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Organizational Development

"Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning." - Warren G. Bennis

"Executive coaches are not for the meek. They’re for people who value unambiguous feedback. All coaches have one thing in common, it’s that they are ruthlessly results-oriented." FAST COMPANY Magazine

"What's really driving the boom in coaching, is this: as we move from 30 miles an hour to 70 to 120 to 180......as we go from driving straight down the road to making right turns and left turns to abandoning cars and getting on motorcycles...the whole game changes, and a lot of people are trying to keep up, learn how not to fall off." John Kotter, Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School.

Your organizational needs may be predefined and specific or broad and undefined. Through a systemic and strategic review, your training and development dollars can be focused on the right issues. To discover and define your issues, The Nielson Group will perform a comprehensive audit including interviews with senior management, organization-wide surveys and focus groups. The results can lead to a broad, organization-wide strategy or to more specific, department-wide strategies that meet the needs of your organization. For predefined needs, we offer the most effective organizational development solutions available.

ORGANIZATIONAL SURVEYS

Organization Climate Survey
Management Assessment Survey

WORKSHOPS FOR MANAGEMENT, TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS

New Team Development
Building High-Performing Teams
Implementing Self-Directed Teams
Dynamic Communication™
Your Attitude is Showing™
The Coaching Clinic
Sales Strategies for Success

ORGANIZATIONAL SURVEYS

Organization Climate Survey

The climate of an organization is a measure of the perceptions, feelings and behaviors of the company's employees. This survey captures seven essential climate dimensions: organizational clarity, decisions, team spirit, communications, rewards, warmth and support, and responsibility. Participant responses are expressed in both graph and quotation form. The interpretation and use of the data provide an excellent tool for discussion, problem solving and planning. Every look into the organizational mirror can provide opportunities for growth. Regular use of this survey provides valuable benchmarks for measuring growth. This survey can be administered via the Internet.

Management Assessment Survey

Behavioral research suggests that the most effective people are those who understand themselves, both their strengths and weaknesses, and use that knowledge to develop strategies and goals to meet the demands of their environment. Training is the imparting of skills, techniques and knowledge. Development is individual growth, motivation, formation of positive attitudes and habits, self-image enhancement and clarification of values and goals. The output from this survey assesses both training and development needs of managers in the organization. It identifies seventeen skill areas through self-assessment including: defining and writing goals, developing and implementing action plans, managing/analyzing time, developing subordinates, overall self-confidence, disciplining subordinates, problem-solving ability, decision-making effectiveness, participatory leadership style, individual productivity, value to the organization, defining/tracking tasks, ability to motivate people, overall communication skills, selection of subordinates, evaluation of subordinates, and effectiveness delegation. This survey is ideal for identifying those skills that will be of greatest importance and for pinpointing the areas of greatest need for training for managers as a group and individually. Especially well designed for establishing a coaching plan or pairing a particular internal coach with a manager, this self-assessment can be administered via the Internet.

WORKSHOPS FOR MANAGEMENT, TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS

New Team Development

Current studies indicate almost half of all newly appointed teams fail to live up to expectations in their first year. The New Team Development process carefully considers management's expectations, deliverables and time factors and designs the team based on those criteria. Once the team design is approved, team members are identified using carefully prepared evaluation methods. After all team members are selected and on board, the group will participate in several group meetings and workshops. One of the keys to successfully transitioning to a high-performing or effective self-directed team is building trust, understanding job roles and developing rapport. In partnership with the team leader and the organization, a custom-designed coaching program ensures a 'fast track' with the most potential for long-term success. Some of the tools are listed below:

• organizational climate assessment
• job soft skills indicator
• personal soft skills indicator
• Building High-Performing Teams workshop
  • Impart values, mission and vision of the organization
  • Recognize, understand and utilize strengths of individual team members
  • Identify areas for improvement and solve them as a team
• Dynamic Communication™ workshop
• team dynamics assessment
• work environment assessments and staff job fit study
• leader coaching

Building High-Performing Teams

A true team has a high level of trust, effective leadership and a shared sense of commitment. By using lecture, simulation, team activities and individual and group assessments, this training provides the participants with the skills and knowledge to build a high-performing team. At the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to identify the values, mission and vision of the organization; recognize, understand and utilize strengths of individual team members; identify weaknesses as a team and apply strategies for overcoming those weaknesses. This workshop incorporates a behavioral report and a personal interests, attitudes and values report.

