Consortium

Consortium programming will depend on your goals and the goals of your fellow consortium member(s).

Here is an example of a five-day program for mid-managers preparing for senior leadership roles:

The Next Level

Program Description

Next Level Leadership Consortium is designed to accelerate the transition for recently promoted or soon-to-be promoted senior leaders. Candidates are often identified by their organization as “high potentials” or “fast trackers” and have 5-10 years of progressive management experience.

Organizations would leverage this program as a way to enhance their succession planning and executive onboarding programs. This program will help to address the need to replace senior leaders in the upcoming years (due to retirements) in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Progressive organizations will embrace this program as a way to invest in the development of their high potential leaders to prepare them for larger, senior level roles and gain a significant return on their investment.

This is not a remedial program for new supervisors or potential managers. It is intended to address the unique challenges faced by senior leaders as they become responsible for enterprise-wide, strategic deliverables. Participants will share experiences and learn from peers facing similar challenges and opportunities, and build lasting networks.

Ideal candidates for this program include

• Recently or soon-to-be promoted
• Large company multi-functional and strategic senior leaders
• Small to mid-sized company directors, vice-presidents, and officers
• Nonprofit sector Executive Directors
• Public sector executive department heads and officials

Program Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants will

• Gain self-awareness into their leadership strengths and development needs and create an individual development plan
• Develop executive “next level” capabilities in the areas of strategic thinking, business acumen, leading change, marketing, negotiations, innovation, and other key “difference maker” skills
• Work on a high level, strategic company challenge and prepare an action plan with recommendations

 Leadership makes all the difference
The more change that lies ahead, the more important great leadership will be. Companies that score in the top quintile of talent management outperform their industry’s mean return to shareholders by 22 percentage points.

 Companies can’t always find outside or buy the leadership they need
If they do, it is expensive and does not come with a money-back guarantee. Sports teams can rarely buy a championship through free agency. In business, success in one company does not always translate to success in another. Competition for leadership talent will be fierce.

 Derailments are expensive
The higher the level, the more expensive they are. Costs include wasted salary, relocation expenses, finding and installing a replacement, buy-out packages, damage to morale and productivity, and a slew of other intangibles.

Survival of the fittest (sink or swim) is not the same as survival of the best
Leaving leadership development to chance is foolish. There just are not enough potential leaders around to allow most of them to drown with no assistance. A structured, well design development program will give an organization’s best employees an opportunity to blossom. The quality and quantity can be improved through development.

Its good business practice
Investors consider the quality of a corporation’s management. Talented people prefer to work for companies that invest in their development. Customers prefer to work with companies that can solve their problems. Companies that have strong cultures place high value on leadership.

"It’s nice to empower those who are seen as leaders and potential leaders within their companies, give them the tools to just bump themselves to the next level."

Nicole Bailey - Ballentine Partners

"Some of it I’ve seen before and some of it is definitely new.  It’s interesting – the stuff I’ve seen before was years ago and I’ve changed over the years.  This program is a completely new perspective on the old.  It really reinforces the fact that change isn’t just something that happens around you, it’s something that happens internally as much as anything. 

Erik Sobel - Northeast Delta Dental

"It’s nice to be in a group with a lot of great leaders of local companies, a lot of local talent.  Some of the people here I’m definitely going to stay in contact with after.  I have them as a sounding board for ideas."

Chris Matheson - Globe Manufacturing

"I feel like everyone in the group is here for the same reason or purpose, or that someone put them here for the same reason and purpose.  I feel that we’re a group that’s very much in the same place as far as our careers go, our passion for our careers, and wanting to grow and learn within that environment.  It’s a room full of people who are very much like you, which is really nice."

Lisa Byers - Bank of New Hampshire

"I’ve been through several leadership programs.  You always hope to take one or two things away.  But really, part of the way through this program I’ve already got a long list of things I’m taking away, both personally and for the organization as a whole."

Chuck Lloyd - New Hampshire Technical Institute

"I think we have a lot to learn from each other.  Bill (Hassey) said in one of his sessions that he can’t teach you to be a leader he can just share what you should know and what you should practice and what you should experience.  Talking to other people has created those experiences in real time. That’s been great."

Alex Knapp - Ballentine Partners

Bill (Hassey)

"The way the course has been progressing, we’ve had enough time to express some different situations among all of our own personal situations in the workplace environment.  It’s all in how you’re dealing with it."

