Leadership & Learning Networks: The Next Component of Your Executive Team Development

By Deanna Rolffs, Senior Consultant, Design Group International

Introduction by Mark L. Vincent, Founder, Design Group International

A little over a year ago, just before a pandemic began to affect the human population of this planet, Design Group international published my blog post on an executive leadership development scaffolding. It was written at a time we were noticing significant lack of this development-- executives who are promoted to an office but are not capable of adequately filling it. That lack of development kept showing up in inability to engage complex thought which meant these newly minted executives could not manage organizational or marketplace complexity in general. Enter COVID and heightened awareness of social and racial tensions where we must finally face embrace diverse, equitable and expansive ways of living, and that lack of development shows up in sharp relief. In this new era the ability to manage complexity is not just nice to have. It makes all the difference in the ability to pivot to new realities and sustainable enterprise.

An executive leadership development scaffolding has three layers.

1.     When hiring and recruiting in general (This is where most HR departments begin and end)

2.     General and ongoing leader formation sequence (What a specific company wants from every leader)

3.     Individual ongoing leadership formation (What a specific leader wants to acquire for themselves as a leader)

What follows from Deanna Rolffs and Matt Visser, Senior Consultants with Design Group International touches on all three layers of this scaffolding. Even more, a leadership and learning network builds on what most HR departments are structured to offer (Layer One), so that there can be an ongoing leader formation sequence (a robust Layer Two), with the door open to what the individual wants to work on (Layer Three).

A leadership and learning network is a practical methodology. Hand-wringing questions and petty objections to actually doing something lose their power. Deanna and Matt offer a method to develop externally aware and internally mature executive leaders. The world needs many more of them!

Regardless of your industry or marketplace, this brief article points the way forward. Wise leaders will pay attention.

mark l vincent, Founder | Design Group International and Society for Process Consulting

Leadership & Learning Networks: The Next Component of Your Executive Team Development

By Deanna Rolffs, Senior Consultant, Design Group International

“Where should I send my executive team for leadership training?” I was recently asked by a CEO client. My response was this: “Are you interested in building one?” We worked to co-create a customized leadership and learning series for their context, team members, and organizational mission that included group coaching sessions, pre and post-reads, activities, and individual leadership coaching.

As compared to out-of-the-box product-oriented “manager” trainings, a customized leadership cohort built upon their team’s strengths and opportunities and moved the team forward toward their brave future. They were co-creators in designing their own leadership development plan toward transformation.

Executive leaders in all sectors share with us that it’s a challenge to support team members' growth and development. Dozens of executive leaders have asked about creating leadership and learning networks in the last twelve months alone. COVID-19 has increased the urgency.

Leadership and learning networks support leaders to realize greater clarity and calculated movement toward their growth as a team and as leaders within the organization. The network method uses a coach approach process to help gifted leaders learn, grow, and apply new learning.

Steve Glaveski shares with us that the following components are integral as adults learn and lead together. Each of these components is embedded into our practice of co-developing customized leadership and learning networks with executive leaders. (Source: Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development by Harvard Business Review)

·       Apply learning to real-world situations

·       Leverage guided learning

·       Personalize content

·       Provide ongoing support

·       Activate peer learning

The structure of Leadership and learning networks often include two components: group and individual coaching. Leaders participate in group sessions designed to spark learning, application, and dynamic conversation around key themes in leadership. Individual one-on-one coaching sessions occur with a trained coach, focusing on challenges and opportunities the leader identifies. Group and individual coaching sessions are scheduled at custom intervals with each client, often occurring monthly.

As process consultants at Design Group International, we specialize in listening deeply, helping you create solutions that work in your context, and learning alongside you. This requires us to embrace complexity, dig deep to clarify essential purpose, value your organizational strengths and context, and grow leadership capacity that will serve your organization and its leaders into the brave future you seek.

To support leaders’ goals for their teams, my colleague Matt Visser and I have designed the following organizational framework to customize to your context. Five essential factors comprise a healthy organizational ecosystem:

·       Purpose: Healthy organizations have a clear sense of direction with a clear mission, embodied core values, compelling vision, and articulated goals and priorities.

·       People: Healthy organizations ensure the people inside and outside the organization are supported, equipped, and flourishing in their roles and relationships. This includes leadership, board, employees, customers, donors, and partners.

·       Product: Healthy organizations are reliably delivering their core product with quality, consistency, and efficiency. They understand and prioritize their best outcomes for their market.

·       Platform: Healthy organizations create a reliable platform for supporting their people, delivering their product, and advancing their purpose. A platform provides the place for effectively measuring and communicating the impact of your organization.

·       Resources (Profit): Healthy organizations develop sustainable diverse revenue sources in order to support the advancement of their purpose. They focus on cultivating transformational relationships with donors, foundations, businesses, and their customers.

In addition, the following measures of success serve as the soil below the surface that nurture the five factors listed above:

·       Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging: Healthy organizations are measured by the extent to which you demonstrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. These vital aspects of health are articulated in the organizational purpose, people, product, platform, and resources.

·       Process: Healthy organizations develop clear process grounded in effective listening, helping, and learning. Their processes help develop the systems and structures needed to advance their purpose, grow their people and product, strengthen their platform, and secure the resources needed to flourish

A current international nonprofit client, with a team of thirty spread across the globe, kicked off a three-session leadership network yesterday. Their mission brings about justice and inclusion for women across the globe. As they began this leadership network an executive leader shared her vision for their leadership and learning network:

You may be curious to see examples of topics that are chosen by some executive leaders, as we co-developed their leadership and learning networks:

·       How do your personal leadership mission, vision, and values motivate personal leadership growth and development?

·       What does it look like for me to increase my inclusive leadership capacity? 

·       How is vulnerability my leadership superpower?

·       How do I balance accountability and support in my leadership?

·       How do I develop adaptive leadership skill, as compared to technical leadership skill?

·       How do I balance the tension of dedication to mission and caring for myself?

·       How does the neurology of trust impact my leadership ability?

·       How does continuous improvement apply to my leadership craft?

·       How do the power of listening and learning impact my leadership practice?

What leadership and learning topics will you include for your team?

We’d love to hear about your hopes and dreams to nurture your organization’s health. Reach out to us today to co-create a leadership network that supports your team to thrive and transform.

May your leadership and learning efforts lead to thriving people and organizations.

Deanna

Deanna Rolffs, Senior Consultant, Design Group International

Deanna Rolffs, Senior Consultant with Design Group International, is a strategist, facilitator, leadership coach, systems thinker, and consultant that has worked with executive leaders and teams for more than twenty years, the last ten focused on disrupting racial inequity in systems and organizations. Her process consulting approach focuses on organizational transformation via developing thriving teams, brave leadership, equitable systems, and inclusive communities. With a personal and professional dedication to justice and equity, Deanna supports leaders and teams in all sectors, from nonprofits such as West Michigan Center for Arts + Technology (WMCAT), Fortune500 companies such as Herman Miller, and international organizations such as United Nations Women. Deanna has served as a Senior Consultant with Design Group International since 2018.

Matt Visser, Senior Consultant, Design Group International

Matt Visser, Senior Consultant with Design Group International, walks alongside adaptive leaders to tackle complex problems and build healthy organizational ecosystems. Matt has invested over 20 years in growing nonprofit organizations with a focus in higher education, philanthropy, community engagement, and innovation. Matt views his work with clients as creating transformative partnerships with the goal of discovering creative solutions together to the real challenges you are facing in your unique context. Matt seeks to be a genuine and calming presence that walks alongside you as you build a clear pathway toward a vibrant future.