Evolving leadership. It starts from the inside out, blending self-awareness, learning, and desire. It continues from the outside in, incorporating strategic thinking, the paradoxes of managing, and effectively interacting with multiple audiences.

Evolving leadership encompasses a constant exploration and renewal of skills. It allows you to work in a complex, demanding, and stressful environment. It allows you to perform in new, responsive, and often unfamiliar ways. Evolving leadership may come naturally. But, for leadership to truly evolve, you often need personal introspection and guidance.

Since 1984, LearnTech has been a trusted resource and partner, helping managers navigate key transitions that require them to reframe both themselves and their approaches to business and management. We are a recognized consultancy for leadership and management development, working closely with organizations across industries to help individuals and teams develop agility, craft new approaches, and learn under stress.

It is our philosophy that optimal development occurs when it is feedback intensive, behaviorally focused, and flexible enough to enable people to develop over time. We partner with clients flexibly, creating long-term relationships as we learn about their roles, responsibilities, and cultures in which they work. Together we enhance the interpersonal and managerial skills necessary to interact with and influence multiple audiences.

LearnTech offers four main services:

Coaching
We offer both short- and long-term coaching to middle and senior managers and key individual contributors who are facing significant challenges and a need to perform at new levels. Our fundamental philosophy is that coaching is a guided process that becomes increasingly self-directed, enabling the individual to continue to expand his or her personal capabilities over time.

Training and Development
Our approach to training and development rests on the assumption that in order to lead others you first need to know how you can work flexibly and effectively in a 360º arena. This means managing yourself actively and using varied skills when influencing upwards, collaborating across to peers and clients, and managing down to direct reports. Our management programs can be short term or long term, and are based on the knowledge that most learning occur on the job in completing challenging assignments. Our role is to jumpstart that learning.

Team Facilitation
LearnTech partners with clients to facilitate meetings and conduct team building and off-site events. We provide the structure necessary to achieve intended goals as well as real-time feedback necessary to teams to perform at higher levels together.

Simulations
Our business simulations are designed to replicate business issues and dilemmas, which allows participants to see how they make decisions under pressure, partner with others, and determine how their managerial and interpersonal style impact others. The simulations offer deep, fast learning because they are hands-on, real time with immediate feedback.

CCL Case Study:
LearnTech Associates/ Credit Suisse First Boston
Benchmarks and Executive Dimensions Set the Stage for Leadership Development
Imagine you’re a seasoned mid-level manager whose responsibilities have been expanded to including a global team. How do you know the best ways to stretch yourself consciously to handle the new aspects of your job which push you out of your comfort zone? What if you are a proactive manager who embraces challenge yet feel deeply bored in your current assignment?

Well, Eileen Murray of Credit Suisse First Boston at that time, recognizing how these career dilemmas can impact company performance has worked in partnership with LearnTech Associates to create an organization wide approach across levels to enable people to learn from on-the-job experience and leverage their skills to meet these leadership challenges.

To do this, Ms. Murray wanted a robust development process focused on ensuring behavioral change. Based on LearnTech’s firm belief that quality 360 feedback is the catalyst for development, Benchmarks’, one of CCL’s 360 feedback instruments, initiates the program. “The appeal for us with Benchmarks is that it’s global, it’s multi-lingual, it’s very well-tested and researched and many of the competencies and skills are consistent with the skills and competencies important for success in this environment, “ said Karen Hartman, President and Founder of LearnTech. “Managing from a 360 perspective is the most important mindset for managers looking to increase their effectiveness.”

The program, which to date has involved more than 350 managers at sites in New York, London and Singapore, lasts six months and includes a variety of developmental experiences including classroom sessions, personal coaching, 3-way meetings with participants and their managers, all tailored to the needs of each group or learning team. “Some groups need more work on performance management, some need more work on influencing skills or operating more strategically. We really customize it.”

Each learning group works as a cross-functional team, with 16 managers chosen from similar levels. After each session, they return to their jobs and practice what they learned. “We decided to create a development process that fits into the fabric of everyday work and we wanted forums for more real-time feedback on the effectiveness of new approaches,“ Hartman explains.

Undoubtedly, a critical element of the program’s success is the sponsorship of Eileen Murray and her senior management team. She and her internal training team worked closely with LearnTech to customize their program to CSFB’s needs. Ms. Murray also demonstrated her commitment by being a role model for development by having a separate feedback process for herself and her direct reports using CCL’s Executive Dimensions feedback tool for top executives. This instrument was also used in a development program rolled out to 25 Managing Directors in 2004.

“Working with someone like Eileen Murray who believes strongly in development has made a huge difference at CSFB,” Hartman said. “People feel there’s a real honest, personal commitment and we see clear results in their commitment to enhancing their performance on an ongoing basis.”