Aspire’s Leadership Team Completes Training Program
Date
February 11, 2015
Time
3 minutes
Category
News
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Aspire continues to push the boundaries of what is expected from a not-for-profit organization!
As important as it is for everyone on a team to remain focused on the overall mission of the organization, it is equally as important for each member of a team to understand how their own behaviors contribute to the common success. Driven by a desire to create the most effective leadership team possible, Aspire sought the advice and counsel of Anna Weselak, a former Board member and long time executive coach and team building expert who donated her time pro bono to help the team gel.
The leadership team at Aspire, including the leaders of Aspire’s enterprises, recently completed a comprehensive executive training program facilitated by experienced executive coach and Aspire supporter, Anna Weselak of Weselak & Associates. As a John Wiley & Sons certified trainer, Ms. Weselak opened the executive workshop with an in-depth assessment of each member of the leadership team, measuring individual behavioral styles using the DiSC assessment method that focuses on personality traits.
After developing a deeper understanding of how individual behavioral styles strengthen the collective efforts of the entire team, Ms. Weselak transitioned the team into an evaluation of the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, an adaptation of Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” published by John Wiley & Sons. Lencioni’s theory is founded upon the belief that there are five components to every successful team and he lays them out in a pyramid: Trust/Conflict/Commitment/Accountability/Results.
The training sessions concluded with a collaborative action plan based upon the understanding developed from the biweekly training sessions over two months. As a result of this uniquely tailored training program, the leadership team of Aspire has gained a deeper understanding of each team member’s contributions and developed greater trust in one another, which in turn has led to more meaningful discussions and debates. In the long run, such honest debates will lead to greater accountability and create a more “results oriented” team culture.
As important as it is for everyone on a team to remain focused on the overall mission of the organization, it is equally as important for each member of a team to understand how their own behaviors contribute to the common success. Driven by a desire to create the most effective leadership team possible, Aspire sought the advice and counsel of Anna Weselak, a former Board member and long time executive coach and team building expert who donated her time pro bono to help the team gel.
The leadership team at Aspire, including the leaders of Aspire’s enterprises, recently completed a comprehensive executive training program facilitated by experienced executive coach and Aspire supporter, Anna Weselak of Weselak & Associates. As a John Wiley & Sons certified trainer, Ms. Weselak opened the executive workshop with an in-depth assessment of each member of the leadership team, measuring individual behavioral styles using the DiSC assessment method that focuses on personality traits.
After developing a deeper understanding of how individual behavioral styles strengthen the collective efforts of the entire team, Ms. Weselak transitioned the team into an evaluation of the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, an adaptation of Patrick Lencioni’s best-selling book “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” published by John Wiley & Sons. Lencioni’s theory is founded upon the belief that there are five components to every successful team and he lays them out in a pyramid: Trust/Conflict/Commitment/Accountability/Results.
The training sessions concluded with a collaborative action plan based upon the understanding developed from the biweekly training sessions over two months. As a result of this uniquely tailored training program, the leadership team of Aspire has gained a deeper understanding of each team member’s contributions and developed greater trust in one another, which in turn has led to more meaningful discussions and debates. In the long run, such honest debates will lead to greater accountability and create a more “results oriented” team culture.
“This exercise brought the entire team closer together and enabled us to see one another’s strengths in a new light. We are so much stronger as a team now. Thank you, Anna.” – Bill Dwyer, Vice President of Aspire Living “This has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had on any team. It was so worth our time.” – Ken Gaul, CFO at Aspire “It is so helpful having a trained professional walk you though these kinds of exercises. There is no way you could achieve this level of team building on your own.” – Lorraine McCormick, VP of HR and Team Building at Aspire
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