Leadership Risk Reduced










"Ginny Whitelaw has shared her talents, insights, and tools with Big Thought over several years. Her work has empowered our leadership teams to flip their way to more authentic, focused and effective leadership. Today Big Thought can see farther, work smarter and accomplish more toward our mission then we could ever have imagined!"

– Gigi Antoni, President, Big Thought
 

















 

"Mark is an outstanding orator; an effective and witty communicator. He keeps the content stimulating."

– Novartis Participant
 

"Mark is deligthful to work with...energizing and relevant. The exercises he engages attendees with are artfully conducted. The delivery of messages and stories from personal experiences are well crafted and well delivered."

– Program Participant
 

We approach leadership development as an inside job, that is, showing leaders how to be the change they want to create in the world. Much of our work uses the four energy patterns and FEBI, for how can leaders possibly reach the peak of their game without reclaiming their whole self?

 

      - Dr. Ginny Whitelaw


Our Programs Flip Leaders
from Coping to Transforming 


When leaders leap to new levels
of competence and consciousness,
they transform their world.

Our custom programs propel these flips. 
 

We Start By Listening...

We partner with you to understand where development is most needed among your senior leaders, mid-level managers, and/or high potential talent. We also listen for what models, frameworks, or internal experts should be intergated into the learning experience. We then design a custom solution, which is typically a 3-5-day residential session or a multi-session action learning program that may include any of the following,  
  • engaging leaders in developing innovative strategies and business models for their changing world
  • facilitating action learning teamwork around a significant business issue 
  • developing a culture of collaboration and high performance
  • managing the paradoxes of complex, global organizations
  • increasing leaders' self awareness, and the ability to empathize, and influence
  • energizing communication and inspiration through story (see also below)
  • building leadership agility, resilience and energy - avoiding burnout
  • creating team climates of trust and full engagement
  • leading change, winning hearts and minds

What Makes Our Programs Unique

We accelerate development by working with the whole leader - mind, body and spirit - using four essential psychomotor patterns underlying personality, leadership style and behaviors. In our programs, leaders learn not only their preferences, but how to authentically access any pattern as it's called for, to bring the right energy to right now.

Accelerated development doesn't just mean speed. Development advances in fits and starts, from not seeing to "aha" moments of seeing - through what we call flips. We know how to guide leaders through these flips from coping to transforming, and so on, toward progressively more mature and enlightened leaderhsip. 

Contact us for how we can help you and your leaders be wholly successful.

 

To make messages memorable requires emotion, and engaging that little voice in the listener's head. Only storytelling translates dry plans and abstract numbers into personalized pictures. Helping leaders find their voice in story and deliver their message with power is why I love this work.


- Mark Kiefaber



Tell Your Story - And Get Results


Great leadership communication inspires in others the will to act long after the leader is done talking. For memorable emotional power and contagious energy, nothng beats an authentic story.

We combine masterful storytelling with our powerful energy pattern approach to show how, from inside out, to craft and tell 4 types of stories you will never again want to lead without.

  • Call to Action (Driver Story) – compellingly communicate the sense of urgency and clarity of action necessary to lead change
  • Building Trust & Shared Values (Organizer Story) – settle organizational uncertainty with the clear story of where you stand, and what we stand for together
  • Connecting & Influencing (Collaborator Story) – accelerate your transition into a new role with the genuine warmth and transparency that gets people moving with you
  • Imagining the Future (Visionary Story) – converge your vision and strategy into story that inspires the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of your people

What result do you need most? Learn how to tell your story and turn it into action in any of these areas. Contact Us to arrange a customized program.