March 2017

78 APAC / March 2017 , 1701AP36 Leading The Way Linkage provides clients with leadership consulting, assessment and development services, senior team effectiveness intervention, executive coaching, developing entrepreneurial thinking and innovation, advancing women leaders and building inclusive cultures services. We invited Dr Colin Pitt, Managing Partner to chat to us about the firm. Linkage has provided leadership development insights, learning and strategy to organizations looking to strengthen their leaders, more effectively engage their teams, and build cultures of employee engagement that achieve and exceed organizational objectives. Since 1988, Linkage have worked with more than one million leaders and managers from around the globe. Among their clients and partners are Fortune 1000 organizations and leaders, start-up companies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions. Colin tells us more about what the firm offers. “We deliver tailored leadership development solutions using proven models, methodologies and action learning approaches. Our approach is to provide services onsite, however as also an industry thought leader we provide a number of critical public development institutes to help organizations plan, act and transform their organization’s human capital to create real results and lasting impact. We pride ourselves on our team, our clients, and our focus on their success. “Our global leadership development efforts have supported a broad range of industries, from automotive to retail, medical, mining, financial services, travel, and everything in between. Flexible and customizable, our content is available in a variety of configurations, including open- enrolment sessions, on-site training opportunities, or as part of a larger customized development curriculum. “Our diverse and expansive team of world-class consultants, facilitators and faculty include former executives, leaders across all levels and industries, educators, consultants, and more. In this way we strengthen our content, our clients, and our cumulative results.” When first approaching a client, Linkage ensures it goes through a dedicated process with the clients’ needs as a top priority. “With over 25 years in global leadership development and training, many of our products, services and public Institutes are award winning and recognized throughout the industry. To achieve this standard, we have a number of key guiding principles in our process and approaches to leadership development and reinvention. “First, we will deliver only well researched and proven content and methodologies ‒ including facilitation techniques, agile learning solutions, thought leader content, and adult learning principles that work. Second, we will take a multifaceted approach for our clients – we are dedicated to creating world-class, integrated and customized solutions that include diagnosis, strategy formation, assessment, metrics, training and development, coaching, application resources and tools. Third, we will deliver the best outcome for our clients ‒ through creating strategic content partnerships with the best thought leaders in the world to ensure we are at the cutting- edge of our field. Finally, we will constantly reinvigorate and innovate our programs, services, and solutions.” “Leadership development continues to be an evolving ‘practice’. Leaders and managers in Asia Pacific must keep up with the latest research specifically where it is clear and proven. However, in Asia Pacific there is also a need to get the most fundamental leader and managerial practices in- place – embedded and working effectively. “We believe that the leaders who will be most successful in the future in Asia Pacific will not be those who react to the latest human resource ‘fad’ but rather systematically executes the fundamental people, management and leadership practices across their organization. Asia Pacific requires leaders who can align and articulate a future direction with discrete goals, coach and mobilize their employees and rapidly accelerate their value, create a productive and inclusive work environment, stimulate an entrepreneurial mindset and develop robustness and an ability to be resilient to constant change. “However, there will be evolving critical challenges that leaders and managers will be confronted with in Asia Pacific over the next few years. These include improving and optimizing the diverse workforces, hiring employees with a more ‘global mindset’, leveraging cultural