Building Leadership Institute (BLI)

The Building Leadership Institute's structure of 12 monthly 3-hour seminars emphasizes fully understanding and applying skills.  

The program delivers the insights and skills you need NOW to lead AEC organizations at senior levels:  Senior PM, Dept Head, VP, PX, VP, Principal, Partner.  The Institute groups' mix of architects, engineers and owner/clients builds in the industry prospected senior leaders need to perform at optimal levels.

Why Participate?

• Participate because you have to. Without strong leadership and communications skills, even the most intelligent people struggle to lead effectively. The BL Institute  gives you the understanding, skills and strategies you need to add optimal value in your organization.
• Participate because you want to. Perhaps you’re already skilled at leadership and communications, but you want to improve further. The BLEI delivers new tools, fresh ideas, advanced levels of performance and out-of-the box thinking.
• Participate because it’s challenging. Working in a small group from a strategic mix of businesses, you’ll learn how people outside your usual frame of reference think. You’ll work closely with people who share your interests, support and challenge you.
• Participate because it pays. The Building Leader Institute is one of the best investments you can make not only in your job performance and career development but also in your ability to help and challenge others, and to add greater value in your organization.

Who Participates
People who get the most from the BLI program include leaders who:

• Have new job responsibilities
• Want to accelerate their career and professional development
• Want to address challenges they’re facing
• Aim to bring their leadership and communications skills up a level
• Are open to new ideas and challenge, willing to try new methods

How The Program Works To Achieve Lasting Results
Designed to achieve lasting results, the BLI program consists of:

• Small groups ensuring in-depth focus on individual interests
• Accelerating competence in the most important leadership skills
• Monthly half-day seminars scheduled with participant input
• Group meetings held online for convenience
• Participants’ work between seminars applying strategies and skills
• Focus on in-depth understanding and fully applying the most important executive leadership skills

Program Content / What You’ll Learn

• Improving awareness of yourself and others. When you speak, Are others listening, accepting your ideas? Knowing how others perceive you is essential for effective leadership. You’ll learn strategies and skills to know in depth how others perceive you, and how to respond effectively.
• Using 360 surveys and personality profiles skillfully. You’ve done a 360 Survey and you've learned your Personality Type. In the BLI you’ll learn to put these insight work in effective everyday leadership practices.
• Clarifying goals. What's your Why? What do you really want for your team, your organization, yourself? Can you communicate your Vision so others fully understand? You’ll learn methods to express your goals in a form that clearly explains, inspires and motivates yourself and others.
• Developing and using a strategic plan. Can you use your Vision to develop an effective strategic plan for your organization? Do you fully understand what strategic planning is and why it’s essential for every AEC organization? You’ll learn strategic planning methods and develop a strategic plan that meets your organization’s needs.
• Understanding business intelligence data. Revenue and profit, manpower and staffing, regional and global economy numbers - Does the data you work with really meet your needs? You’ll learn what a “balanced scorecard” is and develop one for your own leadership. You’ll master intelligent survey design and analysis.
• Improving 1- on -1 communications skills.  In an executive position, your one-on-one skills impact and shape your entire organization - are your 1-on-1 skills up to that challenge?   Negotiating, informal influencing, giving and receiving feedback. Your 1-on-1 communications skills can advance or undermine your organization's best thinking. In the BLI, you’ll learn strategies and skills to consistently perform at high levels in the 1-on-1 situations that matter most for your work.
• Presentation skills. Do your presentation skills do justice to your ideas?  Can't you do better than “walking people through the slides” and tell a compelling story? The BLI program will take your presentation confidence, comfort and impact to the higher levels your role requires.
• Leading meetings that fully engage all participants. Groups make so many key decisions and try to solve so many pressing problems. But groups too often make poor decisions and underperform. You’ll learn to run meetings that fully engage all participants, tap into their most productive thinking and achieve optimal results.
• Interviewing skills. Had any "bad hires" lately?  In the BLI you’ll learn behavioral interviewing methods that enable you to distinguish between people who “look good on paper” and those who will truly perform.
• Building your team. Are your people a group, or do they function like a real team? Hiring great individuals in no way ensures great team performance. You’ll learn skills to shape your people into a team that consistently performs at the highest levels.
• Building your organization. Vision, Awareness, People, Communications, Numbers. Can you put the pieces together to build a thriving organization? The Building Leadership Institute delivers the strategies, skills, book smarts and street smarts you need to breathe life into your best ideas.

About William Ronco, Ph.D.
William Ronco, Ph.D. consults on strategy, partnering and leadership development for some of the world’s best-run organizations. Design, construction and engineering projects include: 

• Assisting executive groups of VPs, Partners  and Principals to define roles. develop strategies and build skills for increased impact and value.
• Planning and delivering custom, results-focused training and development for groups of PMs and department managers.
• Improving communications, hand-offs and partnering across groups and departments in A&E firms, design/build companies, MEP firms and large construction companies.
• Strengthening client relationships, improving client partnering and increasing repeat business for design firms and construction companies.
• Planning and delivering Massachusetts Workforce grant-funded leadership and communications skills training to implement key initiatives and increase employee retention and development.
• Planning and facilitating merger and acquisition partnering to effectively implement merger goals and operations.
• Construction Partnering. Author, Partnering Manual for Design and Construction (McGraw-Hill) and The Partnering Solution, (Career Press) 2005) Dr. Ronco has led over 200 successful partnering projects resulting in improved communications and performance in construction projects, outsourcing, mergers and government.  
• A former professor in the MBA program at Northeastern University, Dr. Ronco earned his B.A. at Rutgers University, his Ed.M. at Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.