Before we started building bosses, we were bosses. We were promoted into management and then executive roles and told, "you're smart, you'll figure it out."
We did figure it out, the hard way, through trial and error and mistakes and failure. Not because that was the best way to learn, but because no one offered us anything better. This wasn't exclusive to us or our careers. This was how everyone we knew was coming up in leadership roles. Raw Signal Group is something better.
Our programs are grounded in practical application. And, to be honest, we feel like all professional development should be. Too often, you attend a workshop, eat a delicious croissant, listen to someone speak, and by the time you get back to your desk you've forgotten half of what you learned. Tools you can use are tools that get used. The ability to immediately put what you learn into practice is the difference between a pleasant-enough learning experience and a profoundly transformational one.
Can you describe your approach to training?
If you want to get technical about it, organizational psychologists would say that our approach is grounded in a Behavioural Model of leadership. And they'd mostly be right. We have seen that leadership is a set of learnable behaviors, skills, and mindsets, not a- special- something that you're either born with, or not. McGregor's Theory Y, Grove's High Output Management, and Edmondson's work on psychological safety have all left their mark on our work. We know that people can become better leaders through training and practice, because we’ve watched it happen, and because we have lived it.
Having said that, our approach is also deeply influenced by the Transformational Model of leadership, which centers on the way skilled managers can unlock performance from their team that goes far beyond the sum of individual contribution. Something really magical happens when a team can trust each other, communicate honestly, and collaborate instead of competing with one another, and their leader plays a pivotal role in making that happen. Drucker on executive leadership, Brené Brown on authenticity and vulnerability, and the Kimsey-Houses' work on coaching are all instrumental to how we structure our work.
We also believe that it's vitally important to understand leadership development work through the lens of intersectional feminism. We are not a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultancy, but we do recognize the profound ability, and responsibility, leaders have to shape the cultural and inclusion practices of their organization. We don't tiptoe around conversations about power or bias— we invite the growth and reflection that comes from grappling with these topics. We refer frequently to the work of writers like Ijeoma Oluo, Shanley Kane, bell hooks, Saadia Muzaffar, and Judith Lewis Herman, and the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies, because they have helped us understand these topics more deeply.
Finally, we ground the exercises we use and the discussions we facilitate in reflection. The research is clear that the practice of critical reflection, noticing your own assumptions and where they are getting in your way, is indispensable to growth as a leader. Whether it's a one-hour session or an eight-week program, expect us to prompt you and your team frequently for why you answered a certain way, or what you notice when you review earlier work. Bring a paper and pen, and expect to use them.
What about StrengthsFinder, Big-Five, or my Enneagram?
There are a vast array of typing, profiling, and cataloging tools in the leadership- development space. At one time or another we've been through most of them. We can tell you our MBTI types, and show you our old Leadership Circle profiles. There's a whole body of work around the idea of a Trait-Based model of management, and "Great Man" theory before that.
Taking one of these tests, if it comes at the right time, can be a powerful shove towards self-reflection. We have seen them unlock insights, and give people new language to describe how they approach their work. But when applied in the context of group dynamics, they often fall short. The labels that can carry nuance and complexity when you apply them to yourself, often have a tendency to flatten others into a simplified version of how they think and who they are.
We don't build our programs around administering or interpreting any of these systems. But we're happy to take a look at any assessment that you, or your team, has found illuminating.
Anything can be an opening into reflection. Reflection on how you show up in the world, and where you’d like to build skill, or are ready for a change. And that's the stuff that gets us really excited.