Leading in Tech
Master the Top Skills for Managers in Tech and STEM Organizations
Join us for a unique opportunity to transform your most challenging leadership challenges, optimize your so-so relationships, create high performing teams, lead with confidence and ease, and generally find more enjoyment in the many hours you spend on the job.
Leading in Tech can be Tough
If we’re honest, many of us in leadership roles in tech organizations (or aspiring to be in one) would admit to being frustrated, perplexed, or just plain tired at least some of the time because of the relationship side of work. Being strong in our technical subject is usually well within our comfort zone; being good as a leader and dealing with all the human stuff can seem daunting.
On top of that, the more we advance in our careers, the more we realize that our subject matter expertise matters less and less. We’re expected to put on a different hat: be a great leader, set up high-performing teams, build a strong and dynamic culture, develop enterprise skills and maybe even bring in new business. The problem often is that our passion for our subject may not translate into a passion for these new tasks.
Do you want to transform into an extraordinary technical leader whose leadership competence matches your technical competence? I frequently hear complaints from leaders that their technical staff are moderately inspiring managers and marginally effective communicators. It’s time to change all that. The solution to these challenges is simple, though not necessarily easy. It lies in mastering the “soft stuff.”
Josef is a fabulous speaker that has a unique ability to guide leaders with innovative tools to enhance their performance sprinkled with humor. He is extremely engaging and I have already begun using many of the ideas he provided from his program.
Mastering the Soft Stuff has many Upsides
Extraordinary leadership in tech offers countless business rewards:
Improved Business Performance
Positive and Attractive Culture
High-Performing Teams
Higher Employee Engagement
More Creativity and Innovation
More Joy on Your Journey
…to name just a few.
Transforming your business performance by mastering the soft stuff means you have to:
- Be focused. Make leadership skills at least as important as subject matter expertise.
- Be extraordinary. Because ordinary is just that, and the little “extra” makes all the difference.
- Be real. Exemplify leadership done right.
Josef’s ability to establish buy-in with highly-educated professionals is nothing short of dramatic. He created lasting results in our organization.
Fortunately, the soft stuff can be learned
“Technical skills are the easy part. People skills are the hard part” – if this statement resonates at least a little bit with you, then this program is for you.
We’ve delivered hundreds of programs to thousands of people in leadership roles in tech and STEM organizations. It’s always a delight for us to see in our programs, that the tools, strategies and the mindset for next-level leadership in tech can, in fact, be learned.
This Leading in Tech program is a rare opportunity for one, two, or a handful of people from your organization to experience one of our programs without the cost of bringing the program in house.
It takes practice to become natural
Think of Leading in Tech: Walking the Talk not just as a class, but as a comprehensive program. We know that classroom training has little impact if it’s not rooted in the reality of the participants. The program starts well before we meet in the classroom, and ends long after we part company. The bookends of the program make allow you to root it in your work and apply it to your work (and to all the other parts of life). You get the structure and support that we all need to put new/renewed mindsets and skill sets into practice right away and long after.
Revolutionary ideas; practical advice; dynamic; entertaining; you won’t be disappointed.
What the participants get from the program
Technical professionals can be inspired and inspiring leaders. Indeed they must be in order for the world to benefit most from their expertise. That’s why we encourage you to burst the old stereotypes and become extraordinary leaders. You can learn how to turn touchy-feely “soft skills” into neuroscience-based tools and techniques.
Here are the top skills every technical professional should master when they become a leader or manager – and they are all in this program:
Learn about yourself and your strength as a leader
Know the drivers of influence and how to master them
Move from manager to pace maker
Know how to make the right impression – right away
Develop coaching habits and learn to coach your team in 5-minute conversations
Know your vision and mission – use it to connect the dots and avoid micromanaging
Nurture real relationships without being fake, swarmy or salesy
Recognize the key external factors that can change the trajectory of your team and your organization
Become a distruptor and driver of innovation (without annoying everyone else)
Overcome group-think and conformity bias: challenge yourself and your assumptions to make better decisions
Using feedback for real performance improvement (and give up all the misconceptions about feedback)
Know the key conversations to restore damaged relationships and build trust
How the Program Flows
Get ready
March/April
Take the ELI Leadership Assessment and establish a baseline understanding of your leadership
One-on-one debrief with of the assessment and goal-setting for your leadership
Do some light reading to prepare for the workshop
Learn and Practice
14 & 15 May
Join us in the classroom portion of the program
14 May: 9:00 – 5:30
15 May: 9:00 – 3:00
Walk the Talk
May/June
Conduct a 30-day leadership experiment
Work your individual implementation plan
Track your success
Join our online group and get ongoing support
Celebrate
12 June
11:30 – 12:15
Complete the program with a lively and fun virtual session
For more information about the program, feel free to email Josef Martens or call his mobile: (240) 938 1274.
