Leadership Training for Results: Unleash Talent in Others is Dale Carnegie’s brand-new cutting-edge programme designed for experienced, established and senior managers.
The programme was developed as a result of global research from Dale Carnegie’s thought leadership team into the requirements of modern leaders and designed in line with the Dale Carnegie Performance Change Pathway ™ which is the framework that underpins the design and delivery of our programmes.
To find out more, we spoke with Dale Carnegie UK Director and Carnegie Master Trainer Mark Fitzmaurice to discuss the new programme, the present-day challenges faced by senior managers, and the necessary skills, attributes and tools needed when one’s leadership capability impacts both team engagement and organisational performance.
In his 30 plus years with Dale Carnegie, Mark has designed and delivered company-wide solutions for blue-chip clients, helping senior managers in major organisations to improve their leadership skills, develop organisational culture and performance, lead change and bring strategic growth objectives to life.
You’re continually in direct contact with senior managers in major organisations; what are some of the common challenges that they face in 2019?
There is more change than ever before. Managers must be agile in an uncertain environment. Companies need leaders who are resilient, and the workforce today wants something different from their manager. Many studies on engagement show that managers need to be engaging, empowering and enabling their people better. There is a greater focus than ever on diversity and inclusion and living more strongly the values of their organisations.
Compare and contrast leadership pitfalls and common mistakes in 2019 with say, ten years ago.
In many ways the problem remains the same. People are promoted to management positions without any training on how to manage or how to lead. Their role model is their own line manager and sometimes those techniques are outdated or no longer relevant in a rapidly changing world. With the impending rise of artificial intelligence, the work that people will be doing in the very near future will be different. There is also a new workforce coming to the market, Millennials and Centennials require something very different from their work and especially from their line managers.
What are the most important skills and attributes for a modern leader?
Building Trust. Providing clear direction in uncertain times. Giving people a voice and listening to their ideas and concerns. Being flexible enough to change quickly. Creating an environment where people feel valued. Focus on delivery and achieving results through developing high performing teams
If tasked to create the perfect, contemporary leadership toolkit, what would you include and why?
Skills to build other people. Good leaders don’t just create good followers, good leaders create other good leaders. Skills to empower and enable. Leaders are only as good as they can get others to be. Be an enabler of people, allow them to flourish so that you as a leader can flourish. Communication; where most problems occur is misunderstanding in communication. Some people are not very accomplished at communicating in a way that enables others to perform at their best. How to best use effective process and people to achieve the desired results of the organisation.
What are the key attributes needed for experienced, established and senior managers when it comes to unleashing talent and driving results in their teams?
Patience, commitment to others, to be a builder of trust, an attitude of collaboration, empowering others, being a great coach, being fearless, inspiring, and of course, resilient.
How do we continue to ensure that our leadership programmes meet the needs of individuals while ensuring maximum ROI for clients?
It’s not what you learn it’s what you do with it. Great programmes cause great outcomes not just great learning. Many programmes fail because some people try new things once only, then give up. The Dale Carnegie focus on preparation and sustainment ensures that learning transfer goes up to as much as 75%.
The Dale Carnegie Performance Change Pathway ™ is the framework underpinning the design and delivery of our programmes; can you explain the methodology and research behind this approach and why it matters?
The Performance Change Pathway is a ‘whole journey’ concept that starts with client and learner needs and ensures we’re targeting the right objectives. We then work on the awareness with the learners and line managers to ensure clarity of objectives and create emotional buy-in. Once the development programme is completed, we then move to the sustainment phase. This is about follow-up and accountability with learners and line managers to ensure what should have changed did change. The pathway helps us understand specific requirements and make sure everyone is focused on delivering them. Clients want good outputs, not just good inputs.
What are your top four tips that experienced managers can put into action today to help them unleash talent in their teams and drive organisational results?
Engage People. Empower People. Enable People and be Agile!
To find out more about Leadership Training for Results: Unleash Talent in Others please visit our course pages or contact your local UK office.
Mark Fitzmaurice has over thirty years with Dale Carnegie. A UK Director, and since 1999, an international Master Trainer, he’s part of the Dale Carnegie University® team responsible for training and developing a global network of trainers in over 90 countries. His assignments have taken him to the USA, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.