How we work with you

What it is like to work with Headwinds Ltd. Since 2002 we have been working with individuals and teams to help them to improve their overall leadership skills and ability to communicate. When we started we were focused primarily on management and employee communication. Today our focus goes well beyond that scope recognizing that firms can, and should be, good places to work.

 Excellent firms have several elements in common. Excellent firms need clear direction so that everyone understands what is expected. To excel, the firm must streamline processes and procedures so that everything aligns and supports strategic direction. Hiring and engaging good people are both essential. What’s more, there must be a culture of execution and everything must be monitored to ensure results are realized. It goes without saying that effective leadership at all levels is critical.

Every client interaction is different so, above all, we are flexible. Clients come in all shapes and sizes with varying needs and expectations. Although we have a variety of service approaches, our job is to listen for what you really need and design a service that meets your need and provides sustainable results with the least amount of hassle.

We are committed to achieving these results:

• You will have greater clarity about the direction of your firm and so will your leadership team. Next to not having a plan, the biggest contributor to firm failure is a poorly executed plan or worse yet, a plan that is not even communicated. We will help your leadership team focus on what is most critical in running your business, develop a systematic approach to execution, and connect strategy with individual contributors and their accountabilities.



• Your firm will be transformed into a great place to work. Obviously, profitability and satisfied clients are essential. However, if your employees would rather have a root canal than face a poorly managed workplace with an overbearing supervisor, then you will experience serious productivity problems. A good firm is a place where individual contributors and teams have access to the people, systems and resources that will permit them to be successful.



• Systems will be in place to assist you in leading and managing your firm’s resources. Often the barrier to excellence does not rest in knowing what to do. Rather, the barrier lies in doing it. We help you create systems and methods that will lead to sustainable progress.



• Your firm will become more collaborative and engaged. Commitment and collaboration both grow out of opportunities to be involved; to have each employee’s ideas valued. New leadership skills and methods will boost employee morale and get people engaged for better results. Greater involvement and commitment will free up management time for planning and working on the business rather than just in it.



• You will have greater buy-in and support and less finger-pointing. Results will come with much less stress and greater efficiency when employees know their roles and are committed to succeed.

The Headwinds Ltd. Difference

• We are Master Practitioners in Energy Leadership. Energy Leadership is a unique form of leadership and a powerful process. Through the EL process, we help individuals identify their real perceptions, beliefs, assumptions and attitudes and determine how these factors are influencing their actions and results. Research shows that raising consciousness in this way translates into better performance regardless of the area of endeavor.



• Using a “systems approach”, we help clients identify the ideal image of their firm and develop detailed action plans to get there. Entrepreneurs often start firms based on their technology or service-based knowledge. As these firms grow to 20 or more employees, the nature of leadership shifts from owner-centric to team-based. Team-based environments require delegation and the creation of distinct processes and controls. Our 20 plus years in leadership positions within major professional service firms equips us to help deal with these challenges through coaching and counseling.



• We utilize a powerful system of leadership development. There is no perfect leadership style. What works for one leader in one situation may be the absolute wrong thing for you to do. Using a leadership development system based on our Energy Leadership Model, leaders develop their own leadership style to achieve outstanding results.



• We work from a new paradigm of high performance leadership. The old WWII, top-down, “tell/do” style of leadership is largely ineffective today because work is performed primarily by knowledge workers. Except in those cases (e.g. battlefield, burning building) where a clear command and control style of leadership is demanded, we advocate a model that embodies teamwork, collaboration, open communication, transparency and a coaching mentality.

Now that you know how we work, click here to review our services.