Solutions

Organizational Strategy

“To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.”
-Steve Jobs

Strategic Questions Facing Your Organization

Why should customers purchase your products and services rather than those of your competitors?
Why should shareholders invest their capital in your enterprise rather than your competitors?
Why should employees contribute their time, talent and efforts to your organization rather than your competitors?

Creating Value for Sustainable Growth and Competitive Advantage

Value creation is the primary driver for sustaining growth and competitive advantage in high performing organizations. In today’s global, rapidly changing, competitive environment, organizations either continuously improve and create value to sustain growth or become stagnant and eventually decline.

With the current pace of change, merely maintaining current success can be a losing strategy if your competitors are increasing value through growth and innovation. Eventually, you lose your ability to compete and survive. In fact, successful organizations are often at the greatest risk because a sense of urgency to continuously innovate and develop is lacking due to their success.

Why Most Growth Strategies Fail to Achieve Desired Results

All CEOs, key executives, board directors and shareholders want value and growth, right? And growth comes in many different forms – profitability, revenues, customer loyalty and market share, industry expertise, organizational talent and unique capability. With so many ways to determine value and growth, why do most organizations fail to meet their growth objectives?

Failure To Think & Plan Strategically – Although understanding the importance of growth is easy, identifying the best growth strategies for creating value and competitive advantage can present a significant challenge. Sometimes, even the most obvious opportunities and solutions can be elusive. Each component of an effective growth strategy needs to be viewed and understood through its own unique lens, with clarity through each lens critical to the success of the organization’s overall strategy.

Failure To Build Needed Capacity To Execute – Understanding and building the organizational capability needed to execute the right strategy is where many organizations fall short. Effective growth leaders and their organizations understand, develop and master a well aligned set of competencies and practices throughout the organization to ensure the capability needed for sound execution of their organization’s growth and improvement strategies.

Failure to Continuously Innovate and Lead Necessary Change – In order to grow and successfully compete, organizations must continuously innovate. Unfortunately, innovation efforts fail 75% of the time. In order to succeed, innovation must be effectively led, managed and measured. Continuous innovation requires the creation of an on-going business process that becomes integral to an organization’s culture.

The Vantage Growth Organizational Strategy Solution

Employing a systems based philosophy, we utilize a wide range of proven, research based strategic models, organizational approaches, diagnostic and assessment tools. Vantage Growth has built a wide breadth of industry and organizational expertise through a proven track record of successfully assisting a wide range of commercial, non-profit and government clients with their organizational growth, improvement and effectiveness strategies. The Vantage Growth Strategic Solution starts with knowing exactly what questions to ask and the ability to carefully look and listen to what our clients see and tell us – and what they don’t see and can’t tell us.

We support clients with solutions that:

Assist in maximizing an organization’s strategic thinking and planning capability needed to achieve key results
Clarify and fully develop the organization’s unique value proposition that distinguishes itself in the marketplace as the platform for building sustainable competitive advantage
Assess the organization’s culture, vision, values, goals, strengths and weaknesses that impact its strategic effectiveness at achieving growth and improvement
Identify organizational design, structural, process, leadership and human capital requirements and alignment for building needed capabilities and competencies for successful strategy execution

Past Strategic Client Engagements:

Provided consultation to the senior marketing and sales team of a national industry association in the design and implementation of an organizational restructuring strategy contributing to record financial performance for its $23 million business division.
Successful facilitation in the development of increased strategic and organizational capability for the senior management team of a $3 billion private equity real estate investment firm.
Consulting with the President & CEO and Vice President of Strategic Planning of a national professional association in the development of a 10 year growth strategy and development plan to increase the Board of Directors’ strategic planning capability.

Diversity & Inclusion

“Organizations of all kinds are awakening to the fact that a diverse workforce is not a burden, but their greatest strength.”
– James E. Preston

Changing workforce demographics, globalization, technology and increased competition for talent has transformed the 21st century workplace more dramatically than any at other time in history. While significant multicultural and gender shifts have increased over recent years, changes have moved beyond race and gender. Now for the first time, a multigenerational workforce has emerged in which talent representing four different generations are now working together in organizations creating both opportunities and challenges to growth, success and effectiveness.

