LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR BUSINESS OWNERS & MANAGERS
Do you remember the worst boss you ever worked for? I do. It was more than 20 years ago. Clueless. Lazy. No direction. Incompetent, but found a way to blame others. We were all subject to insulting sarcasm bordering on verbal abuse. And he managed to keep his supervisors in the dark, so they thought he was doing a good job. My bad boss wasn’t just a bad boss, he was a bad person.
How about you? I suspect you could tell your own story – or two or three or four – of bad bosses, malignant managers, lazy leaders. You were left guessing what you were supposed to do. Others got credit for your work. What you did was never enough. Deadlines were never communicated, and it was your fault when they were missed. Projects were poorly designed, poorly scoped and poorly executed, and you got blamed. Whatever your situation, it was bad.
That bad boss of mine, and all the others out there, lit a fire in me. No one should have to put up with that. The high calling of leadership requires every aspiring leader to take his or her position seriously. While researching what makes a bad boss a bad boss, I also discovered what makes a good leader a good leader. My doctorate dissertation was a deep study of the personal side of leading well. I wrote a best-seller on leadership. And I started speaking out wherever I could about leaders leading better.
Fast forward to today: five million frequent flier miles later, and I’m still awed that I get to speak to leaders, worldwide, about leadership. I’ve learned from so many of them, and I love to share the insights they have shared with you and your team.
WHAT CLIENTS GAIN
Here are the type of benefits clients mention about the leadership work I’ve done with them through my speeches, workshops, coaching and consulting:
- Confidentiality and a Safe Environment. The ability to be among other leaders, all committed to growing, allows my clients to know they are in a safe place for honest reflection and growth. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only manager struggling with this” is a comment heard regularly.
- Personal Attention. Because I’m selective about the clients I work with, the leaders I engage receive customized focus. I get to know their industry, their business, the mix of their employees and customers. I know the specific challenges they face and how to apply leadership best practices.
- Accountability. Every time I work with a client, I make sure they walk away with clear, actionable goals and steps to implement those goals. No theory here, just hard-hitting, practical tools to make your managers better leaders.
- Individual Leader Assessments. When it makes sense for a client, I use assessments and 360 tools to provide a deeper, specific understanding of strengths and areas for improvement. These assessment tools provide great insights for one-on-one leadership coaching discussions.
- Hands-on Practice. Once again, when it makes sense, through interviews and research, I design custom leadership case studies that come from my client’s specific organization and field. This allows leaders to reflect and practice new leadership skills and behaviors in real-to-life settings.
Dr. Andy Neillie is an extraordinary speaker! He touches people where they feel it most - in the heart. Recently Andy spoke to our board regarding a vital leadership issue. He left 12 men, business owners and CEOs, silent and humbled by the power of his insight. Whether he is addressing a small setting like this board, or speaking to hundreds at a large conference, Andy has an uncommon gift. He takes simple truths and molds them into powerful and practical applications for his audience to savor. I endorse Andy without reservation as a speaker and presenter.
— Tom Jordan, Co-Chairman, C-12 Group Central Texas