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The program’s emphasis on reflection was also leading Kelly and others to imagine the changes they’d like to see in themselves as leaders when the program is complete. “We worked with a client right from the get go, we leveraged the experiences in the room to talk through our different organizations and to actually use the model to analyze all of our organizations, we’re all working and doing this as something to augment our professional careers. All of that, I think, accelerates the learning. And it makes you see things so much more clearly in your own organization, because you’re hearing this here and then immediately applying it three different ways.” When Velikoselskiy returned to her office, she began focusing on ways to strengthen communication between her team members (she took over a new position as she started the XMA program) and between sales people and the company’s new home office in New Jersey.
The communication efforts with the home office recently led to a key promotion improvement in a state that is very restrictive of such efforts; and the efforts with her staff have led to significant ice breaking. “In the beginning, conference calls were stiff and there was a lot of silence, a lot of me talking,” she said. “Now I am starting to have a better understanding of how my reps are working, how they’re thinking, and how they relate to one another, so the quality of the conference calls has already changed, because they’re starting to come forward with a lot more input than they used to.” For Tantawi it was the lifeline exercise and the benefits of reflection. “When a person makes a lifeline, he can realize a lot about himself that he never would have if he had not done this exercise,” he said. “So I told a couple of my friends and they have done it and they really benefited a lot. We don’t do a lot of those kinds of activities in our countries, but it’s a small world. What’s happening in the U.S. will definitely happen in Egypt.” The program’s emphasis on reflection was also leading Kelly and others to imagine the changes they’d like to see in themselves as leaders when the program is complete. “I think about a more confident version of myself,” she said. “Confidence from the feeling that I’ve experienced something unique. And that will give me a unique perspective that I can take into the room. I can start to feel that trust that, Yes, I’m supposed to be here, I’ve earned my place.”
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