The Elephant in the Room: the Corona Virus
We’d love for your to develop your leadership skills – and we’d love it even more when you stay safe and healthy. It is our hope that by the workshop portion of the program, the risk due to the virus is minimal (or gone) or that the warmer weather has neutralized the virus. Having said this, if the situation in the Washington DC area is such that it’s not prudent to conduct the event we will cancel the event and give a full refund. Some of the indicators we’ll be looking at will be how the Federal Government operates, what the schools do and what local governments do – and, of course, what you think about the situation. If you don’t feel safe, you’ll be able to get out.
Part of this program is the ELI Leadership assessment, which will be done remotely. The assessment and the debrief will be conducted in the two weeks before the workshop. If you decide to cancel and you have already done the ELI assessment, we will retain a fee of $350 for the assessment and debrief. If you haven’t done the assessment yet, you will receive a full refund. Rescheduling will not incur any fees.
What’s included
Your investment of $1,950 per person includes
- Everything in the Curriculum above;
- The Energy Leadership Index (ELI) assessment to give you a baseline about your leadership
- One-on-one debrief conversation about the ELI to set goals for your leadership development
- Breakfast and lunch both workshop days;
- Signed copies of The Creativity Fieldbook and 50 Lessons on Creativity
- Electronic access to a whole slew of resources for you to share widely: best practices, actionable lists, thought-provoking articles, and more;
- Special discounts for optional add-ons: coaching, access to the Technical Presentation Masterclass video series, the Team Energy Leadership Index
Please note: Your spot in the program is secured as soon as you pay (EFT or credit card preferred). In the unfortunate case that you need to cancel, you’re welcome to (1) send an appropriate substitute or (2) ask us if we have someone on the waitlist to fill your spot. We’ll issue a full refund if and only if we’re able to get another warm body to take your place.
TO REGISTER, simply email Josef Martens
Excellent program; engaging; interesting and useful. This will help us with risk-taking, innovation and creativity.
About Josef
This program is for technologists and designed by a technologist. Josef is a scientist, whose accomplishments include spearheading a new technology (OLEDs), getting several patents and starting a spin-off company that commercialized the IP. Just as important, he became an executive, led high-performing teams and innovation efforts in global high-tech companies. Finally, he has the skills to convey his knowledge: Josef is a Certified Speaking Professional, the highest earned designation awarded by the National Speakers Association.
More details
We’ll post more details here as the questions come in and we realize what we’ve forgotten!
Audience. The program is meant for people who are currently in–or are preparing for–leadership positions in tech or STEM organizations. The program can be beneficial to a wide range of experience levels. If you’ve been doing this kind of work for a while, we promise you’ll learn concrete ways to take your leadership to a new level.
Size. We’re limiting this program to 24 participants for maximum engagement and benefit.
Sharing with others. We’re not marketing this offering widely. If there are select people in your network who would be great participants and greatly benefit, please share at your discretion. We trust your personal referrals.
Location. The workshop will be in the Tysons Corner area, Northern Virginia, close to the DC beltway.
Attire. Business casual.
Nearest airport. DCA is ~ 5 miles (and a few metro stops) away. IAD and BWI are options as well; just beware the brutalities of rush hour traffic in the DC area. We can help if you have questions about your specific travel plans.
Registration. Send us an email, and we will get you all signed up and paid for.
Payment. Payment via EFT or credit card is preferred. And just in case you missed it: Your spot in the program is secured as soon as you pay. In the unfortunate case of cancellation, you’re welcome to (1) send an appropriate substitute or (2) ask us if we have someone on the waitlist to fill your spot. We’ll issue a full refund if and only if we’re able to get another warm body to take your place.
Guarantee. If you know how we work, you know we always offer what is in essence a money-back guarantee. If for any reason you aren’t completely satisfied with your return on investment, you simply pay what you think it was worth—including nothing.
Dr. Martens put together a suite of tools, as well as a dynamic and impressive program along with hands-on exercises in these tools. His expert knowledge, as well as his easy and thought provoking presentation style was much appreciated by the audience.
