3 min read April 2024 — In an interview with Invest: John Grinnell, founder and CEO of Grinnell Leadership, discussed the firm’s recent focus on infrastructure enhancement to meet growing demand, its unique approach to Organizational Development for small and medium-sized businesses, and the importance of self-awareness in leadership effectiveness.
Over the past year, what key developments or milestones has Grinnell Leadership achieved?
We added new facilitators and have further developed our team of highly trained organizational development consultants and coaches. We developed an intensive Team Trust™ workshop for enhancing collaborative competency and trust within virtual teams. Currently, we are developing a coaching and Organizational Development (OD) consulting certification program for launch later this year. We have worked on our website as well as fine-tuned our operations to provide better quality and service to our clients.
How do you approach Organizational Development (OD)?
We are a non-overhead outsourced solution for companies that can’t justify the expense of a full-time OD professional. Clients only pay for our services when needed. We are a full-service organizational development firm that targets privately held companies of 50 to 1,000 employees, non-profits, and divisions of larger organizations. Over time we get to know your people and become an integral member of your team yet maintain the objectivity of an “outsider” serving as catalysts for change.
A few of our areas of expertise are organizations that are scaling leadership, facilitating strategic execution planning, accountable leadership enhancement, key meeting facilitation, coaching, acquisition integration, and transitions of leadership for family-owned businesses. Whatever challenges our clients face we help change happen faster with greater satisfaction. Our signature Organizational Development program, Leadership Jumpstart® (LJS) is held once or twice a month at Wrightsville Beach, NC. The LJS helps our clients develop a common language and model for leadership, speeding organizational alignment and change. This program is just one of the many tools we offer as a comprehensive organizational development outsourcing.
What skills are most in demand for leaders to develop?
The most crucial skill I’ve observed over my years in the field is self-awareness. Understanding oneself and others is key – that is, learning how to find and release blocked leadership potential. The degree to which a leader doesn’t understand their personality is the extent to which they lack control over outcomes. We like to say that a personality is dictatorial until understood and examined. Gaining self-awareness and understanding one’s identity and personality allows leaders to act beyond their typical behavior to achieve better results. This approach is vital for supporting organization and team success.
How do you tailor your programs to meet the diverse needs of leaders from different industries, and what outcomes can participants expect?
Each client is unique, so we approach every situation with an open mind and a fresh perspective. Our consultants are trained to listen intently, understand the specific goals and challenges of the client, and then collaboratively help them develop a targeted action plan. Sometimes we focus on individual managers or the entire management leadership system. It just depends on the situation. Our approach isn’t traditional training; we’re more interventionist, working with healthy companies that are proactive about maintaining and improving their performance. Our long-standing relationships with clients, some lasting over 25 years, speak to our effectiveness.
What are the main challenges that your clients are strategizing around in the region?
Our company hasn’t experienced significant fluctuations in business. We’ve built strong, long-term relationships with key customers that help us stay stable. Typically, clients seek our services during downturns to fine-tune and prepare for a rebound, making strategic decisions and training their teams for new roles. In Raleigh-Durham, the influx of people and businesses like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft brings growth and stability. This environment, coupled with North Carolina’s business-friendly climate, makes it an ideal location economically.
How is technology impacting the consulting industry?
Technologies like Zoom have changed how we conduct meetings and training, making them more accessible. However, our core business focuses on self-awareness, which goes beyond personality assessments that can be done online. True self-awareness requires a more personal approach, which I believe cannot be fully replicated by AI or conducted effectively through virtual platforms. In-person interactions provide deeper insights, like observing someone’s breathing or subtle physical reactions, which are crucial for the in-depth work we do in leadership development. While Zoom is helpful, the kind of transformative work we specialize in requires a more intimate and direct engagement.
What is your outlook for Grinnell Leadership in the next two to three years?
We will continue to be a full-service organizational development firm that targets privately held companies of 50 to 1,000 employees, non-profits, and divisions of larger organizations. One of our key organizational development processes is our intensive Leadership JumpStart® self-awareness development program which we will continue to evolve, as well as continue to deliver exceptional services to our clients.
We are excited about releasing two new books. The first, The Boss Book, is a workbook designed to build trust between leaders and their teams. It’s practical rather than theoretical, containing 240 questions that leaders and their teams should be discussing. It aims to foster openness and candor in the workplace. The second book, Management Myths, debunks 25 common misconceptions about management, with anecdotal stories from our experience over the past 37 years as organizational development professionals.
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