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The Extraordinary Leader Workshop

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Leadership Development that Drives Results

The Extraordinary Leader – One-day Workshop led by Jim Clemmer

No dates planned currently – contact us to bring this workshop into your organization

Hosted by no dates currently planned

KEY LEARNINGS FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY LEADER WORKSHOP:

  • Understand the significant on-the-job performance differences between “good” and “extraordinary” leaders
  • Learn about the 16 leadership competencies that differentiate extraordinary leaders
  • Discover why enhancing existing leadership strengths is the most successful way to become an extraordinary leader
  • Prepare to receive an individual 360-degree leadership feedback report, understand the report structure, interpret the data, and discuss how it can best be used in a positive way
  • Perform a step-by-step analysis of their feedback report, using a structured process with individual and group exercises
  • Use our unique leadership cross-training approach to construct a customized Individual Development Plan
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“Good is the enemy of excellence. Leadership is the challenge to be something more than average.
– John Rohn”

Learn more about The Extraordinary Leader, The Extraordinary Coach, and building strengths in this 60-minute webinar:

Why focus on strengths instead of improving weaknesses?

Traditional assessments and needs analysis look for gaps. And most 360 feedback tools focus on finding and fixing weaknesses. This often leads to:

  • Participants feeling beat up by feedback reports.
  • Negative response or avoidance of 360 multi-rater feedback tools.
  • Erosion of confidence.
  • Defensiveness and fear of making mistakes.
  • Data denial and feedback phobia.
  • Working on a weak area and only getting it to average – with mediocre results.
  • A belief that extraordinary leadership is achieved by naturally gifted or “born leaders.”

Extraordinary leadership is obtainable. A leader needs to develop just three existing strengths out of 16 competencies to increase his or her leadership effectiveness from the 34th to the 80th percentile! Building strengths is proving to be the only way to move from an average or ordinary leader to extraordinary or exceptional.

In a series of studies looking at the impact of leaders choosing to fix weaknesses versus building on existing strengths, leaders who magnified their existing strengths showed two – three times more improvement in leadership effectiveness than leaders who worked on fixing their weaknesses.

Why Strengths-Based Leadership Development Works Better:

  • Building strengths is the only way to become an extraordinary leader.
  • A strengths focus produces up to three times higher change and improvement.
  • Profits, sales, engagement, morale, and energy levels, turnover, health and safety, and customer satisfaction skyrockets.
  • The spectrum of development methods broadens with cross-training and Companion Competencies.
  • Participant motivation to improve is much higher.
  • Organizational culture is much more positive and energized.
  • It’s a lot more fun to work on strengths!
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How do 'soft' leadership skills impact the bottom-line of my organization?

Developing current and future leaders is a top priority for HR and executive leadership, year after year. Why? Highly effective leaders make a profound difference in their organizations.

The statistics say it all. More effective leadership means:
…higher profits, higher sales
…increased employee engagement, satisfaction and retention
…higher customer satisfaction
…safer work environment

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The Extraordinary Leader Process and Participant Outcomes

This powerful leadership development system uses strengths-based leadership development, on a foundation of evidence-based approaches, producing a highly personalized development plan, that’s built around a best of class 360 multi-rater tool.

  • Learn the 16 empirically identified key leadership competencies in 5 clusters that cause leaders and their team/organizations to flounder or flourish.
  • Understand the significant on-the-job performance differences between “good” and “extraordinary” leaders and the dramatic impact on his or her team/organization.
  • Why building on existing strengths is up to 3 times more effective than fixing weaknesses.
  • When to work on weaknesses.
  • Understand and cut through the complex interplay of strengths, weaknesses, and performance.
  • Prepare to receive an individual 360 multi-rater leadership feedback report, understand the report structure, interpret the data, and learn how to use it in a positive way for growth and development.
  • Perform a step-by-step analysis of the personal feedback report using a structured process with individual and group exercises.
  • Aligning and multiplying his or her unique strengths and passion for improvement with the organization’s needs.
  • Research-based strength development using Companion Competencies, cross-training, and non-linear approaches to build an Individual Development Plan.
  • Identifying THE key competency for development that will drive each participant’s broadest improvement for his or her personal situation.
  • Coaching, implementation follow through, and the support processes/tools to make learning stick.
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Video Overview


Workshop Audience

The Extraordinary Leader process is being used extensively for individual leaders at all levels of an organization from senior executives to first-line supervisors. Customized in-house sessions are delivered to executive or management teams, other intact or cross-functional work teams, or to individuals gathered from different parts of an organization.

