Seven Steps to Leading High Achieving Teams (70 hours)

Course Overview/Description

The ability to develop and lead high achieving teams that produce exceptional results is an increasingly important skill in today's global environment. This powerful learning program has been developed by the 7 Summits Foundation as an adventure in purposeful behavior change that provides you with the motivation and tools to better understand, develop and use your assets as an individual, team player and leader within your work, community and home. The program is built around Tom Whittaker's 1998 ascent of Everest. Tom was the first disabled person to reach the summit, which he achieved by organizing and leading his own expedition and has since gone on to conquer the six highest summits on six continents and is committed to becoming the first amputee to reach the highest summits of all seven continents. When they say it can't be done, Tom shows how it can. In this program he shares his insights and experience as part of an experiential on line program. The ascent of Everest provides a metaphor for the course. Each module represents a step in the ascent from your home base to the summit of Everest itself. The essential skills, abilities and awareness that are needed to work in high achieving teams in businesses and organizations are just the same as those that are needed to be successful in reaching the summit of Everest. The goal of climbing Everest can only be achieved by effective leadership and team working. Tom Whittaker takes you on a journey of discovery of your own potential as you climb the mountain with him and learn how to realize your own dreams in work, community or home.

Upon registering, you are given an initial six months to complete the program. Should you need more time, you may request a 6-month extension at no additional charge.

Course Objectives

The primary objectives of the Seven Steps to Leading High Achieving Teams program are to:

• Empower the individual to take responsibility for their own success, as an individual contributor, as a team member and as a leader.
• Learn how to create a positive “can do” culture whether leading or participating within a team.
• Realize your full potential by gaining a better understanding of yourself, and how to best use your potential when working with others.
• Create your personal brand identity.
• Build trust by improving your communication skills.
• Develop your problem solving skills by understanding how to build and lead high functioning, self-sustaining teams that achieve outstanding results.
• Move confidently forward with an authentic and effective leadership brand based on your own personal goals and objectives.

Course Outline

Step 1: Know Thyself: The journey from Home to Kathmandu - 4,500 ft

1. This step provides you with the baseline personal style about yourself. It is the foundation for understanding what governs our actions, how we perceive the world and how others perceive us.
2. Life Styles Personal Profile
3. Understanding the Life Styles model and self assessment

Step 2: How We Are Perceived by Others: The journey from Kathmandu to Base Camp - 17,500 ft

1. This step builds on step 1 to provide you with information and feedback from others to help you understand how they perceive you and how this matches with your own perception. You are also helped to accurately identify and understand the profile of other people with whom you interact.
2. Life Styles Inventory 2 - Feedback from others

Step 3: Building the Team: From Base Camp to Camp 1 - 19,000 ft

1. This step will enable you to understand the different strengths that individuals bring to the team and how they can be deployed to maximise team performance
2. Belbin Team Role Preferences
3. Understanding and using your own team role strengths
4. Maximizing team strengths and managing limitations
5. Creating productive working relationships

Step 4: Using Effective Team Working Processes: From Camp 1 to Advanced Base Camp - 21,000 ft

1. This step critically examines the processes of team working and provides guidelines for best practice.
2. Managing task achievement
3. Team briefing
4. Objective setting
5. Decision-making
6. Planning
7. Process Reviewing

Step 5: Developing the Capability of the Team: From Advanced Base Camp to Camp 3 - 24,000 ft

1. This step explores ways of developing the ability of the team to be self-sustaining and operate with a high level of autonomy; a pre-requisite of high-achieving teams.
2. Stages of team development - exploration of different models
3. How to help the team move through the stages of development

Step 6: Being and Effective Communicator: From Camp 3 to Camp 4 - 26,000 ft

1. During this step you will develop the skills of effective communication that oil the wheels of the team working.
2. The Communication Pyramid
3. Verbal Communication
4. Non Verbal Communication
5. Listening Skills
6. Questioning Skills
7. Reaching Agreement
8. Giving Feedback

Step 7: Understanding Your Organizational Environment: From Camp 4 to the Summit - 29,035 ft

1. This step provides you with a better understanding of the organizational cultures in your life, including work, community and home. It will reveal the predominant culture in your work team, how this impacts the team performance and what you can do to create a culture of achievement.
2. Life Styles Culture Inventory and development work

Prerequisites/Audience

There are no specific requirements for this course.

The Seven Steps to Leading High Achieving Teams program is designed for current managers and leaders who wish to enhance their existing skills or those who are progressing towards leadership positions and wish to build their experience.

PC Requirements/Materials Included

This course is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system.

This course can be taken from either a Mac or a PC. You will need the latest version of the Flash Player (8.0) and a high-speed Internet connection (dial-up is not recommended) to take this course. You can download the Flash Player for free at the Macromedia website.

Instructor Bio

Tom Whittaker is a mountaineer, trainer and corporate speaker who believes that leadership is not about responding to change, but about shaping it.

On Thanksgiving Day of 1979, a head-on vehicle collision resulted in the amputation of a foot and knee cap. After a period of rehabilitation he founded the Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (C.W. HOG). Tom's creed is 'make your own decisions about what you can do, don't let others make them for you.'

On May 27, 1998, as the leader of his own expedition he climbed to the roof of the world by summiting Mt. Everest. He had not only overcome his innate fears and personal catastrophe, but had persisted against a tide of skepticism to achieve the distinction of becoming the first disabled summiteer.

Married with two young daughters, Whittaker spends his time between Granville Associates, his motivational speaking and corporate training business, and his 7Summits Foundation, a non-profit organization that enables disabled people worldwide to be fully contributing members of society. You can read more on his website www.tomwhittaker.com

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do I register?
Click on the register button at the top of the page and follow the directions. It is important that you type all your information in the boxes, then print it out to sign.  Payment and sending instructions are in the bottom right corner of the form.

2. How much do the courses cost?
The fee is in the pink box at the top of the page.

3. Can I register for courses if I live outside the United States?
Yes you can!

4. Do I ever have go to the school I register with?
All of our courses are delivered entirely online, so you never have to go to a class or travel to the school.

5. How long does it take to complete a course?
All of our courses are self-paced and open enrollment. You can start and finish the course at your own pace. When you register for a course, you are given an 180 days (6 months) to complete the course. If you need more time, extensions are available.

6. Do I have to buy additional materials?
All materials are included. The cost of materials will be covered by your tuition. GES will ship all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.

7. Can I get financial aid?
GES courses are non-credit courses, so they do not qualify for federal aid. In some states, vocational rehab or workforce development boards will pay for qualified students to take our courses.

• GES provides a loan opportunity for students. Simply go to www.collegeloanapplication.com to apply for an easier qualifying loan at a slightly higher rate. Click here for more information on this loan program.

8. What happens when I complete the course?
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a certificate of completion from the school you registered with. You must obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater to be awarded a certificate.

9. Who will be my instructor?
Each student is paired up with a facilitator for one-on-one interaction. The facilitator will be available (via email or phone) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. All of our facilitators are successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach.

10. Can I use a Mac computer for this course?
Yes, you can use a Mac computer for this course.

11. How can I get more information on the course?
All of the information we have is available online under our course catalog (www.gatlineducation.com). If you have questions that are not answered online, please feel free to email us at courseinfo@gatlineducation.com or call 817-870-2870. We will answer your questions promptly.

12. When can I start the course?
Our courses are all open enrollment. You can register and start the course as soon as you are ready.