Looking to strengthen leadership in small and medium-sized businesses in Ottawa, the Stratford Managers Leadership for Success program is equipping individuals and teams with the tools and habits to achieve better business results.
The purpose of the eight-month blended learning program – which includes self-assessment, monthly in-person workshops, small group coaching and online lessons – is to help participants dive deeper into the expectations of a leader and provide them with tools to better lead, motivate, delegate, coach, and communicate.
While large organizations often have the resources to create internal leadership programs, small and medium businesses frequently find it difficult to prepare leaders for the next steps in their careers.
“We really think we are revolutionizing the approach to developing leaders. We are enabling participants in our program to personalize it,” says Dean Fulford, leadership development practice lead at Stratford Managers. “Rather than us telling everyone how they’ll behave at the end of the program, we coach people to create their own goal for the program and draw connections to that goal from all the learning that takes place. What is more motivating than taking measured steps toward what you have defined as success!
Applied lessons
Stratford’s Leadership for Success program has already helped business and association managers across the National Capital Region become more effective in their positions.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities enrolled Rachel Deslauriers into Leadership for Success after promoting her from senior advisor to manager of programs outreach last year.
“The program helped me transition in my new role by giving me confidence in my team leadership abilities. It confirmed the intention behind the approaches I was taking,” says Deslauriers. “In addition, I’ve been able to share some of the tools I’ve learned with my team so that they too can become more effective leaders in their roles.”
The program brings together people who are in different stages of their career in coaching circles: small groups where up to six program participants share their experiences of applying what they learned from the workshops in the workplace.
When program participants get together, they use the power of the group to explore solutions to challenges, gain support, and most importantly share success stories. Tracy King, the vice-president of marketing at Martello Technologies explained it’s the unguarded interplay between the people of the group that makes the experience so valuable.
“It’s great to be able to leverage the experience and diversity from within our coaching circle.” Says King. ”Seeing how others apply the teachings has provided me with new insights and approaches to my leadership effectiveness.”
For more information about Leadership for Success, please visit the Stratford Managers website.
The top five habits of high performing leaders
What makes a great leader? Stratford Managers published a report highlighting the top five habits that successful leaders exhibit. Here’s a brief overview of the list.
A highly effective leader:
1. Aligns team and individual work to the organization’s direction;
2. Uses effective communication methods to share thoughts and ideas;
3. Empowers others with the resources and authority they need to succeed;
4. Manages individual and team performance; and
5. Helps others achieve more through feedback, instruction and encouragement.
To read the full report, visit stratfordmanagers.ca.
