Greensboro, North Carolina – September 30, 2002. How do we prepare leaders and followers
for a world that is changing so rapidly that all our new knowledge, skills and assumptions must be reinvented
as soon as we are comfortable with them? Most organizations are comprised of people who have a
tendency to resist change or settle into patterns of behavior called "psycho sclerosis," hardening of the
attitudes and behaviors about change. These people, their leaders and consequently their organizations lack
agility.
A unique program called Leadership Insights, Nimbleness, and Knowledge Seminar (LINKS)™
has been introduced to executives, business owners, human resource professionals, and other managers to
develop their agility at leading during times of continuous change. LINKS™ is the brainchild of an
organizational psychologist, Nick Horney. Dr. Horney collaborated with a Ladies Professional Golf
(LPGA) teaching professional, to conduct the first LINKS™ program held in Greensboro this past June.
Dr. Horney's experience of over 25 years consulting with and coaching leaders and managers in Fortune
500 firms as well as privately held companies has resulted in a program that uses the golf course and the
game of golf to illustrate and practice the agility required to be successful as a leader during very
challenging and constantly changing times. The public seminar is designed to last for 2-½ days and can
be customized for an individual company that wants to integrate LINKS™ with its current approach to
leadership development. There is no prerequisite that participants play golf in order to benefit from this
program since it is primarily designed to help leaders lower their Leadership Agility Handicap™ with a
Focused • Fast • Flexible
1909 Baytree Drive • Greensboro • North Carolina • 27455 • (336) 286–7250 • Fax (336) 282-4382
by-product being an improved golf handicap. Participants learn about and practice individual, team and
organizational agility, both on and off the golf course. LINKS™ is built upon a foundation of selfdiscovery,
coaching and guided practice through multiple forms of leadership, psychological and physical
agility assessment (e.g., 360-degree golf swing, 360-degree survey of leadership agility, a leader's
approach to change, and personality type). The turbulence in the economy, world security threats,
globalization of the marketplace, technological innovation, etc. combine to demand leaders who display
the following characteristics of agility that are practiced during LINKS™:
A: Anticipate change
G: Generate confidence
I: Initiate action
L: Liberate thinking
E: Evaluate results
A group of executives from organizations headquartered in and outside of the Triad area recently
participated in LINKS™ at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C. The participants stressed the
personal and organizational impact that the LINKS™ program was able to achieve.
"The Program is a professional touchstone and a chance to get an executive tune-up." — Dave Oddo,
Advantis Real Estate Services, Raleigh, NC.
"The strategies we're using out here on the course can easily apply to business. When the front door is
locked, you have to figure out how to go in the side door." — Robert E. Lee, Optima Services, Inc.,
Greensboro, NC.
LINKS™ programs for the remainder of 2002 will be held in the months of November and
December at resort locations in North Carolina. In 2003, Dr. Horney will be co-facilitating a LINKS™
program with golf professional and Sport Psychologist, Dr. Tony Piparo, through the University of
Florida Executive Education Department.
Agility Consulting & Training, LLC is a global provider of consulting services, training and
products to individuals, teams and organizations that are faced with the challenge of becoming focused,
fast and flexible. For more information, call Dr. Nick Horney at (336)286-7250.
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