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In-House Customization

The Extraordinary Leader Workshop, materials, and 360 assessment can easily be customized to:

  • Be tailored to an organization’s existing competency model.
  • Provide flexible delivery options, including individualized coaching, etc.
  • Link to organizational culture development efforts.
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Workshop Format, Dates, and Locations

This is a one-day, interactive, leadership learning, assessing, and planning experience led by Jim Clemmer in:

No dates planned currently  [Directions] [Hotel Suggestions]

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Fees and Registration

$895.00 for The Extraordinary Leader (one day workshop) no dates currently planned

$1,295.00 – Attend BOTH The Extraordinary Leader AND The Extraordinary Coach workshops (two days total) no dates currently planned

Registration and a light continental breakfast start anytime after 7:30 AM. The workshop sessions will begin promptly at 8:30 AM and run until 5:00 PM.

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Participant Materials

  • The online Extraordinary Leader multi-rater (360) assessment and personal feedback report.
    The Extraordinary Leader Participant Manual and unique, cross-training development tool, the Competency Companion Development Guide.
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Client Reviews

What Clients Are Saying About Zenger Folkman’s Extraordinary Leader Development System

“The Extraordinary Leader program is just that – extraordinary. The strengths- based approach to leadership development is very different and contrary to our long conditioning on gap-based learning and development. Once participants let go of irrelevant weaknesses and focus on what matters most, strengthening strengths, the impact is significant. The biggest difference I have noticed with this program is participants’ energy to focus on development planning. When strengths align with passion and organizational need, people are motivated to implement.”
– Melanie Will, Manager, Learning and Organizational Development, Wilfrid Laurier University

“I found The Extraordinary Leader 360 assessment and personal development process very effective. Its competency companion development guide provides a clear road map for building on one’s leadership strengths.  It is measurably superior to any 360 methodology I have previously seen and my only regret is that The Extraordinary Leader was not available years ago.”
– Dr. Alan Harrison, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), Queen’s University

“Excellent session and a great facilitator! Really showed us how to use feedback to build on strengths.”
– Catherine Belcastro, Human Resources Manager, Oxford University Press Canada

“The Extraordinary Leader Workshop” was an exceptional event; even by Jim’s unusually high standards. This program is the best tool I have found to identify a leader’s current areas of strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly, provides a wealth of knowledge on how you can (and why you should) develop your particular strengths to improve your performance in every aspect of your life.”
– Ryan Hurlbut, Workplace Development Manager, Pillar Resource Services Inc.

“At Boeing’s Aerospace Support division, we had concerns about our level of employee commitment. Our work with the Extraordinary Leader introduced us to the research showing a connection between leadership effectiveness and employee commitment. Partnering with Zenger Folkman, we created a competency model, an on-line multi-rater feedback process, and a workshop to help our leaders develop their strengths. Using the ‘cross training’ approach; our leaders achieved an across-the-board improvement of close to 15% in their year-over-year employee commitment scores. Not only did our best leaders get better, but our ‘average’ leaders and even our poorest leaders showed marked improvement in their leadership effectiveness and employee commitment scores. This improvement was a critical factor in our qualifications for the Malcolm Baldrige award, which our division won.”
– Dee Thomas, HR Director, Boeing Aerospace Support

“A new approach to leadership that goes against what I held true in the past. The information presented invigorates a new directive in applying and learning leadership skills.”
– Stephen Collins, General Manager, Home Hardware Gravenhurst

“The workshop was excellent and feedback from all participants has been extremely positive. I particularly enjoyed the way current paradigms on developing leaders were challenged. I have no doubt that those who attended will benefit from the experience and will, in turn, provide benefits for our organization.”
– J. Mateparae, Master General, New Zealand Defense Force

“The Extraordinary Leader class was one of the most powerful and insightful programs I have ever attended. The 360-degree profile gave me deep insights into how others perceive me as a leader, and the course and follow-on coaching has paved an exciting path for me to follow in developing my leadership skills.”
– Ricardo Fuchs, Vice President, Serv Corp, Inc.

