31 Oct Growing Your Leaders Holistically

Going beyond off-shelf leadership programs to raise world-class leaders at all levels

When you’re like me and have been in the learning industry for so long, you come across various leadership programs. Some are good while others are not so good. And some in between…

Yes, I’ve been exposed to world-class leadership programs. I benefited from such programs myself. However, these are a few exceptions, not the norm.

If you ask me to be honest, though painful to reveal this publicly and against the industry I’m part of, I can tell you that many leadership programs are garbage.

No wonder many decision-makers are frustrated and skeptical about leadership development programs. Who blames them? They invest billions every year and they’re getting mediocre results.

Below are just some of the problems you’ll find in many leadership programs:

1. Outdated. To see this, just go to the references side of the leadership materials. You will be surprised to find out that most of the reference materials used to develop the corresponding program are 10 years or more old. Very few programs use the latest leadership books and share recent stories and case studies.
2. Off-shelf. Just google and see the overview and learning objectives of the leadership programs that are available on the Internet. You will see that they are almost the same with minor wording differences. Most training companies outsource their materials to the same companies that have been designing these mediocre programs over the years. Few have their own outline. Very few tailor their programs according to the needs, priorities, preferences, and cultures of their clients.
3. Incomplete. This is unfortunate. There are leadership program designers who believe that leadership is all about competencies. As a result, they focus on skill sets, neglecting other important aspects of leadership development.
4. Generic. Leadership is a protracted journey. Leaders advance on the spectrum of leadership one stage at a time. They may begin as aspiring leaders and then become emerging leaders to lead one team/project. They then become middle leaders to lead multiple projects and teams. Ultimately, they become executives and senior leaders. At each stage of leadership, they face different challenges and are exposed to totally different opportunities as they grow and advance. Sadly, some organizations congregate their leaders together. Rather than empowering them using programs that take into account their level of leadership, they are given generic programs that fail to meet their specific needs at the stage where they are operating.
5. Biased. The world has changed. In the same team, organization, and community, we have now diverse team members and leaders, some work together in close proximity while others join virtually far from the headquarters. Sadly, many leadership programs don’t account for the diversity of participants either or both at the design and/or delivery stages. Worse is when these leadership programs are biased, have an affinity toward the mainstream only, and are one-sided, ignoring minorities and exceptions. Worst case scenario? When they have discriminatory elements in their programs that offend and disempower certain sections of the audience.

At Success Pathways, we custom design and deliver leadership programs that overcome the above obstacles.

Here are some of the things we consider as we design and deliver our programs:

1. We incorporate the latest leadership insights, models, tools, and approaches.
2. We tailor each program for each audience.
3. We go beyond developing skills; we don’t neglect other important aspects of leadership growth.
4. We develop stage-by-stage leadership development programs.
5. We’re mindful of the uniqueness of each audience.

If you would like to grow your leaders holistically by partnering with us, let’s help you design and deliver leadership development programs that grow your leaders holistically.

Don’t forget. Unless your leaders at various stages of leadership experience all-around growth, they won’t be able to fulfill their individual and corporate mandates. Your leaders become handicapped and may not be able to solve the problems they are facing now and in the future.

Without holistic leadership development, you and your leaders may not tap into the opportunities the century offers.

• If you care about raising world-class leaders in your organization and/or community, you should partner with us.
• If in case your team/organization/community doesn’t need our customized leadership programs, why not refer those who may need our programs? We have a very generous referral program.

Our success is dependent on attracting, serving, and supporting its clients. The referral program encourages people like yourself to refer prospective clients to us, and in turn, share the profit.

1. Click here to download the 1-pager.
2. Click here to download the referral program.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Success Pathways and how we may help you raise world-class leaders, reach out to our team at [email protected]

Hoping to hear from you soon…