Mental Agility Application 1
Wayne was a Senior Trainer in a manufacturing company that consistently received high marks for customer satisfaction-- both with internal customers and end customers. As a trainer, Wayne was highly respected. Student evaluations of his work were glowing, and Business Unit leaders often requested that Wayne lead their teaming events.
When Wayne’s manager took a job at Corporate, Wayne was promoted to Training Manager. Because Wayne loved teaching, and he had always felt confident and successful in the classroom, he continued to slate himself into classes, although his job description had changed. Wayne, who was good at guiding other teams in their events, seldom held events or even meetings with his own team. He paid little attention to developing his employees, and even less attention to his own development needs.
While Wayne continued to receive positive marks in the classroom, he was not rated highly as a manager. 360 degree feedback showed that upper management felt ignored by him, and his direct reports felt they had no direction to continue improvement efforts for themselves or for their department. As dissatisfaction grew, Wayne became frustrated with the position, as well. After attempting the job for approximately a year, Wayne returned to his previous position by mutual consent.
Transitioning from a role with hands on responsibilities to a more managerial role can be challenging. In this case, we see that Wayne lost sight that what got him to this point in his career won't serve him in his next role. Young developing leaders, such as Wayne, need help with this transition by developing foundational leadership skills, like coaching others and learning to delegate. At HigherEchelon we can help smooth out this transition period by training the necessary skills and competencies to become a Resilient and Adaptable Leader. Contact us to schedule a consultation.
Mental Agility Application 2
Sara works in an Environmental Engineering firm. She has been assigned to the same end client for the past 5 years. Sara knows the challenges of her current client’s environment, and she is confident that she keeps everyone safe and clear of environmental hazards.
Now, after five years with the same client, Sara is being reassigned. Her new environment is a nuclear power facility, and her responsibilities will be much different from those in her previous work. Sara realizes it is very important that she hone her knowledge and skills in preparation for this new assignment. She needs to garner confidence that she can take all the right steps to keep her clients and the community safe.
Confidence not only comes from our experience, but also in how we perceive that experience. Like Sara, many people lose confidence in their abilities when they make a transition because they're unsure of how to reflect on their past experience and build confidence. Our program helps individuals and teams generate powerful and consistent confidence that is not based on pop-psychology but rather on well-researched strategies and principles. Contact us to schedule a consultation.