We work with organizations to develop exceptional leadership:

• At the individual level this means cultivating the leadership abilities of individuals within the organization, whether they be newly promoted supervisors or CEOs.
• On the organizational level, this means working with organizations to help them become truly exceptional leaders in their business.

To become the best, the boldest, and to redefine the standards of excellence.

We call these the micro and the macro aspects of leadership and they are by no means isolated. Individual initiatives without organizational support will result in isolated leaders and will require tremendous energy by individual leaders to maintain the new leadership paradigm. Organizational initiatives without focus on the individual leader are unlikely to result in the degree of excellence we know is possible. Thus, exceptional organizations require exceptional leaders who are developed and supported by exceptional organizations.

We will help you rise to the challenge of exceptional leadership.

We will pay attention to many aspects of your organization, such as your values and culture, business strategy, mission and vision and learning goals.

We will develop a plan for realizing your leadership potential, for truly becoming exceptional leaders.

There is no simple formula for becoming an exceptional organization with exceptional leaders. Each organization, and each person within that organization is different (yes, both individual and organizational customization is a key feature of how we do business). Furthermore, it really is a journey. A passage from one place to another. As Jim Collins says, in "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't (2001)," "No matter how dramatic the end result, the good-to-great transformations never happened in one fell swoop. There was no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment." (p.186) .

In general terms, we believe the following steps are important for this to be an exciting and effective voyage:

• Get clear on what exceptional leadership is - for individuals, for teams, for organizations. For us it's about authenticity, it's about having the sense of self and confidence to do the right thing - whether this is for an individual or organization.
• Work with individuals to raise the bar on their leadership. You can expect us to help individuals gain the knowledge, skills and personal insights necessary to be leaders. We help people understand leadership (through reading, dialogue, self and group study and debate), and then work with them individually to put the theory into action (through one-on-one discussions, coaching, mentoring and implementing organizational development initiatives).
• Ensure organizational culture supports what we're doing. This means looking at all elements that make up the culture, such as values, structure and basic underlying assumptions in the organization.
• Ensure every system supports exceptional leadership. This is where leadership development and organizational development blend together. It means making sure there is a long-term plan for leadership (succession management), that the compensation system rewards exceptional leadership, that hiring practices support exceptional leadership.
• Ensure the long-term direction of the organization supports exceptional leadership. The means ensuring the vision and strategies support both the micro and the macro aspects of exceptional leadership.

We believe all these elements are essential if organizations truly want to enter the arena of exceptional leadership. Typically, organizations have paid attention to some, but not all the elements. We recommend our clients start any organizational initiative by exploring the extent to which:

• -individuals understand what exceptional leadership within your organization looks like;
• How the organizational culture and systems (succession, performance, etc.) support exceptional leadership;
• Individuals are demonstrating exceptional leadership;
• Whether the organizational direction encourages exceptional leadership.

Once this is done, we work with you to produce a detailed plan to create exceptional leaders and exceptional results. The extent to which we are involved in implementing this plan depends on many factors, such as budget, timeframe, internal resources, previous experience, etc.

Together, we will know what makes the most sense for your organization.

Getting Started