Executive Assessment, Development, and Facilitation

Executive  and Board development and facilitation are different from training or consulting.  JPA has worked extensively with senior management, audit committees, board members, both one-on-one and/or with the entire senior management team at a number of organizations.  At times, work with management (including CEO’s) is part of a larger training or consulting contract, which also includes various assessments.  Executive development usually includes coaching, but it ranges from personal development for senior managers to facilitating greater collaboration, strategic planning and self-evaluation of results achieved with the senior management team.

The following is a partial list of organizations that have used JPA as an executive development consultant or as a senior management team facilitator.  

• Denali Federal Credit Union of Alaska
• Naval Sea Support Center, Pacific (NAVSEA CENPAC)
• Kaufman & Broad: French Division
• Mattel, Inc.
• Arcon Electric
• Aberdeen Proving Ground
• Amtrak
• National Security Agency
• Home Federal Savings & Loan
• Central Intelligence Agency
• IDS/American Express:  San Diego Division
• Union Bay Sportswear
• Red Lobster, East Coast Division
• Baker Electric
• ERA Realty
• Siemens:  Atlanta Division
• Institute of Internal Auditors
• San Diego Gas & Electric/Sempra Energy
• Martin Marietta: Astronautics

BUILDING COLLABORATION AND RESULTS-BASED TEAMS FOR EXECUTIVES AND BOARDS OF DIRECTORS

Note:  For a sample Outline of this two-day program, click here.

Executives and those who serve on boards often achieved success through their brains, inheritance and/or a highly focused and spirited determinism.  This group is used to thinking and acting quickly, speaking up and voicing opinions, and expecting to be heard.  In other words, assertive behavior is generally not an issue, even in cultures or industries where assertiveness may be underplayed.  These ingredients are not in themselves bad: in fact, coupled with a strong set of ethics, they are part of the ingredients for exceptional leadership.

However, executive teams and boards require both open communication and collaboration in order to function at their best, and this is especially true for those at the top.  But how do you collaborate as a team when many if not most of the members are highly individualistic in nature?  And what do you do when “politics” and “behind-the-scenes” operations have invaded the group?  Bottom line: how do members handle the exceptionally unique dynamics that occur in these types of teams?

The core program is two full, highly-interactive days, which can also be spread out over half-day sessions to accommodate busy schedules.  The program lays out, step by step, the process for pulling together as a high-functioning, accountability-based, collaborative team that makes the absolute best decisions for the organization and achieves measurable results.  This process, carefully developed over 20 years by Dr. Pastor, has been used with groups at the highest levels of government, the intelligence community and in corporate America.  It can be modified to fit the group’s needs and the process can be spread out over several sessions.  The beauty of the process, however, is that members are guided to put in place a specific foundation and a template for how their group is going to interact over a specified period of time.

NOTE: This is NOT a team-building seminar.  This is a highly participatory program where the focus is on the “real world” issues of your group.  Participants can be expected to roll up their sleeves, work (and play) hard, and can expect numerous issues and problems to be resolved.

Thus, this seminar goes way, way beyond team-building; it is designed to build a “real-life” team that will obtain lasting results and can be integrated with both individual and group performance measures.  Many executives, once learning the process and seeing the amazing results, end up putting a similar foundation into place within their function and between functions as well.  Again, the work is based in collaboration, but everything that is done is tied to measurable results.

Joan Pastor was the lead facilitator for the National Security Agency for a number of years.  Other executive clients and boards who have used this process to build a foundation of ongoing collaboration, increased team morale and accountability, increased measurable results, and for pursuing a common vision include Union Bay Sportswear, General Dynamics, a number of commands in the U.S. Navy, Red Lobster, Michigan State University, Amtrak, Chevron, Consembition Jaya Shd of Malaysia, and many more.