TriNet Extreme Leadership Series Resonates with Clients

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Michael Clinebell in Best Practices, Entrepreneurs, Leadership

As our TriNet Extreme Leadership Series campaign moves into the new year, we’re already receiving positive feedback from clients. It is inspiring to hear from small business owners and entrepreneurs about how important leadership really is and how committed they are to encouraging a leadership mentality throughout their own companies.

Mary Anne Servian, Managing Director of The Sarasota (Fla.) Ballet. Photo courtesy of the Herald Tribune archives

Mary Anne Servian is one of those clients. She is Managing Director of The Sarasota (Fla.) Ballet and says leadership development applies to the arts just as it does to the traditional business world.

“In the nonprofit and arts sector, the questions and objectives are the same as they are in other sectors,” said Servian. “It’s about motivating people, ensuring that everyone has a single focus to get across the finish line.”

Servian has had many leadership roles throughout her life, including as mayor of Sarasota, and advises that one of most important things any leader should remember is to constantly learn — from your leadership role and from those around you.

We agree, and it’s one of the reasons our leadership series includes a partnership with author Steve Farber on the release of his latest book, The Radical Leap Re-Energized, along with the joint-development of a video series being released as monthly lessons.

Servian says the down-to-earth prose and the personal stories of Farber’s book are a welcome change from the business-speak and formulaic process improvement books that are released every year.

Each of TriNet’s client companies received a complimentary copy of the book and their employees have access to view the video series.

December’s video is titled Cultivating Love —Part 1, and in this first session, Farber introduces the LEAP Roadmap (Love—Energy—Audacity—Proof).

LEAP is Farber’s way of explaining how you can tap into your leadership capacity and the profound effect it can have on you and those around you. With L-E-A-P, if you Love what you do, that generates the Energy to do it and guide others. This energy inspires the Audacity to take risks, and that provides the Proof of leadership and success.

Farber begins with Love because he believes it’s at the foundation of great leadership acts and business. “Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do,” is the video’s primary takeaway. That’s the way to start building leadership capacity and success.

Adam Schwartz, the CEO of the popular coupon aggregation website CouponSurfer, says our leadership program is especially important for small- and medium-size businesses because they often struggle with finding leadership. Schwartz also appreciated Farber’s unique style of combining the two standard approaches of leadership books — the ‘how to get things done’ business process advice and the personalized self-help coaching — into one message which, said Schwartz, makes it more powerful.

“This is one of the many things that I like about TriNet…that they provide programs like this,” Schwartz adds.  “One of the biggest problems in small business is that there isn’t a lot of consistency in leadership.  So, it’s good to put a program together where people look at it and say, ‘Hey this is really valuable.’”