In this issue:

1. Lunchtime Leadership Lessons
2. Survey Says: 2004 Annual Member Survey Results Follow-up
3. Free Online Training Needs Analysis
4. Staff Recommendation: Lara's Review of Santa's Leadership Secrets
5. Welcome Aboard

"Our economy is best served by full and vigorous engagement in the global economy. Consequently, we need to increase our efforts to ensure that as many of our citizens as possible have the opportunity to capture the benefits that flow from that engagement ... One critical element in creating those opportunities is to provide rigorous education and ongoing training to all members of our society."
Alan Greenspan
The critical role of education in the nation's economy



1. Lunchtime Leadership Lessons

Leadership training. What comes to mind when you hear those words? Stuffy shirts, long-hours, reviewing what we’ve already been taught, lectures, practices to put into place that don’t fit the reality of your world. Today, I want to share with you how to L.E.A.D. a successful leadership training initiative.

Listen to your leaders: Ask them what would make their job easier. Listen to the conversations they have with their colleagues, direct reports, and superiors. Focus on the hidden message to gather insight to their needs.

Expand your offerings: Create shorter training sessions on specific topics so leaders can focus for a shorter period of time on one skill. This way your leadership training can become a personal leadership development plan and your leaders aren’t sitting in a training session imaging all of the fires they will need to put out when they are “released” from the training.

Ask the employees: Survey employees to learn what they need most from their leaders. Ask them to share examples of exemplary leadership and suggest areas of improvement for their leaders. They are not only your future leaders, but also those most directly impacted by poor leadership.

Directly apply the lessons: Don’t leave any training session without a direct application plan. This plan must be shared or it will remain in the workbook. Share personal goals for applying the skill with a coach, superior, or employees. Invite them to evaluate and assist you in your development. Be sure to share the payoff of this new skill to the organization, department, or team.

While the L.E.A.D. acronym may be a simple way to remember key points it is open to interpretation and personal application. What follows is an example of how these 4 steps can turn lunchtime into leadership time. We know that everyone’s plates are full or more realistically overflowing. Turning lunchtime into a training opportunity is a way to help bring balance to the day. Whether the training is voluntary or mandatory it is an opportunity for leaders to come together in a somewhat casual way that yields results and builds teamwork.

Ideas for getting started on your lunchtime leadership lessons.

1. Bring your leadership team together for a company provided lunch. At this time lead a discussion that includes your organization’s goals for training and commitment to extraordinary leadership. Invite participants to share their strengths and personal needs for leadership development. Use this time to get buy-in and support for your lunchtime leadership lesson plan.

2. Next share your plan for lunch-n-learn type leadership training. Share the goals and objectives of the program. Let them know that based on the first meeting you will design a schedule that incorporates their learning needs as well as the organizational goals. Share your expectations for participation as well as follow-through and implementation of skills back on the job.

3. Design a schedule built around the needs identified by your leadership participants. Invite them to bring their lunch and arrive on time to the training room. Remind them that this is an opportunity to personally develop and learn from others in the organization. The schedule should be simple and inviting. Make this time together enjoyable.

4. If appropriate ask each member of the team to lead one of the training sessions. Because these sessions are 45-60 minutes in length they will be discussion oriented with personal development and action planning. Leading a session will provide participants the opportunity to practice leadership skills amongst their peers.

5. At each session, be sure the trainer for the month arrives at least 15 minutes early to set the room up. If you are providing refreshments or lunch that day, be sure it is there prior to the start of the meeting so participants can pick up their meal and are ready to begin at the time specified.

6. At the end of each session ask participants to each share one nugget or action item that they are committed to immediately apply back on the job.

7. For ongoing training and development associated with leadership development it is often a good idea to have participants create learning journals where they can write their action items down and later review them with a coach. This is also a helpful tool that can be used if the training is linked to performance management and development evaluations.

8. Plan a celebration at the mid-point of the training initiative as well as at the end. The more public and celebratory you make the training the more likely you are to get a higher return on your investment.

As you look back on 2004 and forward to 2005 we hope this plan for incorporating training into your organization works for you. Each organization has a vested interest in developing their leaders. It is well documented that people don’t leave organizations they leave poor leaders. If turnover is of concern to you, or compliance to HR legal guidelines, the need for increased productivity, or improved morale, lunchtime leadership lessons may be something worth a try in the new year.

This article has been written in collaboration with a member of the VisionPoint team. VisionPoint is a full-service training producer specializing in HRD, Leadership, Interpersonal Skills, and Organizational Improvement training. As one of our premier providers we encourage you to consider using a VisionPoint solution to meet your training needs today.


Did You Know?
According to Training Magazine's 2004 Industry Report, the average organization with between 250 and 499 employees has an annual training budget of $14,014 for their off-the-shelf training materials.



