In my recent years as a consultant, it's become more and more evident that getting on an airplane, bringing people together in a high-profile, event-based manner is no longer the most effective way to approach professional management and leadership development.
To be perfectly honest, this awareness created a certain level of ambivalence for me. On the one hand, I was attracted to the psychic income provided by the group atmosphere with the dynamic energy and excitement that are generated by working face to face with successful managers and leaders who are hungry to learn. What I've come to recognize and accept is that long-term effective results are NOT generated from my jokes, my charismatic delivery and top consulting expertise. Effective results thrive in a more cost-effective, individualized, team-based, supportive approach that doesn't require the authority of the out-of-town "expert" consultant.
I'm not suggesting there's no longer a place for the presentation, retreat, or big training event. What I am saying is that simple, sustainable, ongoing development is best achieved through progressive strategies introduced by technology and Internet interfacing.
Finding ways to redefine our roles - and our own needs - as presenters, human resource professionals, and consultants is critical in order to advance the development of leaders overall. Facing these changes has required a fundamental reorganization of how I get my needs met professionally. This has opened the door for me to a new paradigm of leadership development that's having a tremendous impact on my development as a leader, as well as my clients.
What we hear from clients regarding our integration of the new paradigm are things like: how effective a more subtle warm-up to development is; how effectively each step prepares you for the next; how satisfying it is to have the opportunity to establish peer-based relationships on a deeper level - and how remarkably and unexpectedly rewarding that can be.
Based on my extensive field experience, research in the customer laboratory - and bruised knees - I hope you will download a copy of my New Rules for Leadership Development, and let me know what you think.
Frank
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