Creating development opportunities for your “high potential” employees is difficult. There are thousands of leadership development courses, seminars, and classes available; how do you choose?
In my experience, using a team cohort model creates a unique opportunity for these individuals. Instead of just watching premade videos or reading a book alone, they’re given the opportunity to learn from each other in addition to the course material.
The course offering, aimed at this core area of talent in your organization, is designed as a learning cohort based on the book entitled The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. The principles outlined in this book form a great foundation for developing leadership skills.
The book outlines the following five key leadership practices:
The book was originally published almost 40 years ago, but the concepts needed to develop extraordinary leaders have not changed. In subsequent editions, the authors have continued to gather data outlining the effects of these concepts and continue to prove they are an excellent foundation for developing leaders.
The sessions will also introduce opportunities for the participants to explore the difference between management and leadership. It is important that each participant appreciates the need for both as they develop themselves. The content for this portion of the cohort will come from a list of activity groups contrasting the principles of management and the associated leadership action:
Interwoven into the foundational leadership activities outlined in The Leadership Challenge, we will explore each of the above actions so every participant understands that leadership is not a destination, but a journey, and all leaders must be effective managers as well.
In my 42 years in the construction industry, as well as 25 years as CEO, I had the privilege to develop several leaders of our organization and used this book extensively in that pursuit. I will utilize these principles as well as a blend of my personal experiences of success and failure to engage the cohort.
The program is designed as a group of 6-8 people that will, through in-person or online meetings and supplemented by between-meeting exercises, discuss and reflect on the five key practices and ten commitments of exemplary leadership outlined in the book. They will also explore the management contrast, relating them to actual leadership and management experiences of each member of the cohort. It is our intention to develop them into a cohesive team, identifying each person’s unique traits, and creating the support for ongoing growth in the process.
To give cohort members tangible opportunities to grow, we will also be exploring potential leadership projects in the organization that they have passion for, and their manager approves of, then develop next steps for delivering on that passion.
Please contact us for additional information on our Leadership Development Cohort.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.