LEADERSHIP LESSONS - From the people you lead!

"Leader" is not a title you can ‘claim’. If the people in your charge respect you, trust you and believe in you… then THEY will call you their leader. The decision is entirely theirs.

And their decision to call you leader is a direct product of how you behave. Because, according to the Harvard Business Review, Leadership is 85% people skills (attitude and behaviour) – and just 15% operational talent (aptitude and technical knowledge).

Furthermore - research in the UK shows that 95% of senior leaders believe they are 'Trusted' by their followers.  That same survey (across 2,000 UK workers), indicated that just 16% of followers trust their leaders.  THAT'S A HECK OF A PERCEPTION GAP!

“Leadership Lessons from the people you lead”, is a 3 hour course that took 25 years to create.

Andy Edwards, the course author says:

“Having been in business for more than 25 years, I have trained and coached many thousands of leaders… but, just as importantly, thousands of FOLLOWERS too. This has given me a unique insight into, not only how leaders tick… but also what followers complain about most.

As an accredited behavioural psychologist, it struck me that the best lessons for leaders are available from their followers. The trouble is, many leaders (and many followers) do not recognise the value available in these 'lessons'. Leaders, especially. They think they have to be ‘In Charge’, ’The Boss’ – they have to be seen to know better than the people they lead… so the learning is rarely sought or simply ignored by leaders (and virtually never offered by followers).

You can try any number of other leadership courses out there… but they tend to be leaders telling other leaders how to be great leaders. This course is unique because it actually looks at leadership from the perspective of the end-user. That ‘end-user’ being the team member.

Based on the above, I created this course – which, as a leadership trainer, I offer to my clients. You are quite welcome to invite me along to present it as in-house session.

WHAT TO EXPECT (CONTENT OVERVIEW)

First of all, this course is not for the faint-hearted leader. There are some uncomfortable truths early in the course that provide clarity about the problem that many leaders face.

So, the first section, Andy lays out the problem using his own experience – but also surveys commissioned by respected organisations, associations and governing bodies.

A particular feature of the course is the availability of what Andy calls the ‘Followers' Briefing' Documents.

After many of the lectures you can download an information sheet or exercise – sometimes both. This information enhances the video lectures and is like a briefing document direct from your followers (if they were brave enough to write one!).

Section two moves into the six ‘C’s’ of leadership. Based on the fundamental (but uncomfortable truth) “Any problem in your team is probably a reflection of your leadership (or lack of it)”.

Leaders will complain and point to reasons why their team or followers are failing – without understanding how much they, the leader, can actually do about it.

So, Andy tackles six areas that cover 99% of the problems leaders have with their team… but it DOES require the leader taking responsibility for, well, leading! Usefully (not a bit awkwardly!) all six of the areas begin with the letter ‘C’!

Section three is an absolute eye-opener. We look at the seven ‘Failures’ of leaders. AS TOLD BY THE FOLLOWERS.

When moaning or complaining about (or to) their leader, many followers do so in a sullen, negative, passive or even hostile manner. This makes it easy for the leader to blame the follower for such an uncooperative or defensive attitude. However, this is not the issue itself...  This is a symptom of the poor relationship between leader and follower - which is the true problem.

Address all seven of the leadership ‘Failures’ and the followers have more than 90% of their complaints totally eradicated. Trust in the leader is enhanced. Morale goes up – as does discretionary effort, competence, confidence, loyalty AND PRODUCTIVITY.

Section 4 concludes the course with two important leadership approaches… 'Consistency not intensity' PLUS the most important question a leader can ask.  To find out what it is, you'll have to take the course!

What it all boils down to is that business is about people — it always has been, and always will be. Too often businesses fall short, not because leaders don’t understand the business, but because they don’t understand what the people who work for them actually need in order to bring their best efforts to work.

BY THE END OF THE COURSE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:

• Understand the link between world-class leadership and customer delight

• Know why – and under what circumstances, people become leaders

• Be clear about the specific roles and followers' expectations of leadership and management

• Understand exactly what their followers want (and need) from you

• Recognise how to take leadership responsibility for (and address) the problems in the team

• Understand the seven leadership ‘failures’, their implications - and precisely how to overcome them

• Be confident enough to ask followers the most important question a leader can ask!

Leadership is about getting things done through others... Great leadership leads to every business metric, every KPI and every customer being positively affected. It really is THAT important!  By the end of this course, all these enhancements will be available to you.

WHO IS IT FOR

Is this course for you? Well, as I said earlier, it’s not for the faint-hearted leader.

I hope that you are either a new leader (or just about to become one) – or an existing, battle-scarred leader who has tried everything else and believes that workers can NEVER be on the same side as their boss.

Either way, this course is for leaders who are prepared to learn uncomfortable truths. Leaders who are prepared to take responsibility, and who will not dismiss or deny the material – or immediately believe that it does not apply to them.

I remind you of that survey I mentioned earlier... 95% of leaders believe that their followers ‘mostly’ or ‘fully trust’ them. The truth is that when those followers are asked that question, fewer than 20% of them actually do. This perception gap borders on the delusional. So be prepared to challenge what you think you know.

This is for leaders with a degree of self-awareness and an open mind. Take this course on the principle that the material might, just MIGHT apply to you – and you’ll learn some great lessons. Not so much from Andy Edwards… but from your followers.

TESTIMONIALS FROM LEADERSHIP TRAINING WITH ANDY

“Working with Andy has been so much more than (I expected). It has been a voyage of discovery, learning more about myself than I ever imagined, reinforcing strengths, understanding that perceived weaknesses were not in fact this, just areas for focus, and recognising where I can help and influence others with their behaviours.

The sense of ‘team’ that has developed between the cohort (which was made up from different business functions) under Andy’s guidance is palpable.  Bonds built on more than just the day job have had visible improvements on morale, behaviours and achievement of targets.”  M.S.

“As a leader, I have a far greater appreciation of what drives the individuals in my team. I place more value in spending time and energy with individuals and I’ve seen my own confidence, decision making and focus improve as a result.

I have a team who now think and behave ‘above the line’ even in tough circumstances. I have a team who trust each other and work towards shared objectives and take pride in their joint achievements. I have a team who are comfortable challenging each other with respect, and accepting challenge with grace.” A.G.

“Not only did Andy give me the tools, inspiration and motivation to change a culture within my department (taking staff satisfaction from 38% to 80%), he also gave me the vision and empowerment to create more rewarding personal relationships in general life. This man is inspirational, one of a kind and is by far the best tutor / mentor / coach I have ever had the pleasure of working with.” R.H