Training

For Line Managers seeking more training in ACL ideas

ACL EXPANSION WORKSHOPS

These workshops expand upon those ACL ideas and their applications presented in the core ACL workshops

LEADER ACTION RESIDENTIAL WORKSHOP: 5 days

The extra time is used in more detailed discussion of the core concepts of the ACL paradigm, leading into lecturettes on the topics of team-building, motivation, communications, delegation, assertiveness, idea generation and problem solving, and counseling.

Much time is then spent on individual and group exercises [experiential training], for which time is also given to reflection and feedback from coaches assigned to participants. A maximum coach ratio of 7:1 is used.

The exercises are challenging mentally rather than physically. There are no high exertion, high risk or otherwise punishing aspects. We use drums, planks, ropes, etc in an outdoor environment.

A first half-day session, say 2 to 4 weeks after the ACL workshop, is used for the participants to present to their peers what they intend to try, so as to get feedback from their peers and perhaps some advice from the facilitator.

A second half-day workshop, 3 to 6 months later, is the opportunity for the participants to present to each other what they did, what results they achieved, what worked, what didn’t work, etc, with further feedback and advice.

The aim is for the participants to achieve a success using the ideas from the earlier leadership workshop, which success will encourage them to try other applications.

This workshop expands upon the ACL ideas on motivating individuals.

Exercises and case studies are used to explore ways for leaders to be more successful when operating in the ‘Individual Needs’ circle in the Adair Leadership Model

Emphasis is given to the experiences of the participants, leading to discussions of how to lead difficult people, and the importance of recognition, job interest, delegation & responsibility, achievement and remuneration

This workshop aims to expand leader skills when managers are operating in the ‘Team Needs’ circle of the Adair Leadership Model.

Topics covered in this workshop are:

• Forming teams – the stages
• The issues with growth of teams
• Moving teams towards self-direction
• Moving teams through changes in the task circle
• Moving teams through downsizing and endings

Project Managers and Line Managers face different issues with their teams. This workshop caters for both.

Decisions and decision-making is the activity of leaders.

This workshop explains the Adair Model and the ACL paradigm, as a precursor to an exploration of the roles and methods of the decision-maker

The workshop covers decision-making in the context of moving from challenge to solution (the ‘right objective’), of choosing to improve, to innovate or to change (the ‘right way’), and of opening up the decision-making process to involvement or to delegation

Decision-making methods and means are trialled using problems from the participant’s workplace.

Integrity is one of five power factors available to a leader in meeting the core responsibilities of leadership.

Power comes from integrity with respect to achieving the task, building teamwork and growing individuals.

The Adair Model and the ACL paradigm are used as a framework for defining organisational integrity.

Three stages to organisational integrity are defined, with practical exercises emphasizing the role of values, how to plan for integrity, integrity assurance and monitoring, and responding to deviations and breaches.

Communications is another of the five power factors in successful leadership.

The Adair Model and ACL paradigm are used to identify ‘leader communications’, and a communications model is offered. Listening is a repeated theme of the workshop.

Practical aspects to oral and written proposals, tasking briefs, presentations, appraisal reports, meetings, and negotiations are explained and trialed in leader situations.

A third power factor in achieving success as a leader is the population of new ideas available to the leader.

The Adair Model and the ACL paradigm are used in practical exercises to demonstrate the power of ideas.

The importance of ideas, in responding to the business and operational challenges faced by the team or by the organisation, in generating forces for cohesion in teams, and in arriving at solutions to difficulties faced by individuals, is emphasized.

Methods for generating ideas and for converting ideas into results provide scope for job related exercises

A fourth power factor for successful leader action is ‘success’.

The Adair Model and the ACL paradigm are used to explain how ‘success’ and ‘failure’ affect the situation faced by a leader.

Means and methods for achieving ‘success’ in operational terms, in terms of teamwork and in respect to individuals (especially teams that may be failing from other perspectives), are explored with the participants.

Small group practical exercises are used to sell the teaching points in this workshop