Implementing Self-Directed Teams

Many teams can benefit from being self-directed. Employers need employees to be more flexible and productive and more responsible for quality and problem solving. The concept of self-directed work teams promotes all of that. Self-directed work teams take advantage of the skills, talents, ideas and innovations of the individual team members. This breakthrough method for increasing productivity, sparking innovation and reducing costs is ideal for teams that are not geographically dispersed, share a high level of interdependence and can be given the authority to plan, implement and control all work processes. Intended as a follow-up to the Building High-Performing Teams workshop, participants learn to work together as a cohesive group linked laterally by the team's objectives.

Challenge: Measure your present department or team against the list above. Place check marks next to the items that you feel are prevalent in your team.

Dynamic Communication™  

This is the most powerful communication seminar in the world. It is practical and incorporates the most sophisticated computerized behavioral communication analysis tool on the market. This seminar stresses a new level of understanding of self and others in terms everyone can understand and apply. It results in fostering and building relationships that will continue to grow. This full-day seminar contains three modules (Understanding Self, Recognizing and Appreciating Others' Style, Adapting for Success), incorporates a personalized behavioral report and is customized for the organization and the application (management team, project team, sales team, customer service or groups of individuals such as new hires).

Your Attitude is Showing™

On a fairly frequent basis most people experience differences of opinion, ethical dilemmas or values conflicts between themselves and their co-workers, organization, customers, spouses, children or friends. Being able to recognize and understand the six values clusters or "filters" that all people use to process information and make decisions equips an employee with the skills to communicate or sell more effectively. This one-day workshop focuses on helping participants to look at the world through someone else's eyes and to understand more clearly their own view of the world. People can say what they believe in; however, according to the attitudes/values model taught in this workshop, for a belief to be real it has to meet the following criteria:

• chosen freely from alternatives
• prized publicly
• acted upon again and again over time

By understanding this attitudes/values model, participants are more easily able to establish rapport and credibility with customers and/or co-workers. For example, customer service and sales personnel who participate in this workshop typically experience increased customer satisfaction and sales and more repeat business and referrals.

The Coaching Clinic  

Coaching is the art of helping others find their own place in the organization, their own best way of contributing and that inner sense of well being that each of us strives to find. This workshop takes the participants through the role of the coach: how to create openings, possibilities, plans, outcomes and action steps that connect people, clarify expectations and foster high commitment while supporting personal and organizational learning and development. Participants will learn how to perform the role of coach to co-generate four critical outcomes with others: enhanced well-being, purposeful behavior, higher levels of competence and increased awareness. Participants will learn:

• the 5-Step Coaching Conversation Model
• methods for providing constructive feedback, appreciation and recognition
• coaching skills that are immediately applicable
• ways to create a supportive environment

Here are a few of the principles around which The Coaching Clinic is centered:

• Coaching is all about the person being coached.
• Teaching, counseling, and coaching all have their place.
• The environment for a coaching conversation is critical.
• Listening requires 100% focus and attention.
• Coaching is 80% listening and 20% talking.
• We have to be aware of our 'filters' when we participate in a conversation.
• Conversations need a 'goal' to be structured and productive.
• Words are just a very small portion of communication, there are so many more factors...body language, attitude, tone of voice, etc.
• Re-cap is vital to clarity, understanding, and commitment.
• Action is a key to success.
• Some times people are not 'coachable', timing is important.
• Ownership is obtained when we come up with our own answers.
• The beauty of diversity is seen when different opinions and ideas are identified through conversation.
• Success feels good, coaching is all about supporting success.
• We sometimes have to flex our personal conversation styles and keep in mind that people receive information differently.
• Coaching Clinic Agenda

Sales Strategies for Success

Consider the following questions about your sales staff: Can they sell? Do they understand the sales process? Are they treating each sales situation the way top salespeople do? This workshop presents six different steps in the sales process: prospecting, first impressions, qualifying, demonstration, influence and closing. Participants are measured on what they understand about the sales process in all six areas and presented with interactive discussion throughout the class.

Contact: The Nielson Group at 972.346.2892
E-Mail: info@nielsongroup.com