The value of leadership training for professionals

Annually, Saratoga identifies a number of our staff to attend a training programme that shares with them the skills and knowledge needed to develop their leadership skills. The Leader Within training spans across 5 months, and has been presented to Saratogans in partnership with experienced facilitators from the T Room for a number of years.

The programme aims to not only develop our people for leadership roles, but also equips our staff with the skills to better understand and interact with their colleagues, our clients and people in their personal capacity. “The Leader Within training is about teaching individuals’ various skills and techniques to help them succeed as a leader.” – Shinaaz Osman, Senior Consultant in Quality Assurance.

Awareness of self and others

The training starts with an analysis of each staff member’s personality and leadership type based on the ‘DISC’ model. This exercise enables staff to gain awareness of self as well as develop awareness of others, and gives them the opportunity to develop a better understanding of their behaviours and motivations.

This part of the training has been extremely valuable to our people and often leads to staff being able to build more respectful relationships, create a common language across the Saratoga team and helps to reduce unhealthy conflict. “For me the training is important to someone who has had none to limited exposure to being in a leadership position. “ – Jacques van Aarde, Senior Consultant in Business Consulting.

Emotional intelligence in leadership

After gaining a better understanding of their own self-awareness, the attendees are introduced to the differences between leaders and managers, and focus on the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership.

Well-rounded emotional intelligence is an important tool in improving self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and relationship management. Emotional intelligence is also key in transactional analysis and being aware of how a person’s ego state plays a part in your transactional analysis. 

Looking at self-management, our staff are also introduced to time quadrants and how to effectively define task urgency. Carol-Ann Nelson, Accounts Officer at Saratoga, says that “as a leader you need to have structure to your day, and it’s very useful to have a clear understanding of what is important and urgent, and what is not.”

Highlights from the Leader Within training programme:

• Developing self-awareness and awareness of others  
• Gaining insight into different personality types  
• Defining different leadership styles  
• Building foundational coaching skills  
• Thinking about time more strategically  
• Understanding the difference between leadership and management  
• Understanding the four quadrants of time management  
• Driving greater alignment within a team  
• Taking action to build a cohesive, engaged team  
• Choosing the right leadership style for each situation  

After the Leader Within training, our people are well-equipped to implement the knowledge and skills they’ve gained in all areas of Saratoga. Ultimately, we believe that everyone has the potential to be a leader within the organisation and with this training we hope to facilitate meaningful professional and personal development for our Saratogans.

We’re always looking for talented technology and business professionals to join the Saratoga team. Visit our Careers page to find out more about our open roles and what it means to be a Saratogan.