Leadership Development
Why is leadership development important?
The world needs competent and courageous leaders who can transmit the following three core messages:
- You matter.
- What we do here matters.
- Together, we can create and accomplish the extraordinary.
These messages are foundational, whether you are a senior leader in your organization or you are an individual interested in making a positive difference in the world.
Effective leadership within an organization contributes to high levels of engagement. According to research over the past 30 years, organizations with the highest levels of engagement are consistently more profitable, more resilient in the face of change, have higher customer satisfaction and higher quality outcomes.
At EQIQ Leadership, we have been training and consulting with leaders for over three decades. The time-tested tools that we coach our clients to use effectively are as relevant today - perhaps even more relevant - than they have ever been.
Allow us to help you and your teams meet the challenges that lie ahead.
How can we help?
Creating a successful business in 2022
What do leaders truly need to master?
Leaders need to address three primary areas
- Strategic Guidance: Seeing, creating or co-creating a vision for a desired future state, and beginning to outline the strategic thinking and pathways that are required to achieve it.
- Tactical Execution: Knowing not only what to do but how to do it.
- Heart: Engaging the human spirit, so that people can tap into what means the most to them. In other words, good leaders are masters of meaningfulness.
Leaders do not need to know it all!
The most successful leaders know how to serve as pivot points to ensure that strategic guidance, tactical execution and heart are each seen to and well integrated with each other.
- Leaders who know how to get things done but lack strategic direction fail to get things done.
- Leaders who have strategic direction but lack the heart to inspire people end up with disengagement and loss of productivity.
- Leaders who have heart but lack guidance and/or how to execute will never see their vision flourish.
What is the secret to leadership development?
In developing themselves, leaders never stop learning and growing. They are grateful if they have learned important skills during times of smooth sailing, yet know that when the seas get rough, it takes all hands on deck, and that the true test of leadership is before them.
Preparing to be an excellent leader
It is one thing to lead when everything is calm and easy, it is another to lead through times of unexpected challenge and when things are decidedly not “business-as-usual?”
Can you stay grounded and flexible, confident yet humble? Will your actions stand the test of time, and will you be remembered as the kind of leader others aspire to be?
Whether faced with a global challenge such as the world has been dealing with since early 2020, or simply with the change brought forth by mergers/acquisitions/new senior leadership, there are those in leadership roles who carry a hope that things will stay, or go back to, the way things were.
Astute leaders realize there is no going back; their focus is on how to move with 'what is', how to best move forward, and how to take advantage of the opportunities that change can bring."
Robert "Dusty" Staub
Tap into our 35 year experience of supporting leaders
EQIQ Leadership's unique approach
At EQIQ, we customize our services to meet our clients' particular objectives - both as individuals and within the context of the organization they serve. We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, because each individual, company and team is unique and every situation has different demands.
The value we provide to our clients is underscored by enduring relationships and high-end referrals. The work we facilitate provides long-term impact for sustainable growth.
An evolving leader may begin by participating in our 2-day online Whole Hearted Leadership Development (WHLD) program, which includes one-on-one pre and post-program sessions with the facilitator as well as a summary action report that is co-developed by the participant. The program cohort can then join an online follow-up session 4 weeks after the main program, to reflect on real-world experiences and putting their new skills to the test.
For organizations that want to invest in a common language and skill set around heart-centered leadership for leaders, managers and intact teams, the WHLD format is offered as our Leadership Intensive Training. This incorporates the same course material, with a particular focus on company culture, mission and vision.
In addition, components of these longer programs can be offered in shorter segments, such as
Individual leaders may want to go deeper into their personal leadership development through Executive Coaching or a Strategic Life Plan, and can also continue on with our Advanced Leadership Program.
Whole-hearted Leadership Development
Executive Coaching
What exceptional leaders do
First, they have a clear sense of core purpose. Leaders are orchestrators of meaning. This means they tie the fundamental value proposition of why their organization exists together with the fundamental desire or need it fulfills. If a leader does not know this and is not working with this on an ongoing basis, the foundation stone of sustainable leadership will be missing.
Second, they are able to articulate a vision that is a compelling picture of a desired future state, one that is achievable and can be inspirational to others. This vision ties into the fundamental purpose by outlining how that purpose can flourish at a future date. A good vision creates a sense of future pull – magnetically pulling and orienting people towards the desired state.
Third, leaders access the courage to do what is necessary in order to be faithful to the core purpose and achieving their stated vision. At EQIQ, we look at eight distinct acts of courage:
- The Courage to Dream and Express the Dream
- The Courage to See Current Reality
- The Courage to Confront
- The Courage to be Confronted
- The Courage to Learn and Grow
- The Courage to be Vulnerable
- The Courage to Take Action
- The Courage to Let Go
The importance of communication
Competent leaders have mastered the art of interactive communication. They ask key questions, listening carefully for the answers, open and curious toward discovering what lies hidden. They make sure they have understood what was communicated, then use clarifying follow-up questions.
Leaders know they have the final word, and the final burden of responsibility, when it comes to prioritizing action steps within their organization. They also understand that the hands-on, day-to-day experience of all those engaged in their organization’s mission can help bring a broader view, as well as clarity and conviction, to leadership decisions.
Want to learn more about courage?
Courageous Conversations
Why does great leadership matter for society?
Good leadership throughout the ages has made the critical difference between societies that thrive and those that languish and fail. Today, with the incredible technological and scientific advances that create both opportunities and significant dangers, it is clear we need sound leadership more than ever.
The best leaders provide a sense of direction, call to the spark of inspiration within the human soul and model the key acts of courage required to move forward in the face of adversity, as well as to seize new horizons.
A most recent example of model leadership was Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.
Archbishop Tutu spoke to the need for all people in the nation to be treated with respect and decency in the face of apartheid. He did not call for violence. Instead, he called for understanding, respect and solidarity. He inspired people through his sense of humor, his deep compassion for people, and his willingness to put himself on the line. Instead of judgment, he offered a picture and a call to the “better angels” within the human heart.
Ready to find out more?