Breakthrough Thinking
Breakthrough's five key's to paramount success is a results-driven, strategic learning framework grounded in academic research and industry best practices. It includes:
1. Assessment
2. Awareness
3. Acceptance
4. Action, and
5. Accountability.
This process fosters breakthrough moments that ignite breakthrough habits that help business leaders break through to next-level of performance.
In a 2017 article for the Stanford Law Review, Harvard Law School professors Scott A. Westfahl and David B. Wilkins stressed the importance of leadership skills for future lawyers because such skills will deepen their impact and enable them to be leaders and connectors of ideas, people, and possibilities (Westfahl & Wilkins, 2017). In a recent article for The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist magazine, an official, peer-reviewed publication of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Breakthrough’s founder, Mark Roy, shows professional services firms how to create leadership development programs tailored to meet the needs of any firm’s unique culture.
During the pandemic lockdown, members of my church community were invited to offer video reflections about what LGBTQ+ Pride Month means to us. I recently stumbled upon mine again, and I offer this reflection in the spirit of the growth and healing it was intended to reflect.
While I’m a little late to post this on International Women’s Day, my intention in posting this at all is to highlight the challenge that Black girls have in school before they even grow into women where they’ll encounter similar challenges in the workplace. And while we can’t altogether stop our cognitive biases, we can take steps to mitigate them by learning about them, slowing down our decision-making processes when we’re in situations when we know we could be prone to bias, and collaborating with people who are different from us.
While reading for a course in applied industrial/organizational psychology, I came across some helpful insights regarding the application of systems theory in organizational change initiatives.
As a former communications executive, finding points in systems to leverage in an organizational change initiative resonates with my theoretical approach and experience. The concept rests on finding the right people in the systems with maximum influence to produce the desired change. Executive coaching can help equip the leader for the change and applying systems theory help make changes stick.
People have two roles within a team: functional and psychological. Regardless individual team member’s neurological hardwiring, there are some strategies that teams can employ to optimize their performance. With conscious effort, practice, and a trusted thought partner leaders can and do create the conditions necessary for their teams to thrive.
I began this year as a full-time employee for the parent company of America’s flagship PBS station with a great team and a fabulous boss. I laughed heartily with my colleagues, loved learning the television industry, and I was enthralled as a core member of the team that launched the company’s first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel. In short, I had a great job, but there was a hollow pit in my gut that kept me from being truly fulfilled.
My turning point this year was when I changed my primary care physician. During my physical, he asked me if I’d ever had an anal Pap smear. Because we did this screening, we were able to see that I had abnormal cells. Biopsies in April and December showed that I have HSIL, a k a AIN III, a k a Stage 0 anal cancer.
So, why am I grateful?
The best leaders I work with as an executive coach enjoy bringing talented people together and helping them achieve their best work. They tend to do this by creating a compelling vision; clearly communicating that vision; modeling their organization’s values, which often includes transparency around setting goals and holding themselves and their team members accountable to them; and empowering their people to deliver results.
Recently, Breakthrough Founder and executive coach Mark Roy shared his thoughts about career advancement in a remote work environment in an interview with David Liu for Authority Magazine.
During the course of the interview, David asked such questions as, “What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees thrive and avoid burnout?” and “Can you share a few ideas about how you can nurture and advance your career when you are working from home and away from other colleagues?” To read Mark’s replies to David’s questions, including what he considers his “most interesting story” since starting his career, please read David’s article in Authority Magazine.
