Sarto’s Leadership Development Program: The Difference

Most business leaders would agree that our first-line managers, the ones who are on the front-line and in the trenches with our people, hold the most important management position in any organization.  We would also agree that most new leaders were promoted because of their achievements as an individual contributor and/or technical skills, and not necessarily their leadership skills. Yet we consistently see people placed into the role of team leader without receiving the proper training prior to taking over a team, or very little once they are in the role. It’s no surprise when these individuals, who were once considered rock stars, struggle in their new role as a leader and run into significant employee engagement issues with their teams. What’s even more disheartening is most managers have the potential to evolve into great leaders but were never properly set up for success and given the resources needed to develop their skills before stepping into a leadership role.  

What if...

What if a year prior to a person moving into a leadership position they were provided the proper training over an extend period of time? 

What if we gave them a roadmap with different modes of learning at each intersection? 

What if we gave them high performing managers, from within their own organization, as coaches for the entirety of the journey? 

Leadership development programs provide the foundational leadership skills managers need prior to assuming leadership positions. Sarto Leadership Group’s customized and phased program provides an experiential journey through self-discovery where participants learn and apply core leadership skills while establishing new milestones that will offer opportunities to measure growth and development. 

A Uniquely Designed LDP

A Journey. Not a Snapshot.

The idea for our Leadership Development Program, or LDP for short, builds upon traditional programs that exist today yet takes development to a whole new level. At Sarto Leadership Group, we take a customized approach to the traditional model of leadership training and development. Looking back, most LDPs came with some form of an assessment followed by short-term solutions. This traditional approach focuses more on a snapshot in time, or a glimpse into what leadership is, as opposed to developing people and their skill sets over time to properly prepare them to lead a team. Sarto Leadership Group’s LDP is based on a journey, not a snapshot in time. The intent is that we take a group that has been selected as having the potential to lead a team one day and immerse them into a process of self-discovery and skill set building through blended learning. Yes, we do teach them the foundational concepts much akin to a level 101, but the difference is we then guide them over several months, reinforcing different skills such as reflective techniques and much more; learning about themselves along the journey while also learning what managing is all about. That way we're reducing the learning curve, so they're much more prepared before they ever take over a team or for when they do take over a team. We think of it this way, you would never hire a dentist and allow them to fill a cavity if they’ve never had any training, or had only been through a half-day fellowship, right? Exactly! 

Your Managers as Coaches.

The backbone of the program, which we think makes our program so unique, is we use the organization's own management team as coaches. Managers who have the reputation, who are known for being great coaches, great developers of people, etc. The ones that people want to go work for. Using your own managers also helps with keeping culture and company values intact. Who better to judge whether or not somebody's ready to take over a team than your own high performing managers?

Benefits to the Organization.

Our Leadership Development Program establishes a talent bench by developing future leaders, increasing employee engagement and performance, and helps to retain top performing managers. Over time, participants will develop a wide range of foundational leadership skills and behaviors such as essential coaching techniques, communication and interpersonal skills, as well as strategic and reflective thinking skills.

Best of all, your participants transition from individual contributor to team leader.

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About Rob Fonte

Rob’s deep management experience spans across a twenty-year career in multiple disciplines from leading award-winning sales teams to his most recent position as Director of Learning and Leadership Development for Celgene Corp.  A holder of master's degree in Organizational Behavior and Coaching, Rob Fonte is academically trained and certified by The University of Texas and the International Coach Federation. Rob's reputation has been built on being a transformational leader and inspirational coach with a passion for developing others. His personalized approach and passion for helping individuals unlock and reach their full potential provides the trust and confidence clients need to effectively implement change, grow and succeed.