Background
General Electric has long championed internal leadership development since the establishment of their corporate training campus in Crotonville, New York. That’s why approximately 90 percent of their top 600 leaders have come from internal promotions. Every year, hundreds of high-potentials and top executives spend time on the 59-acre campus, deepening their skills. And the GuruMaker team has been called on frequently to lead workshops there.
Problem
The company wanted to improve communication and presentation skills in selected high-potential IT managers. Generally speaking, IT managers score high in creative thinking for technology but lag behind in communications skills. And this can get in the way of their career advancement, depriving the larger company of their talents at a higher level.
Solution
The goal the client set was for these managers to be able to:
- Demonstrate executive presence and leadership in their presentations
- Respond with confidence to tough questions from key stakeholders
- Present their solutions with authority, credibility and conviction
- Engage their audience’s emotions and intellect
The success of each participant and team would be judged by their making a confident and convincing internal pitch to senior GE managers based on a previously developed business case.
GuruMaker created a customized curriculum with elements from our Presentation Skills for Executives and Executive Presence program modules. With 55 participants, we broke them into groups of nine that each worked with a GuruMaker coach. Each participant received an individual assessment based on their current skills and had specific goals based on their needs.
Participants also learned improv skills that helped them respond effectively to tough questions and resistance to collaboration. They learned presentation techniques that brought out their natural strengths and authenticity. And they learned how to build a strong case in presentation that used both intellectual support and emotional triggers.
Result
At the end of the program, the participants had to present a real business case they’d been working on in project teams over the course of several weeks to a team of top GE leaders. The program was partially designed to coach the participants to hone and polish their presentations and deliver them concisely and with confidence. According to the panels of GE senior management who served as judges, the participants consistently showed improvement in the way they presented their business case with clarity and conviction, which was attributed to our coaching.
According to Sara Ley, the Curriculum Manager at the GE Crotonville campus, “Harrison and the GuruMaker coaches continuously receive stellar feedback from participants. Harrison has designed the custom program to maximize the time learning and practicing techniques, while also reaching each individual with targeted feedback. Harrison is dedicated to delivering a high-quality program and genuinely supports every individual in their journey for improving their executive presence and presentation skills. It is a true pleasure to work with Harrison and the GuruMaker coaches.”