These values are not a high aspiration we strive for, but rather the way we do business. When we are true to our values, our clients know it.
About The Leadership Sphere
The Leadership Sphere is a solution-focused firm that has been helping organisations since 2007.
We pride ourselves on identifying your challenges quickly and designing strategies to address them, always keeping top of mind your business's need for minimal disruption.
We see leadership as a key driver of sustainable organisational performance and health. We have extensive experience working at the Board, CEO, Executive and middle manager levels in some of the world's largest companies. We have several case studies and testimonials available as an attachment.
Watch our introductory video (2 mins).
In the last 12 months, we've completed major projects for: