The official website of Applied Organizational Concepts, Inc., Rod Hess, President

The Normative Leadership Training Program

Mergers, buyouts, takeovers, implementing a new business strategy all bring about tumultuous change and anxiety for individuals and teams. Leading and managing the "change process" is hard work . . . until now!

Creating a stable, pro-active culture in your group or organization, will give you an edge in maximizing the opportunities that "change" affords. The Normative Leadership Training Program provides you, and your organization, with the road map to manage culture change. Click here to try The Force Field Exercise to gain insight into the status of your organizational culture. Feel free to print and copy this exercise.

This program is done in sequential modules in order to allow the participants to explore the dynamics of their own group or organizational culture, and then apply the concepts to change the culture. As changes are initiated, strategies can be discussed to address the resistance to change and/or to assist participants in the development and implementation of the normative skills.

Four core courses provide the foundation for the Normative Leadership Program. They are:

Phase 1: Introduction to Normative Cultures: This two day course introduces the participants to the process of change. It is recommended that this initial session be done as a Pilot Program for the organization. Upon completion, the leader (s) can then assess the feedback from the participants regarding the training and then decide if the organization can sustain the commitment that is necessary to change/develop the organizational culture. The course content includes:

• Understanding Normative Behavior
• The Formal versus The Informal Organizations
• Identifying Group Norms in Your Organization
• Measuring Your Culture via the Organizational Climate Assessor
• Conducting a Team Assessment: The Force Field and Polsky Diamond
• The 12 Strategies for Change
• Team Problem Solving
• The Attitude for Change
• Work Place Implementation Strategies

• Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Play
• Working With Individual Behavior
• Understanding Leadership Styles
• Participant Style Identification
• How To Facilitate a 1-1 Meeting
• The Art of Giving Constructive Feedback to Employees
• Critique of Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Plays
• Skills Development Sessions via Role Plays
• Using the Decision Planner to Make Tough Decisions
• Team Force Field Assessment Exercise
• Work Place Implementation Strategy

• A Critique of the Pre-training 1-1 Video Tape Role Play
• A Second Video Tape Session Where Participant Demonstrates the Use of the 1-1 Skills
• Individual 1-1 Style Consultation

• Understanding Group Behavior
• How to "Read" the Dynamics of a Group
• Facilitating Groups: Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Strategies
• How to Build Trust in the Group
• Team Building for Increased Productivity
• Work Place Implementation Strategy

• Identifying and Defining the Formal Parameters of Your Job Responsibilities
• Defining Measurable Standards of Performance for Accountability
• How the Performance Assessment System Works in the Organization
• How to Conduct an Employee Performance Appraisal
• Work Place Implementation Strategy

* If you are interested in the Normative Leadership Training for your group or organization, one can be designed to fit your specific needs. *

Click here for information regarding seminars designed for:

From high-tech to retail, large to small, every business has a culture. Your company’s culture has a direct impact not only on how you service your customers, but also, your company’s profitability. This is why it is so crucial that you, the leader, understands how to use normative skills to guide the overall “big picture” strategy for your company’s growth.

The Normative Leadership Program can be integrated into your company’s organizational culture in a variety of ways. Depending on the size of your organization and the objectives you wish to accomplish, a program can be designed to meet your needs using the core sequential program. Some guidelines to consider:

Start-up Company: The core program is the ideal way to build your new organization’s culture from the beginning. You, and your team, can work together through the various phases to build the normative infrastructure of your organization so that what you want to happen in the work place, really does happen!

Small to Mid-size Company: Your culture is already set. The Introduction to Normative Cultures Pilot Program will help you to assess your current culture and to define for you the commitment that is necessary in order to continue with the change process. Upon continuation, strategies can be discussed regarding the program’s implementation and the application of the concepts and skills to your work place. As the culture evolves, the strategies can be re-defined to address the “here and now” issues that will surface unexpectedly.

Large Company: The program can be used to complement the courses offered by your Human Resources Department. It could also be used to troubleshoot specific problem areas within departments or groups. It can also provide a consistent management “operating system” that can be used throughout a parent company’s satellite offices. It’s an excellent management development or leadership development program for executives, project managers, supervisors or employees.

“Turn-arounds” and Mergers: The program can help leaders gain valuable information regarding “what is really going on in this organization” so they can devise normative strategies to fix the culture. The program can also serve as a conduit to help ease the blending of two separate organizational cultures.

Note: Components of each of the core program can be integrated into a tailored program to teach specific “how to” skills for managers, supervisors and/or employees such as:

Click here for Normative Leadership Book Overview

Do your supervisors do “therapy” rather than “supervision” on their employees? Do your staff “analyze ‘til they’re paralyzed” and leave the meeting without accomplishing anything? Are clients treated as VIPs or individuals who are merely just tolerated? Have budget cuts or restraints hurt your organization’s ability to provide quality service delivery to your clients? The Normative Leadership Program will show you how to get the most out of what you have to work with, by creating a more efficient and effective culture in your work place.

