A Radical Approach to Organizational Transformation: The Practice of Personal Excellence
Posted on Sat, Oct 08, 2011 @ 02:28 PM
Every year companies spend billions of dollars on training and
development, trying to help their people become more engaged, more innovative, and better leaders. Training programs excel in introducing new ideas and perspectives, delivering feedback and assessment data, and teaching basic skills. But many organizations still face a conundrum: how to inspire learning and development that is truly transformational and lasting?
Developing a person is not the same as building a product or delivering a project on time—human beings grow in organic, dynamic ways. What is needed is a process for human development that actively teaches people how to learn and grow.
The Challenge: Creating a Culture
In 2006, Pamela Weiss, an executive coach and founder of Appropriate Response, was teaching meditation and mindfulness to employees in Genentech’s Information Technology department. Classes were consistently full and had created a buzz within the department. Todd Pierce, then Senior VP of the department, saw an opportunity. “We are a company dedicated to discovery and innovation,” he told Pam, “I want to create a culture of human development within my organization. Let’s build on the principles of coaching and mindfulness to create something really different.”
The challenge was clear: to translate the wisdom of meditation and mindfulness into a pragmatic set of principles and practices that would radically transform the fast-paced world of corporate technology. PEP was developed in response to this challenge.
"PEP has brought sustained individual growth and a vibrant learning culture to my organization. Through PEP, we are now smarter, more agile, and more responsive. There is greater collaboration across functions; customer relationships have improved, employee engagement is noticeably higher, and we are better positioned to respond to change and lead technological innovation."
Todd Pierce, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Genentech-Roche
Join FWL on Thursday, October 13th, when Heather Neely an expert in generational diversity and leadership development will speak on the topic of personal development and how to increase our awareness, confidence and ultimately our own satisfaction. Heather will be speaking about PEP and taking us through an accelerated version of the program so we can start integrating the skills into our own lives.
Register Today!
About Heather:
For more than a decade, Heather has been helping organizations gain a better understanding of generational diversity. Heather provides key insights to organizations looking to better understand both their internal teams and their external customers. She has helped hundreds of managers hone their skills that bring greater ease and efficiency to their leadership roles. Heather has coached and facilitated workshops in a variety of organizations including Cisco Systems, Genentech, IBM, and The United States District Court. Heather has an MA in Organizational Psychology from JFK University, CA, and a BA in Spanish from University of California, Santa Barbara.