Corporate Training Solutions

Many managers avoid difficult performance conversations because they lack the tools to make them productive. The result is that talented people underperform while their potential goes unrealized. Work ends up being allocated unevenly, leading to frustration across the team. Over the past ten years, I have delivered performance management training to thousands of leaders. I teach a systematic approach that transforms these conversations from confrontational to collaborative: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲. Instead of assuming poor performance is about motivation, we use root cause analysis across four domains: Motivation, Environment, Knowledge, and Ability. Often the "problem employee" just needs clearer expectations or better resources. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. Managers learn to structure conversations that minimize threat responses and keep people in a learning state. When someone feels psychologically safe, they're more likely to engage in problem-solving. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁. Global leaders need different approaches for different team members. What works in direct communication cultures can backfire in high-context environments. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲. The shift from "correcting" to "developing" changes everything. When managers approach performance conversations as partnerships, they see dramatically better outcomes. The leaders I work with report that their team members actually start seeking feedback rather than resisting it. They move from dreading these conversations to seeing them as opportunities to unlock potential. Performance management isn't about fixing broken people. It's about creating conditions where capable people can thrive. What support does your organization provide to help you handle performance conversations skillfully? What tips would you offer to a new team leader to make the most of their team's potential? 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

AI is reshaping how we work. How future-ready are your leadership skills? Strategy and people skills are still essential, but today’s leaders face a broader challenge of making decisions at the intersection of technology, people, and policy. One of the most critical skills is guiding organizations through AI governance, ethics, and workplace transformation. In practice, that can mean: ✔️ Evaluating AI systems to spot and reduce unintended bias ✔️ Balancing trust in automation with the irreplaceable judgment of humans  ✔️ Embedding ethical AI principles into daily decision-making  ✔️ Reskilling teams to thrive as workflows shift from manual to AI-enabled The leaders who rise to the moment will combine technical acumen with strategic vision and, above all, empathy, unlocking stronger performance and deeper trust. As AI transforms work, how do you see the role of leaders evolving? #AI #LeadershipDevelopment #Upskilling #AIGovernance #EthicalAI

You don’t have to be an accountant to understand the numbers. But if you want to lead, contribute, or make better business decisions — you do need financial acumen. I’ve sat in too many meetings where brilliant professionals go quiet when the P&L hits the screen. Not because they aren’t smart. But because no one ever taught them how to read the numbers. “Honestly? I’m afraid I’ll get it wrong.” That’s what one leader told me. And I’ve never forgotten it. So this week’s newsletter is for the rest of us — the ones who were never formally trained in accounting but are expected to lead, present, and make financial decisions every day. In this newsletter "Financial Acumen for the Rest of Us" I explain: ✔️ What financial acumen really means ✔️ 4 essential skills every professional should build ✔️ And why now is the best time to start You don’t need to be an accountant. You just need to understand what the numbers are telling you.

In my opinion, all non-finance managers should build some finance skills too. Here's why and how they can get started: #FinanceWrap #LIPostingChallengeIndia #LinkedInNewsIndia In the dynamic world of business, financial literacy isn’t just for the finance team. As a non-finance manager, embracing financial insights can be your secret weapon for leadership excellence. Here’s why it’s crucial and how you can embark on this empowering journey: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬? Strategic Alignment: Connect your team’s efforts with the company’s financial goals. Understanding the monetary implications of your decisions leads to smarter resource allocation and direct contributions to business success. Cost Management Mastery: By grasping the basics of cost management, you become a steward of your organization's financial resources. This skill is key to optimizing spending and finding savings. Empowered Decision-Making: Financial data tells a compelling story. Learn to interpret this narrative to assess proposals and risks effectively, backing your strategies with solid data. Elevating Team Dynamics: When your team understands financial basics, it fosters a culture of accountability and smarter execution of projects. Earning Leadership Credibility: Financial fluency is a mark of a well-rounded leader. It elevates your status in strategic discussions and enhances your influence within the organization. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝? Demystify Finance: Begin with the essentials—financial statements, budgeting, and key metrics. Use online resources, books, or workshops to build your foundation. Engage with Finance Teams: Attend budget meetings, understand their processes, and don’t hesitate to ask questions. Real-world scenarios are the best teachers. Apply Your Knowledge: Practice with your team’s budget or project evaluations. This hands-on approach solidifies your learning. Connect Departmental Decisions to the Bigger Picture: See how your financial decisions impact the organization overall. It’s about building a bridge between operational and financial worlds. Reinforcing the imperative of financial acumen for managers, insights from leading institutions echo its significance. McKinsey & Company (2019) underscores the necessity of understanding finance in a data-driven world. Harvard Business Review (2017) links financial fluency with leadership trust and credibility. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (2018) found a direct correlation between financial literacy and career advancement. The American Management Association (2023) highlights financial literacy as a vital skill for future leaders. Deloitte Insights (2020) emphasizes the need for executives to comprehend financial implications in today's complex business environment. Remember, it’s not about becoming a finance expert overnight but about enhancing your strategic thinking and decision-making capabilities.

Lately, I’ve realised just how differently I see and teach leadership. Most leadership development focuses on frameworks, tools, and tactics. These are great - they provide structure. But in leadership, alongside structure is an orientation. Your orientation defines degrees of sustainability and success of any structure. The leadership I teach begins (and ends) with a posture — a way of being in relationship to the world, to yourself, and to others. This posture is a values-based orientation rooted in presence, compassion, and justice. Without posture, structure loses meaning. With posture, everything has both meaning and direction. Leadership, in this light, is not just a skillset; it’s a philosophy. A choice to honour a path grounded in wisdom, courage, self-awareness, and service. Leadership from this place is energising, meaningful, and impactful. I'm creating a body of work that is my contribution to this leadership conversation. It's especially for the high-integrity, high-achievers dedicated to personal mastery, meaningful impact and the deeper levels of leadership. Because if we want a better world and better workplaces, we don't need more memorised frameworks, we need more conversations about ethics, integrity and the complexity of being human. We need to invest in becoming professional humans, alongside being professional managers.

The Power of Performance Management: Igniting Employee Growth and Business Success As a seasoned HR professional, I see performance management as the cornerstone of a thriving organization. It's more than just annual reviews; it's about continuous growth, development, and alignment. Why is effective performance management crucial? 1️⃣ Empowers Employees:  Regular feedback and clear goals keep employees engaged and motivated. They see the path to success and feel valued for their contributions. 2️⃣ Boosts Development:  Performance discussions allow for targeted training and mentorship opportunities, unlocking employee potential and fostering a culture of learning. 3️⃣ Drives Results:  By aligning individual goals with organizational objectives, performance management ensures everyone is working towards the same vision, leading to improved efficiency and achievement of strategic goals. Here are some key takeaways for a powerful performance management system: ✅ Shift the Focus:  Move from solely evaluating past performance to continuous coaching and development conversations. ✅ Embrace Regular Feedback:  Make feedback a two-way street, with opportunities for employees to provide input on their growth and the overall process. ✅ Set SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals ensure clarity and track progress effectively. In my experience, strategically implementing Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) can be a powerful tool within a comprehensive performance management system. In a previous role, after incorporating a clearly defined PIP process, we achieved an 82% success rate in improved performance. What are your thoughts on effective performance management? Let's discuss in the comments!

90% of strategic plans fail because they lack a clear structure and follow-through. Strategic planning is a difficult task because it requires: • Extreme focus • Making difficult decisions • Execution of those decisions A few years back, I worked with a Fortune 500 client to develop a multi-year system improvement strategy. Their previous two attempts failed, and they were desperate to succeed this time. Their objective was to realize $100M of savings in one year, but the actual impact was to be much bigger. Billions of dollars were riding on this project.  After reviewing their previous attempts, I realized their strategy process lacked structure. This made it difficult to focus on the right issues and create a coherent plan. 1️⃣ I proposed we start with the foundation: • Mission • Values We needed to understand where this business unit was going. 2️⃣ In the second phase, we assessed the current environment.  We looked at: • The current market • Opportunities and threats • Weaknesses and strengths This helped us understand what we had to work with. 3️⃣ In the third phase, we began our strategic planning process.  We defined: • The vision • Strategic goals • Key objectives We layout the general direction we wanted the system improvement to take. 4️⃣ Our fourth phase was about tactical planning, outlining: • The guiding policy • Key actions to take • Accountable executives After three months of hard work, the plan was ready for execution. 5️⃣ During this stage, the people responsible would be: • Monitoring results • Adjusting the plans • Gather feedback and improving This was the strategic blueprint we set up for our client’s $100M system improvement strategy. 📌 Reach out via DM if you want to learn how you can apply this in your business. (Stat source: Harvard)

