Individual Development / The Advisory
The Advisory
Strategic counsel for a consequential organizational challenge.
$24,000 · six months · by application
A Consequential Problem
The Advisory is designed for senior leaders carrying a problem that requires active attention and experienced judgment.
- leading a significant transformation
- rebuilding a team after conflict or failure
- taking responsibility for a troubled function
- preparing for or implementing a reorganization
- navigating a difficult board or stakeholder environment
- entering a much larger role
- managing a major strategic shift
- addressing resistance that has stalled important work
- establishing authority during a period of uncertainty
- making decisions with significant organizational consequences
In these situations, leadership development cannot be separated from the work itself.
The leader needs to make decisions, interpret the system, test options, anticipate consequences, and act. She may also need a candid view of what she is missing, where her current strategy is weak, or how her own leadership is contributing to the difficulty.
The Advisory combines strategic counsel with leadership development.
The Work on the Problem
The work begins with a detailed diagnosis of the organizational challenge. This includes the formal problem, the history behind it, the stakeholders involved, the interests and loyalties shaping behavior, the sources of authority, the patterns of avoidance, and the risks attached to different courses of action.
The Leadership Faculty member works with the leader to interpret the situation, develop options, and prepare for important decisions and interventions.
The Work on You
At the same time, the work examines what the challenge is demanding from the leader.
A transformation may require a stronger ability to distinguish resistance from useful dissent.
A broken team may require more than communication skills. It may require the leader to address competing loyalties, unclear authority, or a failure to establish accountability.
A move into a larger role may expose habits that were effective at a lower level and are now limiting the leader's ability to work through others.
The Advisory addresses both dimensions. The immediate challenge matters. The leader is responsible for producing an outcome. The developmental opportunity also matters. A major organizational problem can become one of the most important periods of leadership learning if the experience is examined carefully and the learning is made explicit.
Direct by Design
$24,000
six months / by application
The Advisory is deliberately direct. The leader can expect thoughtful challenge, practical judgment, and an honest assessment of the options available. The Leadership Faculty member is there to help the leader think, and also to bring a point of view grounded in experience and leadership expertise.
The engagement runs for six months, with meetings every two weeks and additional preparation or review connected to significant moments in the work. It is intended for situations in which the stakes justify sustained attention and where the leader is willing to examine both the organization and her own leadership with equal seriousness.