Highlights: LifeSynch
The Company
After Tripling in Size, New Supervisors and Managers Had to Learn to Lead
When companies grow, they create opportunities for employees who may be interested in moving into supervisory and managerial roles. When they grow very quickly, opportunities may abound. Typically that’s a good thing. But growth can come with growing pains.
Sometimes when employees are promoted to management roles, they have prior leadership experience. Often, however, they don’t. That can result in a wide range of competencies and capabilities among management staff—and divergent experiences among employees.
That was the situation facing LifeSynch, a company that tripled in size in just a few years and quickly promoted a number of staff members into supervisory and managerial roles.
Mission-based Organization with a Focus on Health and Wellness
LifeSynch is an administrator of mental health benefits focused on improving health and well-being by taking a holistic mind and body approach to healthcare. Their focus is on addressing the whole person, which encourages a faster recovery and improves clinical outcomes while reducing costs for both members and employers.
The Challenge
Developing Leadership Skills in Managers Who Excel Operationally
LifeSynch recognized the importance of ensuring that leaders had the knowledge, skills, and abilities to manage employees effectively.
Those new to supervisory and managerial roles had an immediate need for leadership development. But even seasoned supervisors and managers needed a refresher.
- LifeSynch wanted to ensure that all leaders were on the same page in terms of the style, culture, climate, and support offered to employees.
- Frontline leaders were skilled at performing their operational work, but most had no formal training or experience in supervising or managing others.
- LifeSynch wanted a sustainable training program for their leaders and didn’t have time to develop one on their own.
- They needed a turnkey solution they could implement immediately.
With five locations and employees split between those working onsite and those working from home, LifeSynch faced some unique management challenges. They knew it was time to pay serious attention to growing and nurturing their new crop of leaders. They just needed to determine how to do that.
Then they learned about The Leadership Journey.
“I was very impressed with the quality of the course, the style of the presenters, and the practical how-to skills taught.”
Brae Jacobson, Chief Operating Officer, LifeSynch
The Leadership Journey™
A Turnkey Program with a Systematic Approach to Leadership Development
LifeSynch turned to Business Training Experts for a solution. They chose The Leadership Journey for its customizable turnkey approach to group and individualized learning. They also liked the training model—short bursts over time to help supervisors and managers learn practical skills.
The 10 core competencies their leaders developed aligned with the skills they needed to lead their teams through massive growth. They felt it was “the perfect answer” to the challenge they were facing.
Leadership is a shared experience and so is The Leadership Journey. Participants met every other week to go through course materials, discuss new topics, and follow up on their own personal application of the course’s how-to’s on the job. They followed a training plan designed to ensure consistency, promote the practical application of skills learned, and enhance professional development.
After the first module, each subsequent module began with an opportunity for participants to share what they’d learned with each other and talk about how they’d implemented their training back on the job.
Before diving into each new session, participants completed a pre-assessment and watched a short video. They were prompted to think about how they would apply their new skills to workplace challenges by responding to a series of open-ended questions.
Sharing their responses, perspectives, and experiences led to lively and engaging conversation that the company feels offered tremendous benefits.
The opportunity to learn practical how-to leadership skills from featured experts, combined with opportunities for interaction with colleagues, created a shared experience and commonly understood expectations.
The creation and use of personal action plans served as a shared point of focus for communication between supervisors and their managers as well as their employees, ensuring accountability at all levels.
The Results
A New Leadership Roadmap with a Shared Vision of Effective Management
At LifeSynch, going through The Leadership Journey energized everyone from the COO to the newest supervisors. Participants completed courses and gained consistent knowledge and skills—as well as a shared language—that they could immediately apply back on the job.
The results were wide-ranging and meaningful:
- The program made a difference for the organization by engaging and energizing staff, boosting productivity, and helping to ensure employee longevity and loyalty.
- Participants and their teams were more energized than those who had not participated.
- Individual leaders strengthened their own personal path toward establishing themselves as successful leaders at LifeSynch.
In fact, the outcome from the first round of training was so positive and so easy for others to observe that new managers are desperate to be part of the next round of training.
Leadership isn’t a destination—it’s a journey. At LifeSynch, leaders are taking the journey together.
“Each course was short, concise, and full of individual ‘aha’ moments.”
Brae Jacobson, Chief Operating Officer, LifeSynch
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