The Normative Leadership Core Program lays a solid foundation for

building a normative infrastructure of pride, teamwork, and accountability which will translate into quality service delivery to your clients. As your organization’s culture responds to the changes that are implemented, new strategies can be defined to address the “here and now” issues that need to be addressed.

Note: Components of each segment of the core program can be integrated into a tailored program to teach specific “how to” skills for managers, supervisors and/or employees such as:

Click here for Normative Leadership Book Overview

You are charged with the responsibility of educating children . . . preparing them to become the future leaders of tomorrow. Sometimes, depending on the culture of your school, this is difficult to do. Behavioral issues interfere with the educational process. Without classroom discipline and accountability, learning will not take place. Instead, social promotions will be the norm and students will not be prepared for life. The missing link for getting control of the school environment is in managing normative behavior.

Normative Leadership offers administrators, faculty, support staff and students, a system for building a strong school culture. The concepts can be universally applied in the classroom, on the athletic fields, in the cafeteria or in dealing with bullies. You can even educate your students how to use the concepts when faced with negative peer pressure. You can teach your student leaders how to use the concepts in order to enlist their support in creating a positive peer climate, which in turn helps them to develop strong leadership skills. Use it, also, as a way to teach parents how they can work with faculty and the administration in supporting positive normative expectations with their kids at home and in the community after school.

Schools generally allocate four in-service days per school year for teachers to upgrade their skills on various educational topics. Key concepts from the core program can be combined to address high school, middle school or grade school faculty and administration in a one day format. Other groups in the education field that could benefit from a custom-designed program include:

□ Principals

□ Assistant Principals

□ School Boards

□ Guidance Counselors

□ Athletic Directors    See Programs for Athletic Teams

□ Coaches    See Programs for Athletic Teams

Click here for Normative Leadership Book Overview

You know the Xs and Os of your sport, but the question that most coaches struggle with is, how do you manage the negative attitudes and behaviors that some players exhibit on and/or off the field of play?

Normative Leadership gives you the “how to” practical system that will give your team an intangible edge both on and off the field of play.

For College and High School Programs:

The Normative Coach takes you beyond the Xs and Os of the game and offers you a new paradigm - the coach as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the team. Use the Normative Leadership skills to manage your organization and develop a winning culture on the team. From assistant coaches to support staff and players, build accountability and a normative infrastructure that emphasizes positive peer support for preventing and/or addressing negative attitudes and behaviors.

The Athletic Department: A customized Normative Coach program can be designed that will enable coaches of all sports in your entire athletic department to use the same Normative Leadership operating system in managing the development of their individual team’s culture.

For the Athletes: This program will help your team leaders to exert a more powerful, positive influence over their teammates. Special attention is given to developing 1-1 skills so they can assist the coaching staff in using peer support in addressing behavioral problems exhibited by their teammates. A modified program can be designed for the remaining team members so that each can contribute his/her part in building a winning culture.

For Community League Teams: Programs similar to the above can be customized to fit your group’s needs. In conjunction with this, a program can be designed for use with parents.*

This program gives parents an overview of the Normative Leadership skills and how you, your coaching staff and players, will be using them to set the expected behaviors for building your team’s culture. It also stresses the importance of their patience, understanding and participation in supporting you in this process.* Can be done at the high school level also.

Professional Sports: A program can be conducted for your coaching staff and players. It is also an excellent program that can be implemented throughout your minor league system. (Similar to the above Athletic Department Program.)

Click here for Normative Leadership Book Overview

The college setting has many opportunities to utilize the Normative Leadership Program. Some to consider:

RA Survival Skills offers an “operating system” that can serve as a consistent management system that can be used throughout you entire residence life system. Managing behavior is always difficult for the RAs. On the one hand they are students, too, but on the other hand, they are managers of their own organization. Learning how to use normative skills will not only give them an “intangible edge” in managing their floors, but also great experience and credentials that will give them an “intangible edge” in the job market after graduation.

Student Leadership Programs: To provide solid “how to” skills for student leaders so they may help to create a normative culture in their groups that helps them to reach their goals and that also reflects the values of the college or university.

Athletic Department: See Programs for Athletic Teams.

New Student Orientation: Teach new students “how to handle” their first semester norms crisis experience. Give them solid skills for dealing with the heavy peer pressure they will encounter within certain social settings in the college environment.

 A For Credit Course: Can be taught as an undergraduate, graduate or doctoral level course. (It makes a great post-graduate course for those individuals in power positions who can influence change.) The normative operating system, along with the people skills, makes for a nice blend of theory and practical skills that will prepare the students for dealing with the dynamics of the informal organization in their chosen field.

Click here for Normative Leadership Book Overview

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