Dan Feeley - Associated Grocers of New England

"I’m here because I believe the challenge of the future is going to be leadership.  My message is one that is about relationships.  The future is about the relationship leaders have with the new kind of follower.  That’s the follower who is as smart or smarter than the leader, as dedicated if not more dedicated than the leader, someone who is really looking to be a partner in the process."

Dr. Bill Hassey - Executive Education Programs - instructor

• Northeast Delta Dental
• Associated Grocers of New England
• Ballentine Partners
• Bank of New Hampshire
• Community College System of New Hampshire
• Globe
• Merchants Fleet Management

Media Contact:  David Irwin, Director, Corporate Communications

Northeast Delta Dental
Phone: (603) 574-7057  E
Email: dirwin@deltadental.com

Christine Wolczko, Marketing
Executive Education Programs
Phone: (603) 862-1998
Email: christine.wolczko@unh.edu

FIVE NEW HAMPSHIRE COMPANIES FORM AN EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM WITH NORTHEAST DELTA DENTAL AND THE PETER T. PAUL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

CONCORD:  Northeast Delta Dental and five other New Hampshire organizations have teamed up with the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics’ Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire to form an executive development consortium.  Nineteen participants recently finished a five day leadership program named Next Level Leadership. 

The consortium’s goal was to accelerate the leadership development of high potential employees.  Participants in the program were individuals who had been identified by their organization as having potential to move into future senior leadership roles. 

“I feel like everyone in the group was here for the same reason or purpose,” said participant Lisa Byars from Bank of New Hampshire.  “We were a group that was very much in the same place as far as our careers go, our passion for our careers, and wanting to grow and learn within that environment.  It was a room full of people who were very much like you, which was really nice.”

Consortium organizations included Northeast Delta Dental, Associated Grocers of New England, Ballentine Partners, Bank of New Hampshire, Community College System of New Hampshire, and Globe Manufacturing Company, LLC and they were working in partnership with Paul College.

A senior human resources executive from each of the consortium organizations worked in concert with Dan McCarthy, director of Executive Development Programs, to develop the five day framework of Next Level’s leadership development content. 

“A consortium is an educational partnership that is formed among two or more outstanding, non-competing, geographically connected companies and Paul College,” said McCarthy.  “Members typically represent diverse industry groups, each with a commitment to enhancing leadership development practices.”

Chuck Lloyd of New Hampshire Technical Institute, part of the Community College System of New Hampshire, benefitted from that diversity.  “Everyone in the world had different types of issues, but also a lot of similarities at the same time,” Lloyd said.  “There was a lot of transferable information that could be dipped into, whether it be higher education or a corporation or manufacturing. I enjoyed interacting with others interested in developing themselves and their organizations.  It was good to be with like-minded folks, to learn from each other.”

Alex Knapp of Ballentine Partners said that the learning from each other started right away.  ““The first activity we did was to meet somebody, just talk to them, learn their name,” he said.  “I started learning about leadership right there from Steve (Manteau, Globe Manufacturing), who just started telling me about his job and his story.  He told me how one of his biggest strengths is being OK with failure, staying calm through it and growing from it.  That was the first thing I learned in the class just from speaking with him.  It had nothing to do with the curriculum or the slide show or anything.”

During the five day program, participants developed “next level” capabilities in the areas of leadership, emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, conflict management, business acumen, leading change, negotiation, innovation, and other key “difference maker” skills.

“Some of it I had seen before and some of it was definitely new,” said participant Erik Sobel from Northeast Delta Dental.  “Obviously we got a lot of new information, but it’s interesting – the stuff I had seen before was years ago and I’ve changed over the years.  So doing this again – it was a completely new perspective on the old.  It really reinforced the fact that change isn’t just something that happens around you, it’s something that happens internally as much as anything.  This program is a great reflection of that.”

As the sessions unfolded, participants brought cutting edge program content and innovation back to their organizations because of their exposure to Paul College faculty, idea-sharing with peers, and significant time spent in a safe learning environment. 

“Many of us are focused on succession planning in our organizations,” said Connie Roy-Czyzowski, Vice President Human Resources for Northeast Delta Dental.  “This program helped us address our need to groom potential future leaders, and prepare them for larger, senior level roles.  But this isn’t all about the future.  Succession planning benefits our company today.  Building strong leadership is like money in the bank.  It expands our options. ” 

Each of the six participating companies selected employees in a slightly different manner using criteria specific to their organization.

