“I have attended several of these over the years, and this training was so good and inspiring that I simply had to give separate thanks,” says one participant in S Group’s
SLII® training. “This is the kind of feedback we receive from participants in our SLII® trainings,” says Susanna Vinkka from Jollas Institute, who has trained hundreds of S Group managers in the SLII® leadership model. She is one of S Group’s internal certified SLII® trainers.
In 2019, S Group’s learning and training center, Jollas Institute, was looking to add a strong leadership development concept and coaching-based leadership framework to its offering in order to better respond to S Group’s leadership training needs. The concept and tool needed to be widely used and proven to have impact. In this respect, Blanchard’s SLII® model was in a league of its own, and the choice was clear.
S Group’s Own Internal SLII® Trainers
Once a suitable leadership framework had been found, the SLII® trainer certification process was launched immediately in spring 2019. The goal was to certify Jollas Institute’s own SLII® trainers to serve S Group’s leadership training needs.
“The entire train-the-trainer process was an excellent, intensive experience that strongly challenged our thinking. First, we completed the two-day SLII® training led by SLII® Master Trainer Rares Manolescu, and then continued with him for another two days in a certification-focused train-the-trainer program, where Pasi Lehtiniemi served as the second trainer,” says trainer Susanna Vinkka, describing her experience.
The SLII® Leadership Model Is Suitable for All Leaders, Regardless of Experience
At S Group, SLII® training has been used in extensive leadership development programs for regional cooperatives, in long-term programs for managers focused on developing frontline leadership, and in open implementations where participants have been able to join from across S Group. To date, hundreds of managers from seven different regional cooperatives, including senior leadership, have been trained in the SLII® model. Several implementations have also been carried out for SOK and specialists from its subsidiaries, and Jollas Institute’s own experts have also been introduced to the world of SLII.
“At S Group, the target group for SLII® training includes managers at all levels who are responsible for frontline leadership, as well as specialists who lead various projects. Feedback on the trainings has been excellent, and interest in the SLII® leadership model within the group has only continued to grow,” says Vinkka.
The Best Leadership Model
What, then, makes SLII the world’s best model for leading people in the eyes of a trainer who has trained hundreds of SLII® leaders?
“The best thing about it is that it approaches leadership from the perspective of learning. SLII® is a story about learning, and when participants understand the skills of a situational leader through that lens, it powerfully changes their mindset and helps them succeed in their own goals. SLII® is not an ‘ism’; it opens up the learning process. Because of that, participants’ previous lessons and insights from different trainings and personal experiences rise to an entirely new level,” says SLII® trainer Susanna Vinkka.
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