What's in Store for 2010…
 Thanks for being part of our past year; we so appreciate your friendship, your business, your being part of our network. As we look ahead to some great plans for 2010, we hope you’ll also be a part of them. With the success of our new webinar platform for FEBI Certification, we have already scheduled the next one to begin March 8, running on 4 Mondays through the end of April. You might register now while you’re thinking about it, or send word along to someone you know would be right for this training. As you may know, we’ve made the certification training free with the purchase of 20 FEBI’s, so we can’t get much more discounted than that. And for those of you already FEBI certified, we offer a referral fee.
Just as we help great leaders get even better, we’re also committed to improving our own game. Over the past year, we’ve invested a good deal in further research on the FEBI to sharpen the pattern factors and widen the scale to further differentiate pattern profiles. Although we are still in the process of testing the new version (and you can help – read on) it’s looking even better than before, and we’ll be launching it in the next few months. We are also excited to announce a new, companion assessment for teams and work units: the Focus Climate Indicator, or FoCI. The FoCI measures the essential elements of a fully engaging climate and then maps those elements to the patterns that best bring them about. The FoCI not only assesses the current health of a climate, but more than any climate survey we’ve seen, it shows leaders how they can improve their climate using any of a number of team and organization levers and, most importantly, through the patterns of their own behavior.
Since we are dedicated to providing assessments that meet the highest validity and reliability standards, we are always looking for participants for our research. If you’d like to be included on our research list, email Anthony@focusleadership.com with your request and he’ll contact you with any current studies available. Thanks again and wishing you much joy and success in 2010!
-Anthony Attan
“We can’t afford not to do this…”
Why is it that so many companies don’t allocate the necessary budget for leadership development? Fortune explored this question in its December 2009 issue, noting: “Most large companies love to talk about developing strong leaders, but when it comes down to it, many of them don’t know how to turn their words into actions.” Famous for its lists, Fortune devoted an issue to the Top 25 Leadership Development companies - companies that have figured out how to turn leadership words into action and are thriving as a result. What kind of mindset does it take to budget for leadership development in a rough economy? Richard McAnally, an HR executive for Deere, one of the companies on the list, said in response to this sort of question: “We can’t afford not to do this. We’re 172 years old. We’re not just looking at the next year, but at the next several decades.” What great companies know is that the one thing you can’t buy, in-source, license, copy or fake is culture. And great cultures are driven by great leadership.
Profiles in Competence...
We have just added a new blog category called "Profiles in Competence" – a wry look at the patterns of memorable leaders, past and present. Go to the Focus Blog and read about Bill Gates, Vince McMahon, Michael Eisner and more, written by the witty and insightful Dave Kiefaber.
|
Key Differentiators of the FEBI...
 Near the end of our FEBI certification webinar this fall, I was asked how I would – in a 30 sec pitch to a client - differentiate the FEBI from other assessments. What are 3-4 key talking points? Great question! Here’s my answer:
1- Connects Being with Doing
Creates an immersion experience where leaders feel on the inside how they need to be to authentically behave in a certain way or create a certain climate or performance around them; FEBI can then be linked to all other course content.
2- Is both Descriptive and Prescriptive
Many assessments give insight into personality, but only the FEBI prescribes specific, mind-body practices to enable and support desired shifts.
3- Scales from Individual to Groups
Gives insight into individual personality, as well as how these same patterns emerge in relationships, on teams, in organizations, and across demographic, professional, and national cultures. In all cases, leaders learn levers for bringing out more of a needed energy pattern, and can tie that back into themselves, and how they need to be.
4- Accelerates Development
Study after study has shown that mind-body awareness accelerates awareness and development in general; the FEBI makes this crucial link.
-Ginny Whitelaw
Upcoming Events...
- Zen, Aikido, Leadership - what happens when the first two support the third? Find out at a special weekend training taught by Ginny Whitelaw and Bob Caron at the Zen Training Center in Worcester, MA January 15-17. Still (just barely) time to enroll. Learn more and register here!
- FEBI Certification Webinar – Register for the next web-based FEBI certification, running from March 8 – April 26. Although we’ve run FEBI certification sessions “live” for the past several years, we’re learning, too, as we look to respond to FEBI interest from four continents in ways that are easier on budget and travel. Given the mind-body emphasis in pattern training, we weren’t so sure at first how this would translate over the web. But with live video and a training DVD, we’re finding other ways to get the “whole person” nature of this training across. We’re also finding that with 4 shorter webinar sessions in a FEBI certification (rather than 2 long days), participants have more time between the sessions to practice using the FEBI with both individuals and a team. And we have more time to respond to their questions or help them tailor FEBI applications to their needs. Participants in our last web-based FEBI certification tell us the session completely worked for them, so we are pleased to run it again. To register or for more information click here.
- FEBI Cert User Quarterly Call -
January 25th at 11am EST
The call is a time for currently certified FEBI Users to share experiences, address questions, and discuss research and best practices. We’ve heard your requests and will tackle a couple of topics you’ve asked about, including how to introduce the FEBI to a client or prospect and what to do if you – or your client – are uncomfortable with all that movement stuff.
- Ginny Whitelaw at the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) -
Are you in the San Francisco Bay Area? – If so, you have a chance to see Ginny Whitelaw go live with the patterns at a couple of special events in February:
On February 9th, she will be the featured speaker at the PCMA dinner (open to the public; go here for details). Her session – " Why Movement Matters More than [What] You Think" – will focus on the mind-body connections of the patterns and how to use them in coaching practice.
The following night, February 10th, she will be returning to Interplay and doing a session on The Patterns in One, The Patterns in Pairs – sharing pattern applications to meditation, relationships, communication and conflict. ( also open to the public, contact Stephanie from InterPlay for details and registration)
Connect with us...
|
