Executive Leadership Assessment

All invitations to work with executives or senior managers start with an assessment evaluation. The outcome of this evaluation is to provide the individual with an understanding of the patterns that make up one's personal and professional leadership characteristics, and to provide a developmental process to build on strengths and work on weaknesses.

The assessment process is based on 15 to 20 assessments profiling five areas:

1. The physical body - brain orientation, negative stress patterns, information gathering-processing-expressing;
2. The mental domain - approach to framing situations and problems, sequence of thinking, problem-solving and decision-making with groups, and modes of responding to conflict;
3. The personality characteristics - typology, interaction behavior, interpersonal relationships, and emotional reactions;
4. The characteristics of leadership - uses of power, leadership effectiveness, personnel interactions with subordinates, peers and manager, and leadership typology;
5. A summary snapshot - an individual's current conditions based on attitudes, values and stressors.

The time committed to this process involves an initial two hour interview that includes several "hands-on" assessments and the presentation of a set of paper and pencil questionnaires that the individual fills out. All the assessments are scored, computer profiled, analyzed and put in report form to be presented to the individual in a day-long, off-site feedback session. In the feedback session the individual works not only with the individual assessment material, but learns how the different assessments point to underlying patterns of strengths and weaknesses that make up the person's leadership potential. This day-long session is followed up by a two to four hour session outlining the developmental process that comes from the work done in the day-long session. At this point an individual can choose to undertake the developmental work with Lind & Kyle Consultants or not.

Executives at Professional Risk.

An executive or senior manager can be highly valued for his/her expertise or contribution to the organization. Often, however, a person being put into a new role or position, encountering a change in his/her personal life, having responsibilities shifted in a reorganization or some other "trigger" event perceived or not by others will show changes in behavior that are inappropriate for his/her position. These behaviors may inhibit his/her effectiveness in contributing to the mission of the organization, and in the eyes of senior management, may limit his/her success within the organization if the behaviors are not changed.

A Lind & Kyle consultant is invited by the board or appropriate executive to work with the individual in order to understand the impact he or she is having on the organization, the behaviors that need changing, as well as the time frame in which this change needs to happen. The outcome of this interaction is either to produce clear changes so that the individual can continue to be successful in the organization, or recommendations are made on how that person can best serve him/herself and the organization by leaving. This process uses the Executive Leadership Assessment as the starting point for evaluation.

Leadership Development Program

Individuals promoted into new positions of leadership need several leadership development strategies. Technical expertise development in executive leadership programs in universities, professional seminars, etc. provide one process. A complimentary strategy is a customized personal leadership development process that integrates the technical knowledge with applied experience. This personalized process uses the feedback of an on-going professional relationship over a specific time-frame. The purpose of this work is to strengthen and develop new leadership capacities and characteristics by receiving feedback and thinking through solutions and implementations to real-time leadership situations. Besides the initial assessment work and creating a developmental plan, the individual leader makes a minimum commitment of six months, including a meeting off-site with a Lind & Kyle consultant for half a day each month with as many phone conversations throughout the month as needed.

Reflective Coaching

Executives need someone outside the organization with whom they can confidentially discuss problems, strategies and ideas for leading their organization. This dialogue includes both the personal issues of leading as well as managing the operations and professional interests of the organization or business. The Lind & Kyle consultant assists the executive or senior manager to reflect on and think through current issues, their implications for the organization and their leadership of it. In all these discussions the eye is on understanding patterns, organizational dynamics, business strategies and one's personal power to lead. The Executive Leadership Assessment gives a frame-work to build this coaching relationship. The times for meeting are determined by the needs of the executive.

Executive Spousal Coaching

The stress and challenge of executive and senior management positions can create tensions between and the executive and his/her spouse. Long hours, extended travel, and the general demands and pressures of the organization are often difficult for the spouse to understand, relate to or know how to effectively support in the other. Difficulty in the spousal relationship can cause lack of effectiveness for the executive at work. What happens in our home and relationship moves into and affects our work life. Research shows that having strong spousal support has a positive long-term affect on executive competence.

Consulting partners, David Kyle and Patt Lind-Kyle work with the couple to understand the dynamics of being an executive couple and how they can best communicate and support each other in an effective manner. The process starts with each spouse taking the Executive Assessment (with modifications appropriate for the couple). After the assessment feedback session, an identification of issues and patterns between the couple is developed along with a profile of their strengths and weaknesses. A developmental process is outlined to assist the two in becoming a more effective executive couple. Follow-on sessions are arranged as needed. If marriage counseling is required, referrals are made to meet that need separate from the spousal coaching.

The Executive Intensive

After a period of time working with an executive or senior manager in a developmental or reflective coaching situation, a mutual decision is made to go off-site for three to five days in a one-on-one intensive program. A new customized series of assessments are once again undertaken to provide cognitive material for understanding leadership strengths and weaknesses. These assessments provide a frame-work to engage in a series of in-depth explorations, reflections, challenges and exercises that increase one's ability to cultivate more deeply "The Four Powers of Leadership". The location for the off-site is generally in a nature-oriented area that meets the challenge needs of the executive.

Confidentiality and References

Each relationship and all assessment information are held in strict confidentiality. If a Lind & Kyle consultant works with different people in the same organization there is never discussion of another individual unless an agreement is made by all parties as to the nature of the information to be communicated, such as a situation with a person at Professional Risk.

Because of confidentiality, references to individuals and organizations that have used Lind & Kyle's services are only provided on request.

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Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.