“I specifically asked why I was selected to participate in the Next Level consortium,” said Nicole Bailey of Ballentine Partners.  “I was told that the individuals the company was sending were those they perceived as leaders. They wanted to give us the support that we needed. We were also guinea pigs for the process, to decide if it’s something that we should incorporate for more of our employees.”

Chris Matheson of Globe Manufacturing added, “We don’t have any specific leadership roles.  We’re people identified for potential future growth within the company, which is a great honor, obviously.” 

One or two Paul College faculty members presented course instruction on each of the five days.  A variety of learning methodologies, including lecture, case study discussion, small group work, simulations, role-playing, experiential, assessments, and action-based learning were employed. 

“The challenge of the future is going to be leadership,” said instructor and Faculty Fellow of Executive Education Programs, Dr. Bill Hassey.  “My message was about relationships.  The future is about the relationship leaders will have with the new kind of follower.  The new follower is as smart, or smarter, than the leader; as dedicated, if not more dedicated, than the leader; someone who is really looking to be a partner in the process.”

Before classes began, participants focused on pre-work and conducting a 360-degree assessment.  The assessment provided a “where are we now” view of their leadership journeys and served as a starting point for future development planning. 

“When we got our 360 evaluations back – that opened up another can of worms as far as getting a truer picture of yourself,” said Dan Feehily of Associated Grocers of New England.  “I got to take a step back and try and see what I might be missing.  It kind of opened my eyes up to areas where I may need to put more attention.  After all, it’s for the betterment of the entire company to move in that direction.  It’s all a common goal.”

The in-class portion of the program consisted of five residential days:  three days, followed later by two more.  It was held at the Northeast Delta Dental training facilities in Concord, New Hampshire.

“The consortium worked on many levels,” said Roy-Czyzowski.  “Participants each got a broader perspective as they learned from others in the group who had experiences different than their own.  They formed a network of insiders and outsiders who were all committed to the same development path.”

Benantonio Forgione of Combined Services, a subsidiary of Northeast Delta Dental, concurred.  “Oftentimes one of the group members posed a question, like, ‘Bill, how do I overcome this…’  And Bill turned around and said, ‘How about it? Any answers?’  Then all of a sudden a flurry of responses came from within the group.  Bill kind of let us work it out, took those responses, and then summarized everything and put it all together. It was a very effective approach.”

This consortium defined its membership requirements to include attendance by the HR executive at a minimum of two steering committee meetings each year, contributing a minimum of three participants to Next Level per year, and making a one year commitment to the consortium.  New members are voted into full membership by the consortium steering committee. 

“As the human resources executives, we draw significant gains from our fellow consortium partners,” said Roy-Czyzowski.  “We meet regularly for steering committee meetings where we share ideas, oversee program development, and prepare to select our candidates.  Planning with other experts is not just effective and efficient, it’s a pleasure.”

Participating organizations enjoy cost sharing benefits as well.  Splitting expenses allows each to bring in more substantial programming than they might have considered on their own. 

More information on the Paul College Consortium program can be found on the University of New Hampshire website, paulcollege.edp@unh.edu or by contacting Bill Hassey at (603) 862-0871 or bill.hassey@unh.edu  

The Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics offers a full complement of high-quality programs in business, economics, accounting, finance, information systems management, entrepreneurship, marketing, and hospitality management at UNH. Programs are offered at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive development levels. The college is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting agency for business schools worldwide. For more information, visit paulcollege.unh.edu.

Northeast Delta Dental is a non-profit organization providing high quality and cost-effective dental benefit plans to more than 810,000 subscribers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire, with sales offices in Saco, Maine and Burlington, Vermont, Northeast Delta Dental offers broad access to network dentists and outstanding customer service.  The dental insurance company’s primary objective is to extend the availability of oral health by educating potential purchasers and the public on the value of good oral health and its connection to good overall health. 

Associated Grocers of New England is a cooperative of retailers serving over six hundred independent supermarkets.  Ballentine Partners manages risk and identifies investment opportunities, including social impact investing, for clients. Bank of New Hampshire is a $1.24 billion mutually owned bank with a 185 year heritage and 22 offices throughout New Hampshire.  Community College System of New Hampshire is an independent statewide system of seven comprehensive community colleges serving more than 27,000 students annually.  Globe is the oldest, largest, and most trusted manufacturer of turnout gear for firefighters in the world.