The opportunities are to fully leverage the knowledge, skills and experiences of such a diverse workforce. Research has demonstrated that highly diverse teams, when working effectively together, are more innovative, better problem solvers, more adaptable and generally outperform teams lacking in diversity.

There are myriad challenges to meet as well. Diversity brings potential for conflict and dysfunction when differences in values, experiences, preferences, communication and leadership styles are not effectively managed.

The Vantage Growth Diversity & Inclusion Solution

The Vantage Growth team understands the opportunities and challenges of diversity first hand. Our team is a multicultural, gender, multi-generational and experientially diverse example of what can be achieved when such diversity is leveraged for high performance and results.

We work with clients to:

Increase their awareness of the value of differences and leveraging diversity in building high performance organizations and teams
Increase their understanding of the cause of conflicts and reduced team effectiveness resulting from a lack of understanding of the effects of diversity on teams and individuals
Provide strategies for attracting, developing and retaining diverse talent at all levels of the organization

Human Capital Planning

“The only assets that matter for growth and innovation are human assets – investors invest in human capital.”
– A.G. Lafley

Human capital is the ultimate source of organizational value, competitive advantage and sustainable growth. Effective strategies for building talent and aligning people throughout the organization focus on addressing the following questions:

What human capabilities are needed to create value, competitive advantage and achieve sustainable organizational growth?
What are the best strategies to select, assign, retain and develop high performing, high potential talent?
What are the best strategies for responding to shifting workforce demographics; changing organizational demands and requirements; a shrinking talent pool and increased talent competition; recruitment increased recruitment and retention costs; and changing employee values and motivation?

Human Capital Planning Solution

We take a systems approach that begins with gaining an understanding of the organization’s value proposition and the capabilities needed to successfully execute the strategy that creates this value. We accurately assess talent depth, identify needs and work with the client to develop the best strategy to build the pipeline of needed talent. Once identified, a strategy for selecting, organizing, developing, rewarding and retaining key talent is implemented.

Leadership Development

“No company can grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right leaders to implement that growth and become a great company.”
– Dave Packard

The Most Crucial Questions Facing Your Organization Faces

• How does executive performance impact organizational growth and improvement?

• Why do executive leaders derail and ultimately fail?

• What are the best strategies for identifying and developing executive talent?

The Importance of Growing Executive Talent

Strategies for organizational growth and improvement don’t fail without the failure of leaders to think, plan and act strategically, and understand and build the organizational capability needed to effectively execute the right strategies. In fact, executive leadership may be the ultimate and most important source for all other organizational capability needed to create value and build sustained growth and competitive advantage.

Preventing Executive Derailment and Failure

Contrary to opinions held by many, exceptional leaders are not born; they are made, largely through challenging experiences and the ability to learn and successfully apply critical lessons gained from the experiences of others. Executive derailment initially occurs when leadership performance requirements, capability and growth potential are not effectively assessed. Ultimate executive failure occurs when leaders lack crucial development gained from challenging experiences or are unable to apply key lessons of experience or adapt their behavior effectively as new challenges present themselves.

Developing Executives and Leadership Teams

Rigorous assessment, feedback, development planning, assignment management and executive coaching are critical for building executive talent needed to lead organizations and successfully implement sustainable growth and improvement strategies in a highly competitive, rapidly changing environment.

The Vantage Point Executive Leadership Development Solution

Vantage Point utilizes a broad range of proven development approaches that strengthen the executive talent and leadership capability of clients needed to successfully execute their organizational growth and improvement strategies. An assessment is conducted to understand the organizational requirements for leadership capability and performance.

We then assist with solutions that:

• Utilize research based executive assessment tools to assist clients in identifying and developing high potential, emerging and executive leadership talent.

•Gather and analyze critical executive competency data for identifying high impact leadership development strategies that achieve desired results

• Providing expert executive coaching to accelerate leadership development progress and minimize the risk of executive derailment and failure

Leadership Planning

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
– John Quincy Adams

Critical Leadership Questions Facing Your Organization

How does executive performance impact organizational growth and improvement?
Why do executive leaders derail and ultimately fail?
What are the best strategies for identifying and developing executive talent?

