leadership development

At Thinking Partners Inc., we know that every organization has a unique culture and leadership talent development needs. That’s why we partner with individual leaders and whole organizations to design a highly customized approach, which may include a series of stand-alone workshops, assessments with follow-up coaching, or a combination of all our offerings.

Our Simple Yet Effective Approach

Coaching Skills for Leaders & Managers

At Thinking Partners Inc., we believe whole-heartedly in the transformative power of coaching for individuals and organizations. In addition to our range of coaching services, we offer experiential training programs for leaders who want to bring a ‘coaching-approach’ to their leadership.

Professor Julia Milner has recently concluded that “most managers do not understand what coaching really is.” Without any form of coaching training, managers tend to take a “micromanaging-as-coaching” approach to interactions with their staff, which can ultimately lead to wasted time, energy and money.

Workplaces that embrace a coaching approach, however, “see definite improvements in terms of retaining staff, reduced conflict, open communication, more job satisfaction and an increased overall level of happiness and productivity.” (Bill Cropper)

We work with organizations to create and build coaching cultures by providing training opportunities for managers and leaders. As a kick-off we offer customized one or multi-day programs with follow-up practice to integrate learning over time. We cover topics such as:

• Fostering a coaching mindset
• Building a coaching skill set
• Increasing confidence in coaching conversations
• Coaching attributes
• When to coach and when not to
• Leading to improve individual outcomes and business results

Coaching Out of the Box®

Coaching Out of the Box® teaches individuals and organizations to leverage the incredible power of coaching and can be tailored to suit your schedule, with delivery in a day, two half days, or through a weekly web-based platform. You will emerge with a set of coaching skills and a box of coaching tools suited to today’s work environment, plus the option of one-to-one integration coaching sessions following the course to really help “stick” the learning and shift what you want to see. Click here for more information on this program.

Customized Leadership Workshops

We collaborate with our clients to design engaging, highly experiential workshops. These can be delivered in a variety of ways, (i.e. 2-4 hour modules to multi-day sessions or retreats). The following are a few examples of what we offer – get in touch to see how we can develop a customized workshop for your organization, group or leadership team.

The following are examples of some of the workshops and workshop segments were have delivered:

• Leadership Mindset
• Leader as Coach
• Personal Mastery
• Team Performance & Effectiveness
• Vision & Team Building
• Building Resilience
• Leading through Culture & Innovation
• Wellness & Mindfulness
• Building a Welcoming Culture
• Feedback & Difficult Conversations
• Self-Awareness (Myers-Briggs; Values; True Colours; Narrative 360)
• Management & Leadership Skills

Tools & Assessments

We offer a range of leadership tools and assessments to expand self-awareness and develop self-mastery. You can combine one or more of the following assessments with follow-up coaching or as part of a customized workshop for your team. Not sure which is right for you or your organization? Contact us and we’ll explore your options together.

Narrative 360 Feedback Reports

A Narrative 360 Feedback Process provides leaders an opportunity to see how they come across to those they work with at all levels. It increases a leader’s influence and impact by revealing key strengths as well as areas of development and/or blind spots. We find that when leaders clearly see how others perceive them in different situations, they are better able to adjust their behaviour and actions to ensure their real intentions come across. 

Thinking Partners Inc. offers a highly customized Narrative 360 process that includes interviews with the client’s direct reports, peers, senior colleagues and management, and a detailed, themed report. The process includes a debrief session and a further meeting to create a clear action plan. The Narrative 360 is most impactful when conducted in tandem with coaching sessions.

StandOut 2.0® Workplace Strengths Assessment

A ‘situational judgment’ test designed to reveal a client’s comparative advantage. It identifies and defines a client’s top 2 StandOut® roles and offers guidance on how to leverage those to make an immediate impact, what to watch out for and how to take performance to the next level.

Danae is a StandOut® Strengths Coaching Certified Practitioner (The Marcus Buckingham Company).

Core Gift Discovery © Process

Designed over a twenty-year period, the Core Gift Discovery© process has been experienced by thousands of people from many walks of life. Each of us has a unique core gift that is our most valued asset, and connected to our deepest sense of purpose. When it is acknowledged and used as part of our work and life tasks we feel valued, respected and able to make our fullest contribution. Anyone can complete the Core Gift interview process, using a facilitated approach whereby their core gift is revealed.

Danae is the first Core Gift master facilitator in Vancouver. Read more about the Core Gift Discovery© process.

Signature Gift ©

Using the Signature Gift process developed by the Core Gift Institute, we guide organizations, groups and teams to develop a Signature Gift statement that accurately reflects the unique gift they offer the world while strengthening their sense of purpose and solidarity. Collectively working through the process brings about a greater sense of clarity, vision and commitment that results in positive action.

The Signature Gift process can take the form of a half-day or full-day workshop, with follow-up coaching available as needed.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® (MBTI)

The MBTI, grounded in the theory of psychological types as developed by C. G. Jung, has been an invaluable assessment and training tool in providing insight and feedback to individuals on their personality type. Our favourite version of this assessment is the MBTI® Step II™ as it explores in more detail the degrees of a leader’s type, and how it applies to important management and leadership practices such as communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and so on. It can be useful to take the MBTI® again if it’s been a while since you first took it as leaders are continually evolving and subtle shifts can influence the results.

In addition to offering the assessment for individuals, we also design half and full-day workshops using MBTI® that focus on self-awareness as well as individual and team development. We are certified to deliver the MBTI® Optimizing Team Performance Program that covers topics such as Team Building, Communication, Conflict, Stress, Change, and Individual Development.

For more information on MBTI visit the Psychometrics website.

BVC Analytics: Leadership Assessments

Developed by the Barrett Values Centre, these Leadership Assessments offer three different views of leaders: 1.) A 360-degree view of a leader’s values, strengths, and areas for growth, based on confidential feedback from their chosen colleagues; 2.) A Team view on what drives leaders, how they work together, and what they want to build on or develop for the future; and 3.) A Self view with insights into a leader’s core operating values to deepen their understanding of what is important to them as a leader.

When used in conjunction with coaching, the BVC Leadership Assessments are some of the most powerful development tools available. Click here for more information on these assessments.

Personal Values Assessment (PVA)

Discover valuable insights into why you do what you do, and how this connects to your personal values so you can make empowered decisions moving forward. To amplify the results, increase self-awareness and uncover new insights that can be turned into powerful actions, we offer a debrief of a PVA for coaching clients. This can be followed by one-on-one coaching, if desired, and can be undertaken as part of a leadership development package.

Read more about a PVA here or contact us to get started today.

What clients are saying about our leadership development workshops:

“The work Danae has done with us has been excellent, and the quality exceeded my expectations. Danae was very delightful during the whole process, even when managing a giant amount of data. She was very adaptable, designing materials to meet our specific needs, and clear about when she could make things work. She’s a huge asset!”

“The session allowed me to identify some personal growth needs and how to approach, engage and assist employees in beginning to focus on corporate and personal objectives. I highly recommend this workshop to any Executive Team and Managers as a basis for any team development.”