The Symes Group
Transformation Strategy Model
In order for individuals
to survive in today's and tomorrow's world they need to learn, hone and practise the skills of exceptional human behaviour and creativity and to embrace and champion diversity.
And as my thoughts started to come together about the future, a possible utopia, and the technology race, I realised something: Leadership training as it was traditionally known was dead. One-day leadership workshops would not even make a dent in creating the superhuman workforce I believe is essential for business survival.
This was a tricky moment. I had spent 10 years building a leadership consultancy. I had travelled all over the world delivering sessions and keynotes under the framework of leadership training. I had more than 200 program booklets sitting in my office that said that's what we did we did. I had two books yet to write on the topic. And in one moment it hit me. Leadership training was over.
I knew that the way forward was through two mediums:
• Individual evidence-based coaching interventions
• Immersive experiences for the practice of newly developed skills
So in one swoop in March this year I closed North Shore Drama, moved out of our commercial premises to leave space for whatever it was that was coming, redesigned the website, dropped the old copy, threw out the sales booklets sitting in my lounge room and took a deep breath. I like to move fast.
Of course it is obvious now. Coaching is the way of the future. Daniel Goleman, who presented at the World Business Forum in Sydney this year, says the key skills required of a leader in today's workplace are those of a coach.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, an expert in creativity and professor of psychology argues that the key traits of a creative leader are paradoxical.
He proposes 10 key paradoxes that are associated with creativity and that individuals need to be able to be comfortable on both sides of the paradox.
For example humility and pride, serious and play.
It goes without saying that every individual will default more to one side of the paradox and will require coaching in flexing to the other side and in also valuing both sides too.
Coaching, when evidence based and delivered by a credible, qualified coach who allows for focused reflection, analysis and goal setting is the key to personal leadership development.
Individuals can then attend immersive cross industry events to hone and develop the skills required to reach their full potential.
This might be attending Symes Group's interactive empathy room, or our "brilliant ideas" brainstorming session at Cockatoo Island and so forth.
It’s only fitting that the process of transformation that Symes Group has gone through in the past few months is what we are now supporting our clients through.
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