The Importance of Growing Executive Talent

Strategies for organizational growth and improvement don’t fail without the failure of leaders to think, plan and act strategically, and effective organizations understand how to build the leadership capability needed to effectively execute the right strategies. In fact, executive leadership may be the ultimate and most important source for all other organizational capability needed to create value and build sustained growth and competitive advantage.

Developing Executives and Leadership Teams

Preventing Executive Derailment and Failure

The Vantage Growth Executive Leadership Development Solution

Vantage Growth utilizes a broad range of proven development approaches that strengthen the executive talent and leadership capability of clients needed to successfully execute their organizational growth and improvement strategies. We assist with solutions that:

Begin with an assessment to understand the organizational requirements for leadership capability and performance.
Utilize research based executive assessment tools to assist clients in identifying and developing high potential, emerging and executive leadership talent.
Gather and analyze critical executive competency data for identifying high impact leadership development strategies that achieve desired results.
Providing expert executive coaching to accelerate leadership development progress and minimize the risk of executive derailment and failure.

Past Leadership Development Client Engagements

Collaborated with the Leadership and Performance Center of a major U.S. government agency in the successful development and implementation of its Foundations in Leadership Development Certificate Program.
Collaborated with the Management Committee of a $5 billion global agribusiness company on the development of the firm’s leadership development and talent management strategy.

Teambuilding

“Growth, change and innovation is a team sport; a risky business in which all but the best fail.”
– A.G. Lafley

The Challenges Facing Teams

Teams remain the most critical units for getting work done in organizations. Effective team work is critical for organizations to grow, perform effectively, achieve critical goals and sustain success over the long term, and the challenges facing teams are significant.

Organizational structures, built on hierarchical and bureaucratic models are becoming obsolete as the pace of change, complexity and competition increase.
In turn, the need for organizations to become more flexible and adaptable in order to grow, perform effectively achieve critical goals and sustain long term success has also increased. Matrix and virtual teams have emerged to meet these contemporary challenges, but whether new models or traditional ones, significant challenges to team effectiveness remain.

Developing High Performing Work Teams

Because work teams are the basic building blocks for effective organizations and talent alone won’t ensure successful performance of critical teams, incorporating certain key principles for developing high performing teams are essential. Clarity of roles and responsibilities; complementary skill sets; alignment of interests and understanding of shared goals, effective communication and ability to resolve conflict, ability to learn and adapt to change; and resilience in the face of adversity are but some of the key attributes of high performing teams.

The Vantage Growth Teambuilding Solution

Vantage Growth brings extensive teambuilding knowledge, skill and expertise to its clients. Employing a range of assessment, feedback and development methods and tools, we help organizations to:

Identify the best structure and composition of teams to meet strategic and operational goals and objectives
Understand and master interpersonal dynamics that enable and empower effective team performance and results
Implement strategies to effectively deal with conflict and poor team performance
Build the organizational capacity to build, develop and deploy teams to lead organizational initiatives, key functions, processes and achieve key results

Executive Coaching

“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is worth a month’s study of books.”
– Chinese Proverb

coach, n. a vehicle designed to move a person from one place to another.

Why Executive Coaching?

Unfortunately, key executives, no matter how talented they are don’t have eyes in the back of their heads, nor a panoramic view of everything they must be able to see in a rapidly changing environment. We all have blind spots and operate from preferred behavioral patterns, and when facing such pressures and demands, may not be fully aware of the consequences of these blind spots and behavioral patterns. Too frequently, executives run on automatic when alternative thinking and behavioral strategies would produce the best outcomes.

When an executive is faced with myriad challenges in gathering and assessing information, weighing decisions and planning the best courses of action, an executive coach serves as a confidential and objective sounding board that not only listens, but can also be a source of critical feedback, alternatives and powerful insights.

The Vantage Growth Executive Coaching Solution

Our Coaching Philosophy
The foundation of the Vantage Growth coaching philosophy lies in gaining an in-depth understanding of the key relationships, experiences and values that have had the greatest impact on the coaching client. Knowing where people have been and what has shaped them helps in understanding where they want to go and how to help them get there.