2. Survey Says: 2004 Annual Lending Library Member Survey Results

In the October issue of our E-newsletter, we reviewed the results from our annual member survey. We're now ready to pick up where we left off. Below you'll find the remaining results.

Percentage of Employees with Access to Library Programs
Forty-eight percent of our respondents indicated that over half of their employee population was given access to the library courses. Business Training Library certainly recommends that access be given to as many employees as possible to truly maximize your investment in our library service.

Satisfaction with Program Availability
Ninety-five percent of our respondents reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the availability of Library programs. We're really pleased to see such a high rating in this category. We constantly strive to make sure that our inventory levels are high enough to reach our customers' demand.

Satisfaction with Account Management Team
Even more exciting than the product availability rating, 97 percent of our members reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service and support provided to them by the Account Management team. We truly appreciate this vote of confidence.

Again, thanks to our members for taking the time to complete this survey. Your continued support is vital to our success.



3. Free Online Training Needs Analysis

What you do in the first few months sets the stage for the rest of the year. Business Training Library would like to remind its members that we offer a free tool to help you set your training plans and goals for 2005. We’ve created an online training needs survey to help you determine areas of training importance to both your managers and employees. These 5-minute surveys will quickly and accurately help you develop your 2005 training plan and ensure the training topics you select are of the highest priority to your staff.

We can work with you to implement the survey, generate the reports, and then help you to analyze the results. Based on the information gathered, we'll be able to develop a custom training curriculum based specifically on your company’s needs! This service is available to all newsletter subscribers!

Click on the links below to see sample surveys. We can also help you to customize your own survey:

• Sample Employee Survey
• Sample Management Survey

For more information and to take advantage of this free tool, please contact your Account Manager today!

Did You Know?
According to Training Magazine's 2004 Industry Report, 88 percent of its respondents use videotapes as part of their training programs.



4. Staff Recommendation: Lara's Review of Santa's Leadership Secrets

Course Title and Code
Santa's Leadership Secrets: #44028 (VHS) and #44028A (DVD)

Course Group
Business Skills Library

Course Overview
This is a clever and compelling resource for leaders at all levels to help them accomplish "big things" by giving employees clear goals, solid accountabilities, ongoing feedback, coaching and recognition. These are the leadership traits of the Santa Claus in each of us! This video is applicable for year round training, not just seasonal.

From motivation and communication issues to reindeer recruitment and red wagon production problems, Santa's got a REALLY tough job with never ending challenges. This powerful and entertaining, animated training program focuses on leadership principles relevant to every organization.

Target Audience
This course would be applicable to all leaders.

Lara's Rating


Lara's Review
It’s the perfect time of year to review one of our newest additions to the Business Skills Library! And even though we may not have ever really thought about it – Santa Claus does make a good example of a talented leader responsible for a diverse and unique team!

In this video, we see Santa Claus reply to a letter he has received from a leader who is at his wits end. Santa is able to empathize with the leader and share some of his insights from all his years at the North Pole. We see that Santa has faced miscommunication with the elves in the workshop, not making the best hiring decision when it came to a new reindeer and how he had to help the elves accept a change in toy production.

At 12 minutes, this video would be a great starter to a meeting for leaders and managers at any level. The program addresses some of the greatest challenges a manager can face – coaching employees, setting goals and expectations and being a positive example to others in the face of change. We see that not even Santa is the perfect leader all the time, that he has made some leadership mistakes – but that he has learned from them, and has become a better leader in the end.

I think this video deserves 5 stars!

For additional details regarding this course, please contact Lara. Lending Library members can check out this title today by contacting their Account Manager. Prospective members can view select titles at no-charge by signing up for a free Trial Membership.

Lara Sebastian has been with Business Training Library since September of 2000, helping members to maximize their Lending Library and CompanyCollege memberships. She enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her husband and dog, Murphy.



5. Welcome Aboard

Business Training Library would like to welcome its newest Lending Library clients! Your BTL team stands ready to support you throughout this new endeavor.

• Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare Network, Cassopolis, MI
• LeasePlan USA, Rolling Meadows, IL
• NER Dataproducts, Denver, CO
• Regency Hospital, East Chicago, IN
• The Lighthouse for the Blind, Seattle, WA
• Crevier BMW, Santa Ana, CA
• LifeWatch, Inc., Buffalo Grove, IL
• Barilla America, Inc., Bannockburn, IL
• Sartori Foods, Plymouth, WI
• Midwest Physicians Alliance Inc., Mokena, IL
• Resource Funding Group, Woodbury, NY
• Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
• Jeffco Schools Credit Union, Lakewood, CO
• Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Denver, CO
• Camber Training and Education, Newport News, VA
• Abbott Ambulance, St. Louis, MO
• Covenant Church, Carrollton, TX
• BehaviorCorp Inc., Carmel, IN

Happy Holidays from Business Training Library

During the holiday season, more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely, Thank You and Best Wishes for a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

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