At Lakeside Leadership Services we believe in the power of you and your mission. Whether you’re new to a leadership role or farther along in your leadership career, we are here to help you and your organization succeed. Let’s talk about how to do just that!
We provide timely research-based training, consulting, and coaching services delivered in a collaborative format that enables leaders to immediately implement the strategies and suggestions we share. Flexibility is a hallmark of our practice, and we are happy to adjust the length of sessions as needed, highlight specific topics as requested, and work together to identify the most useful planning and assessment tools to fit your organization's specific needs.
Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaching
Over 19 million people have taken Gallup’s CliftonStrengths assessment, enabling them to maximize their unique potential at work, and everywhere else. As Gallup-Certified Strengths Coaches, we can help you and your organization take the next steps to move from simply understanding your gifts and talents to implementing strengths-based practices as you set goals for improvement and growth.
Individuals. Gallup research finds that people who use their strengths are more engaged and productive at work and 3x more likely than others to have an excellent quality of life. We offer a range of coaching services, from a one-hour commitment-free coaching session to discuss your strengths, to package options for ongoing support as you work towards accomplishing your goals.
Leaders and Managers. The best managers boost individual and team performance by focusing on strengths. In fact, nearly 7 in 10 employees who say their manager focuses on their strengths are engaged in their work. We offer one hour coaching sessions that focus on the leader’s individual strengths, and how those strengths can best be used to motivate and manage a team. Package options for ongoing coaching and support are also available.
Partners, Teams, and Organizations. A strengths-based approach is essential for creating an exceptional workplace culture. That's why more than 90% of the Fortune 500 companies use CliftonStrengths. We can help you implement sustainable strengths-based practices across your organization by guiding partners and teams as they learn to work together more effectively by using their strengths.
“Every human being has talents that are just waiting to be uncovered.”
Organizational Culture Improvement
What is organizational culture? The best definition we have found is from Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn who said, “… the concept of culture refers to the taken-for-granted values, underlying assumptions, expectations, and definitions that characterize organizations and their members.” Essentially, it’s “how we do things around here,” and as Peter Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Leaders have the critical task of ensuring that their organization’s culture is aligned to its goals and strategies. Culture assessments and facilitated group inquiries provide valuable information that can be used to further enhance an organization’s strengths, renew a focus on shared values, and improve coworkers’ camaraderie and collaborative capabilities. Successful organizational leaders understand that they must invest in “the employee experience” if they want to attract the best and brightest employees and ensure that they are engaged in meaningful work.
Organizational Culture Assessments. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) is a valid, reliable, quick, and easy tool that reveals a group’s perceptions of the current organizational culture and their recommendations for future development. Additionally, interviews with individuals, small group discussions, and formal focus groups can reveal critical information about an organization’s strengths and opportunities for growth.
Employee Engagement. Engaged employees have the necessary tools and resources for their jobs, know what is expected of them, are regularly recognized for their strengths and contributions, and have positive relationships with coworkers. Through the use of engagement surveys, interviews and focus groups we can help you create a plan for sustainable employee engagement initiatives.
“When people go to work they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”
Professional Development
High performing employees don’t want to just be “trained,” they want to learn and grow. Successful companies have realized that investing in their employees’ learning and development yields significant benefits, both financially and culturally. Our consultants can help your organization develop learning plans for employees, navigate the many options for online learning management systems to select a product that best meets your needs, develop formal leadership programs, and revamp outdated training programs using best practices in adult learning.
Leadership Development Programs. While varied (and sometimes conflicting) theories of leadership abound, we have identified research-based leadership development frameworks that can help both current and aspiring leaders learn to better use their natural gifts and talents in service to others. Through executive coaching, professional mentoring, and project-based collaborations we help leaders accurately assess their current capabilities, set goals for future growth, develop plans to measure progress, and celebrate successes.
Professional Development Workshops. We offer professional development workshops tailored to small businesses and non-profit organizations. Additionally, we welcome the opportunity to work with your organization to create customized presentations and workshops to meet the unique needs of your group.
Facilitated Book Clubs and Peer Coaching Groups. Research has proven that obtaining new information is not enough to change old habits or successfully implement new initiatives. However, combining peer coaching with traditional forms of learning has been shown to provide the support and accountability needed to ensure that a new idea becomes a new way of doing business. We offer facilitated books clubs that include components of action planning and peer coaching, both internally - with members of the same organization, and externally - with like-minded leaders from other organizations.
“Learning and innovation go hand in hand.”
Change Management
Organizational Restructuring. Are you experiencing the frustration of trying to conduct an innovative business with an outdated organizational structure? We can help with the process of identifying what is and is not working, developing short-term and long-term plans for restructuring, creating an implementation schedule, and communicating changes in ways that are respectful, kind, clear, and concise.
Succession Planning. Transitioning leadership from a founder to a second or third generation leader is one of the most challenging stages in the life of an organization. Such a significant leadership change has the potential to be felt by a wide array of stakeholders including employees, volunteers, clients, and donors. As seasoned leaders and experienced change managers, we have appreciation for best-practices, awareness of sensitive situations and the possibility of competing interests, as well as consideration for the emotional impact that often comes with succession planning.
Leading change is where the rubber meets the road for executives, directors, and managers. Since the rate of progress is not expected to decrease anytime soon, the future will continue to be full of both unexpected challenges and unimagined opportunities for many years to come. We can help you embrace change by working with you to create plans that are future focused, realistic, and practical.
Data-Based Decision Making. There is no shortage of data available to organizational leaders today! The challenge is knowing what to do with it all! From establishing data teams and setting up meeting structures and protocols to goal setting and establishing decision-making processes - we can help your organization create a system for continuous improvement through the use of data analytics.
Strategic Planning. Since organizations have a variety of reasons for undertaking strategic planning initiatives, a one-size fits all process or standard end product may not meet your needs. We will work with your team to identify the strategic planning method that will work best for your organization, and establish clear timelines to keep the process moving forward from the first planning meeting until the final draft is presented to your stakeholders.
“Change is the law of life. And those who only look to
the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
Professional Support Services
Meeting Facilitation. Are you facing a decision making process that requires your full participation? Working with a meeting facilitator will allow you to immerse yourself in the conversation, while someone else keeps the discussions productive and the process on track. Or maybe your meetings routinely start late, accomplish very little, and often end in frustration. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can help.
Professional Writing Services. Do you need help with communicating your organization’s impressive accomplishments and important plans in a way that exudes professionalism, conveys expertise, and inspires confidence? We got it.
Project Management. Overwhelmed by deadlines, details, and disorganized teams? We LOVE sorting that stuff out. Please let us help.
“Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”