Our Coaching Model
For Vantage Growth, the most beneficial coaching occurs in a developmental context because it is most frequently lacking as a priority with many executives.

Powerful Assessments
Leveraging the results of assessment tools that identify client strengths and development needs, along with an in-depth understanding and broad perspective of organizational culture and the business environment, the Vantage Growth executive coach works to effect high impact change; helping clients to achieve their goals, and maximize their professional development and impact on the organizations they lead.

High Impact Feedback and Development
The assessment data is compiled and feedback is provided to the coaching client; and based on the feedback, joint development action planning ensues. Utilizing proven development research enables us to identify practical strategies that work. Time-bound, measurable and specific development goals are then established with development plans strategically aligned with organizational goals and desired results.

On-going Coaching and Evaluating Results
Experiential and research based strategies are implemented during coaching sessions, which are used to evaluate progress and provide on-going support. A post-assessment completes the process to evaluate its effectiveness and assist in determining whether additional intervention is needed.

Past Executive Coaching Engagements

Served as an executive coach to the Chief Executive Officer and six Senior Vice Presidents of a $5 billion global agribusiness and commodities trading firm, as well as to the Corporate Controller for its $12 billion global holding company.
Served as an executive coach to three Executive Officers and a hospital president of a recently merged non-profit, mid-Atlantic healthcare company. Has supported this client organization as it meets cultural change and development challenges frequently experienced by organizations following mergers and acquisitions.
Served as an executive coach to two Senior Executive Service (SES) Directors of a major U.S. government agency implementing a strategic human capital model and organizational transformation.
Served as an executive coach to three senior sales executives of a national industry association experiencing significant changes in the organization’s executive leadership and its operating structure and strategies.
Serves as an executive coach to the President & CEO of a national professional association developing a 10 year strategic plan for its Board of Directors.
Served as an executive coach to two senior engineering operations directors of a $50 billion multinational chemical manufacturing firm.

Talent Management

“There is something that is more scarce, rarer than talent and ability; it is the ability to recognize talent and ability.”
– Robert Half

The Competition for Talent

Top talent is becomingly increasingly scarce in the marketplace, and like any resource that is in short supply, it is more valuable than ever. Even though the talent shortage was accurately forecast more than two decades ago and will be with us for the foreseeable future, many organizations are ill equipped to meet this challenge. Organizations that recognize this critical reality and are able to respond effectively with a proactive strategy for acquisition, development and retention of top talent will build the needed capacity for growth, sustainability and competitive advantage.

Assessing talent depth in your pipeline

Gaps in the talent pipeline creates gaps in an organization’s ability to execute its strategy effectively. Many organizations recognize the problem but aren’t quite sure how to tackle the challenge. It takes more that a gut feeling to identify and evaluate talent. Careful insight into the use of tools and approaches to accurately assess talent, followed by proven strategies to develop and deploy it is a mission critical competency for successful organizations.

Distinguishing potential from performance

Performance and potential are often confused and used synonymously, when in actuality, there exists a world of difference. Star performers in their current roles don’t necessarily have the potential to be successful in other roles, yet this is often the mistaken criteria used – culminating with unfortunate consequences. Conversely, giving up on people that may not be living up to their promise in their current roles may be even more costly in terms of building your organization’s future capability if you have not properly assessed the cause of the problem and explored solutions that would enable you to gain a greater return on your talent investment

Employee engagement and retention

Turnover has serious bottom line consequences for organizations that fail to understand the real causes of attrition and implement effective strategies to retain critical talent. There is considerable debate and growing research on strategies to engage and retain top talent. Effective supervisory practices, clear line of sight between employee contribution and organizational goals, career development, carefully designed reward and recognition strategies and effective planning and deployment of valued employees are all critical components of an effective employee engagement and retention strategy

The Vantage Growth Talent Management Solution

Vantage Growth has built a proven track record in the development of strategies that build human capital and effectively manage talent in organizations. Alignments of these components ensure that resources are fully utilized as efficiently and effectively as possible. We provide client solutions that:

Identify the most effective engagement and retention strategies to promote maximum productivity and tenure of valued employees
Assess the dynamics and improve the functioning of your key work teams to ensure the performance and results needed to achieve critical team and organizational goals