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Leadership and Discovery: The John Clements Leadership Training Series
It is better to have a lion at the head of an army of sheep, than a sheep at the head of an army of lions. - Daniel Defoe The Englishman Daniel Defoe is known for several accomplishments, especially in the two notable fields of leadership and discovery. An active dissenter against the Tory government in the late 1600’s, he knew all too well the strategic value of leaders, and how anyone with the right skills can forge the most unlikely group of people into a highly effective army. On a more literary note, he is famous for authoring the novel Robinson Crusoe, which tells the story of a shipwrecked Englishman who encounters all manner of savages and slaves in an uncharted island off the South American coast. Several centuries later and thousands of miles away, leadership and discovery still play a major part in the realm of human experience. To be more specific, the Philippines is faced with the task of sailing the high seas of the burgeoning outsourcing industry and of finding leaders—captains with daring and fortitude—to take the helm and lead the way for future voyagers. On a less nautical note, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines currently has team leaders and supervisors who have had to learn the ropes the hard way, and to address this, John Clements has begun offering several programs to assist them: Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers, an accompanying Train-the-Trainers program, the Contact Center Management Program, and Leading People: Essential Skills to Build High-Performing Individuals at the Workplace. Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers The program has three modules. The first deals with the core concepts of coaching: the elements of performance management, the role of coaching and feedback in the Performance Management Cycle, and the qualities of effective coaches, to name a few. The second module moves on to developing the specific skills involved in coaching, which include communication skills and the ability to give constructive and positive feedback, among others. The third module deals with coaching in application: preparing for sessions and the specific steps in coaching sessions, which include opening discussions, clarifying performance situations, and identifying improvement opportunities. Module Four rounds off the training program by dealing with performance issues and the more difficult aspects of management to give the participants the tools with which to cope in such less-than-ideal situations. This program incorporates classroom-style lectures designed for the adult learning environment and role-playing to enhance the learning experience and to give the participants scenarios on which to test the skills learned in the program. John Clements also offers a Train-the-Trainers Program for Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers, the details of which are discussed in-depth in this article. [Link to Product Feature article] Leading People: Essential Skills to Build High-Performing Individuals at the Workplace Geared towards supervisors, executives, and managers who coordinate the actions of many subordinates, this program aims to understand the dynamics of change, and helps the participants manage change and adapt accordingly. The program identifies the roles and challenges inherent in management, develops the skills of communication needed for critical conversations for enhancing the performance and the development of employees, defines the stages in managing staff performance, and develops the skills of setting performance measurements, coaching, and feedback. The program begins with recognizing the forces of organizational change and its impact on employees, customers, and stakeholders. With these forces accounted for, leaders can then identify the actions they can take to enable the healthiest response to change and to develop plans for guiding people through these changes. The challenges and demands of management come next, followed with a portion on accountability, which includes a discussion on taking responsibility for oneself and for others, and the distinction between blame and accountability. Next come the impact of effective influence in the workplace, and how the skills of receptiveness and expressiveness can be developed. Lastly, the program concludes with managing performance, which begins with a revisiting of the Performance Managing Cycle and why people fail to deliver the desired results. Basic management skills, like setting goals and expectations, coaching and feedback, and improving performance, are all reviewed to see their place in today’s context. Contact Center Management Program The Contact Center Management Program has seven modules, with the first one beginning the series with a discussion of the challenges of call center management. From this starting point, the program moves on to paint a picture of an effective team leader, highlighting such a leader’s core competencies. Module 3 takes the session up to the organizational level with an assessment of a call center’s best practices, as well as a comparison with those of other operations. Next comes a module on hiring and retaining the best talents, which gives the participants a closer look at the recruitment practices, interviewing skills and retention strategies best used for contact centers. This program also offers a closer look at call center metrics and how these can be used effectively as a management tool. Key metrics are defined, and discussions at this module lead up to benchmarking practices and understanding trends and management intervention. This in turn leads to performance management, starting with an in-depth look on the performance management cycles of call centers. Participants are instructed in the methods of coaching and giving feedback, assessing their current performance management systems, and monitoring team leaders. Lastly, Module 7 deals with forecasting and scheduling; the program explains the underlying principles of these activities and the factors that affect them. These programs are facilitated by Munirah Looi, the CEO and Founder of Brandt International, the international training company delivering this training program with the sponsorship of John Clements. Ms. Looi is experienced in the areas of Customer Relationship Management, Customer Service Management, Human Performance Management, Strategic Management, Business Process Redesign, Sales and Marketing, and Project Management, and all in all, has 20 years’ experience working in these various fields. She is also an experienced facilitator, a human performance strategist, a Service Quality Management and a Change Management practitioner. With these training programs, navigating the uncharted seas of outsourcing in the Philippines becomes easier, with their leaders equipped with the right tools and skills to manage change, especially in this period of expanding horizons. * * * In November 2006, John Clements offered Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers, Contact Center Management Program, and Leading People: Essential Skills to Build High-Performing Individuals at the Workplace. In December, Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers and Leading People: Essential Skills to Build High-Performing Individuals at the Workplace are gearing for their second run in early December 2006, along with the first run of the Train-the-Trainers program for Coaching for Improved Performance in Contact Centers. For inquiries and more details, please contact the following: Jon Pineda – jon.pineda@johnclements.com Telephone: 845-2093 or 845-2002 Fax: 845-2093 |
