[Alicia Davis] So we have a 12-hour program that we created, “Elevating Skills for Experienced Leaders.” I know it’s a little bit of a mouthful, and, you know, we recently created a space – I don’t think we’ve even really talked about it that much. So we wanted to share a little bit about it, right?
[Stacie Watson] Yes, we’re super excited. So many of you are familiar with the program we’ve had for years. Used to be called “Leadership Forum,” and now it’s called “Foundational Leadership Skills,” and that program is really targeted for folks who are maybe a little newer into leading others, or maybe just never got any sort of formal training or support in leadership. And so then many of our clients were asking us, well, this is great, and we love that program. Could you create a program that is really designed for someone who has been leading others for a while, and maybe they’re feeling a little burned out, or just need a little inspiration, or really just want some support for the kind of work that they do? And of course, that can be different, right? And so we put this program together, and it’s really received, I think, high marks from the folks who have participated with us. So we thought we would chat about some of the elements of the program, just so folks have a sense of it. And of course, we can, you know, point you to more information on our website, but the first piece that I think really catches people’s attention is that we start the program talking about the importance of being strategic.
[Alicia Davis] That’s right.
[Stacie Watson] So do you want to talk a little bit about that?
[Stacie Watson] Yeah, well, you know, of course, at all levels of leadership, but you know, as a manager and/or a leader, you know, we’ve got to do the operations right. The closer we are to the people who are delivering the services. We’re more involved in the operations, right? And in that middle manager area, we also have to be able to go between helping at the operation level day to day, as well as to kind of take a step back, look why and be strategic, right? And the higher you get in the organization, the more strategic you need to be. And sometimes, right, all the things can get in the way of being strategic. And so, you know, in one of the sessions, one of the group sessions that we were just facilitating, one of the takeaways from the managers in the room was, you know what, “I have to be very intentional about literally putting a time block on my calendar, and even if it’s for 20 minutes or 30 minutes once or twice a week that I am closing my door, and I am saying, ‘Okay, what’s a bigger picture here?’ Like readjusting my direction.” And that was, you know, simple and yet intentional and impactful, absolutely.
[Stacie Watson] I mean, I think the point you’re making is that so much of the day-to-day is always going to be distracting and demanding of our attention. That is just true.
[Alicia Davis] Right.
[Stacie Watson] So that intentionality of like, “How can I make sure that I am putting this time on my calendar so that I myself can think more strategically?” So powerful, and it’s kind of the same thing, if you think about it, how can I help my team be more strategic? You know, how can we set aside time in our team meetings, rather than using that time as report-outs, or using that time and, you know, to kind of again, just focusing on the day-to-day, all-important stuff. But how can we set aside some moments where we’re instead of looking down, we’re looking up, as you said, and we’re really thinking about, you know, where are we going or how are we moving toward our strategic plan? For instance, you know, how are we kind of connecting our work to the bigger picture? And without that intention, I think we can just let time go by, and we forget. So it’s a really powerful way to start the program. And folks find it, I think, pretty energizing to really begin to understand how powerful it can be just to set aside that time.
[Alicia Davis] That’s right, absolutely. If you need more information about the program, please visit our website. You can go to TLStransforms.com, click on our services page, and you’ll see a whole page under there on Elevating Skills for Experienced Leaders, and you can always feel free to reach out to us as well. Alicia Davis…
[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson…
[Alicia Davis] And you can always email us info@TLStransforms.com. Thanks so much.
[Stacie Watson] Thank you.