“The Extraordinary Leader research caused us to rethink our performance management philosophy. We revamped our process to orient it more toward building employees’ strengths. The results have been remarkable. We now have a more balanced performance agreement, highlighting areas of strength, and significant problems that must be fixed. The biggest change has been in the energy people have for the performance management process. It is now something that most employees look forward to. How many companies can say that?”
– Mary Settle, Vice President of Human Resources, BARD Access Systems

“…the path to greatness is really about building profound strengths, rather than through relentlessly focusing on one’s weaknesses.”
– Michael A. Peel, Yale University, Vice President, Human Resources and Administration

“…filling the gap from inspirational to practical ‘how to’ realities of leadership improvement. The difference is an unusual blend of credible and uncompromising research married with years of successful application with leaders and organizations. These past few years (ZF) have proven helpful in filling the gap from inspirational to practical ‘how to’ realities of leadership improvement. The difference is an unusual blend of credible and uncompromising research married with years of successful application with leaders and organizations. The result is innovative, at times challenging conventional wisdom, and ultimately useful. I have seen talent in my organization engage and improve based on this work.”
– Kevin D. Wilde, VP, Organization Effectiveness and Chief Learning Officer, General Mills, author of Dancing with the Talent Stars: 25 Moves That Matter Now

“Zenger Folkman’s research and tools have provided excellent guidance to leaders I’ve worked with over the years. The tools allowed them to create actionable goals and inspired them to actively pursue excellence in leadership.”
– Pam Mabry, Director, Human Resources, The Boeing Company

“The Zenger Folkman organization has had a profound effect on leadership development. Their research reveals the impact of strengths-based development on individual and organization success across industries and geographies. Their competency model and 360 evaluation provide the framework around which to build a development plan.”
– Hillery Ballantyne, Senior Vice President, Talent Management and Leadership Development, Elsevier

“…the next evolution of focusing on strengths…compelling research to understand what it takes to become an exceptional leader. The insightful tools and developmental approaches help address fatal flaws and push your existing strengths over the edge to exceptional.”
– Linda Simon, Senior Vice President, Leadership and Organizational Development, DIRECTV

“My organization has benefited for years from Zenger Folkman’s involvement in our Leadership Training Programs… we have seen that people are much more successful when we focus on improving their natural leadership strengths while minimizing their weaknesses.”
– Stephen K. Wiggins, EVP, Chief Information Officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina; coauthor, Picasso on a Schedule

“…lifting leadership effectiveness from the (somewhat pejorative) realm of ‘soft skills’ to a plane that equates these competencies with ‘harder’ disciplines in two ways: not only can these skills be learned, but they can have a similar impact on bottom-line results and employee performance. Leadership cross-training is an approach that can have a powerful impact on helping good leaders become exceptional ones.”
– Jaime Gonzales, Head of Professional Development, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

“The tools are fabulous! They suit my planning style perfectly.”
– Linda Rayner, Director of Operations, Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre

“I had several light bulb moments during the two days. The 360 assessment was very useful for me to recognize my strengths. I also saw that coaching is a necessity and not an option to help my team grow.”
Jane Wald, Manager of Education, The Good Samaritan Society

“Jim’s purpose, passion, example, stories, and experiences supported my learning.”
– Rachelle Lukasewich, Corporate Trainer, Servus Credit Union

“The most valuable part of this workshop was having takeaway tools. Jim is a facilitator who coaches, with practical approaches that are logical and intuitive, and using actual situations/not role playing.”
– Kim Campbell, VP Quality, The Good Samaritan Society

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