Summer is the start of strategic planning season for many nonprofits, but too often, that planning process is anything but strategic. Here are 5 important things to get right so your next planning process is strategic, effective, and meaningful. 1 >> Plan for Less Many strategic plans read like an extensive wish-list rather than a succinct perspective on the organization's most important priorities, investments, and intentions. This translates into organizations planning to use 100% (or more) of their staff and resource capacity, ignoring important realities - like ongoing high turnover rates, onboarding timelines, and the fact that other important things will come up. Plan for less capacity - let's say 65-80% - and leave room to adapt to what comes next. 2 >> Make Tradeoffs Good strategy involves making clear, consistent choices about what you will and won't do to reach your goals. That means making tradeoffs. When you try to do everything at once, it's hard to know which parts actually worked - and it reduces understanding of how to create meaningful impact for the folks you serve. 3 >> Align Your Plan and Budget Your strategy needs to inform your budget, full stop. If your budgeting process is run separately from your strategy development process, then your budget will win out every time and your strategic plan will become yet another expensive bookend. 4 >> Make it Make Sense Your strategic plan is not a "one-size-fits-all audiences" document. Your staff, community, volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders all need to understand your strategy, but trying to make a single planning document speak to everybody reduces clarity and engagement. Instead, create a cohesive strategic narrative that can be adapted to different audiences and enhanced with the right kinds of data, marketing materials, operating details, and communications approaches for each audience. 5 >> Spend Time to Explore & Determine What You Really Need Often, nonprofit executives come to LaFemina & Co. seeking one thing (e.g., a strategic plan) when they actually need something else. Many other consultants we know have the same experience. Before you jump into a new strategic planning process, spend time having conversations with experts and consultants you trust about what's most needed right now at your organization. You may be surprised by solutions that are a better investment for your current needs. This list is far from comprehensive, but it represents some often-missed essentials for creating effective strategy. Have you seen these items impact strategy development in your work? Share your experiences in the comments. #nonprofit #strategy #leadership #management #ChangeLeadership --- I'm Veronica - I advise CEOs and Department Heads at established nonprofit on creating strategic clarity and learning to lead change well. On LinkedIn, I write about practical approaches to improving the ways we think, plan, and work.

Rolling out a new performance management initiative across multiple locations can be a daunting task. Especially when the company has been used to filling out reviews on Excel. But that's exactly what I helped a manufacturing company do. Here's how we tackled this challenge: 1. We started by understanding the current process. Excel-based reviews were familiar, but they lacked consistency and made data analysis difficult. 2. Next, we identified key stakeholders at each location. These champions would be crucial for driving adoption. 3. We chose a user-friendly performance management software that could be accessed from any location. 4. Training was a critical component. We developed a comprehensive program that covered both the new system and best practices for performance management. 5. We created a communication plan to keep all employees informed about the changes and benefits of the new system. 6. A phased rollout allowed us to address issues at each location before moving to the next. 7. We established a feedback loop to continuously improve the process based on user experiences. 8. Regular check-ins with location managers helped us track adoption rates and address any resistance. 9. We developed custom reports that provided insights previously unavailable with the Excel-based system. 10. Finally, we celebrated early wins to build momentum and encourage continued engagement. The transition wasn't without its challenges. Some employees were resistant to change, and there were initial technical hiccups. But by staying focused on the benefits - improved consistency, better data analysis, and more meaningful performance conversations - we were able to overcome these obstacles. The result? A streamlined performance management process that spanned all locations, providing valuable insights for both employees and management. If you're facing a similar challenge in your organization, don't hesitate to reach out. Together, we can transform your performance management process and drive better results across all your locations.

Strategic planning - demystified Here is how to approach it: Having led FP&A teams for more than a decade at P&G, Unilever, and Squarespace... And having taught strategic planning to over 500 finance professionals (including teams at Google, Merck, and Lowe's).... Here is my blueprint for a strategic plan. The long-range plan is the financial representation of a company's strategy. It’s also called the Strategic Plan. The goal is to help senior executives make high-level decisions and serve as a starting point for the annual budget. 📌  What’s included in a strategic plan: 1. Executive Summary 2. Vision and Mission Statements 3. Strategic Goals and Objectives 4. Market Analysis 5. SWOT Analysis 6. Financial Projections 7. Risk Management 8. Performance Metrics 9. Review and Update Mechanism - Refer to the Infographic for details of every step - 📌 Roles & Responsibilities: The CEO and CFO prepare the long-range plan, typically with support from the FP&A team. These plans are prepared top-down without asking the department heads to prepare a detailed bottom-up exercise. 📌 Planning Techniques: Companies tend to use time series analysis combined with high-level driver-based planning and expert judgment. Which of these recommendations do you follow? Comment below. -Christian Wattig P.S.: Subscribe to my newsletter for more insights about FP&A at https://www.fpaprep.com/f