AEU LEAD

Creating the leaders of tomorrow is an ongoing quest for organizations, as they continually endeavor to provide their senior executives with top-notch leadership skills. However, developing leadership and soft skills among the middle management ranks is equally important. It is the middle and front-line managers who are in direct interaction with the workforce and have a game changing impact on employee performance, efficiency, and morale. This is especially challenging for labor-intensive industries that require sophisticated people management skills from supervisors who have been promoted based on their technical skills. Incidentally, today’s leadership consulting firms are geared solely toward empowering high-ranking executives.

With a fresh perspective on leadership consulting, AEU LEAD moves the needle on empowering the middle management ranks. AEU LEAD helps organizations build stronger middle managers and front-line supervisors who are better able to communicate and lead their teams effectively. “We develop leadership skills for the supervisor lead person in labor-intensive industries,” says Joseph White, director at AEU LEAD, who brings over two decades of extensive leadership consulting experience. With a strong emphasis on the practical application of leadership concepts and reinforced behavior to transform the concepts into habits, AEU LEAD designs hands-on leadership training programs specifically suited to the needs of front-line supervisors in labor-intensive industries. While enhancing employee engagement and productivity, the company is dedicated to empower middle and front-line managers to foster a cohesive work environment.

AEU LEAD’s attention to middle managers is the result of decades of engagement with companies in labor intensive industries. AEU LEAD spun out of the loss control division of its parent company, The American Equity Underwriters, an insurance company providing workers’ compensation coverage for waterfront businesses. Over the years, the company realized the real issue behind most safety concerns and employee dissatisfaction was tied to ineffective leadership among middle management. With this discovery, AEU LEAD pivoted to addressing the need for quality leadership skills within the supervisory ranks of organizations.

A Distinctive Approach to Leadership Development

The company’s leadership programs are uniquely focused on the development of the single most important trait necessary for supervisors social intelligence that determines their ability to engage with and manage employees from diverse backgrounds. AEU LEAD’s training engagements with the supervisory ranks of organizations encompass a deep emphasis on fostering the attributes of social intelligence, namely situational and self-awareness, comprehension of social dynamics, and people management skills. “We help company supervisors build soft skills and address generational gaps within the workforce,” says Abby Galjour, business development manager, AEU LEAD. With a background in OSHA Safety Consulting and Training, she brings in-depth knowledge of occupational safety and leadership consulting to the company.

AEU LEAD’s team comprises more such distinguished leadership consultants who take the time to devise individualized and personalized leadership programs relevant to personnel in middle management positions. Prior to conducting the leadership training, AEU LEAD thoroughly assesses the individual supervisor’s needs and interests and helps them recognize areas of opportunity for enhanced performance. Post analysis, AEU LEAD provides the required leadership content and training that enables skill development in those specified areas. Supervisors, when effectively trained in soft skills, become the primary instruments to motivate the workforce to perform better and connect deeper with the organizational vision.

For front line supervisors, AEU LEAD’s three-phase leadership development programs zero in on the core aspects of earning respect from peers and direct reports, employee engagement, and change management. The first phase of the programs equips them with the right tools and people skills to build rapport, credibility, and effective communication with their teams. In the second phase, the programs help them learn the ropes of managing workforces by valuing and demonstrating appreciation for employees and providing ongoing feedback for their work. This approachable, collaborative, and engaging style of management a direct contrast to the autocratic or authoritarian style of management prevalent in labor intensive industries appeals to Generation Z and enables businesses to attract, hire, and retain them.

In the third and final phase, AEU LEAD trains supervisors to implement changes as per the directions from the executive levels. Through the training, they learn efficient change management and eventually become adept at applying and leveraging their influence to obtain the support and commitment from their teams and subordinates to streamline the transition.

We Develop Leadership Skills for the Supervisor Lead Person in Labor Intensive Industries

Apart from empowering supervisors to become skilled leaders, AEU LEAD creates leadership programs for each stage of managerial training suited to these companies. The company conducts leadership training specially designed for improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills in employees earmarked by their organization for promotion to supervisory roles. Likewise, AEU LEAD assists middle and front-line managers slated to be promoted to executive roles in developing their business acumen skills.

Training with a Difference

In keeping with the needs of businesses and their middle managers, AEU LEAD delivers its leadership training in a truly flexible manner. From in-person, on-site training to live online workshops and on-demand courses, to blogs and podcasts, the company offers customized leadership training in all forms. In addition, AEU LEAD ensures its leadership training materials are as turnkey as possible, taking into account the frequent lack of adequate training professionals at companies in labor-intensive industries.

Lack of time for leadership skill development is another issue for middle managers, who tend to have incredibly busy schedules and cannot afford to step away from their on-field duties.

Keeping in mind the time and location constraints, AEU LEAD is also developing microlearning modules that include leadership training material broken into six-to-seven minute easily absorbable sound bites. These modules can be accessed through phones, tablets, or computers at any place or time, enabling supervisors to obtain leadership training at their own pace during their work breaks, regardless of the location.

Along with providing effective, easily accessible leadership training to busy middle managers, AEU LEAD stands apart in the leadership development space through a multitude of USPs. The company’s focus on supervisors, who require an entirely different type of leadership training compared to executives, acts as its primary differentiator. Another differentiating factor is AEU LEAD’s affable leadership oriented approach to resolving workplace issues without resorting to autocratic or authoritarian styles. Furthermore, the company’s research based methodology incorporates actionable insights from case studies on leadership into the workshops, enabling the supervisors to learn essential leadership skills faster. Lastly, the company’s solution oriented method to gain an in depth understanding of individual professional needs facilitates their progress in the field of leadership. In a nutshell, AEU LEAD takes utmost care in delivering practical, relevant, and actionable solutions catering to all possible leadership challenges of personnel in mid-level and front-line management roles.

Empowering Middle Managers One Step at a Time

The effectiveness of AEU LEAD’s approach to mid-level management leadership building is best illustrated by a recent event. Right before COVID-19 hit, White delivered a leadership training session to a client company’s plant managers, labeled by the client as “terminal managers”—a middle management position. With the onset of the pandemic, the plant managers found themselves directly interacting with the company workforce for the first time ever, without going through the company’s intermediate supervisors. The leadership training provided by AEU LEAD equipped them with the relevant know-how and practical skills for building a good rapport, demonstrating credibility, and exercising influence among the employees, paving the path for successful workforce engagement during testing times.

With its distinct approach to supervisor leadership development, AEU LEAD serves blue-collar businesses across labor-intensive industries as varied as maritime, construction, mining, and many more. Going forward, the company will keep pace with the era of digitalization by offering its leadership training content through highly engaging digital tools such as podcasts, blogs, and micro learnings with 24-hour accessibility. Along the way, AEU LEAD will continue to equip middle managers and front-line supervisors with top-notch leadership skills, paving the path for superior collaboration and competence for the workplace of tomorrow.