For those of you who read our Omaha magazine, you probably know that Angela Lee (our President in that market) has been going through a 12-month LEAP (Leadership Acceleration Program) with Ellison Partners and has been writing about her journey in a monthly journal.  Her experience has encouraged me to also go through the program to tune up my own leadership skills and I’m excited to begin reporting on my progress.

LEAP is a program for individuals passionate about being leaders and reaching the full potential in themselves and others.  The program ensures high performance through monthly, half-day skill building group workshops, individual personalized coaching and confidential peer interaction.  Provided is comprehensive materials and preparation, high-energy and experiential curriculum, reflection and self-discovery time, individual development planning and more.

My group is a small one (only six people), so I really like that you get a chance to interact and get to know each other well.  One challenge is that I am the only business owner in the group, but I do feel that hearing perspectives from those in other positions will help me throughout the course of the program.  The program started with an assessment of where I currently was as a leader, pulling from surveys taken by my peers, employees and business partners and business coach.  This was followed by some one-on-one coaching to go over my results and make sure I understood where I was starting and where I would like to end up.

I have been through two LEAP workshops so far and have to admit it is really making me think.  We are challenged throughout the half day and then are given homework after each session.  I haven’t done homework since I was in college so this is something new to me!  But it’s good that we get to continue to work on development after the workshop is completed for the day.

I’m really excited for the upcoming year and I think that LEAP will help me to reach my true potential as well as help me in assisting my staff to reach theirs.  I am very blessed that I am starting with a wonderful staff with so much potential and I can’t wait to become a better leader so I can help guide them on their leadership journey as well.  I thank Nikki Ellison for getting me involved in this program and I look forward to the next twelve months!

If you would like more information on LEAP, please contact Nikki Ellison, Certified Executive Coach at Nikki@EllisonPartners.com or 402.884.7300. Or visit them online at www.EllisonPartners.com.