An interview with Ron Price

When Ron Price and Randy Lisk started work on The Complete Leader, they didn’t fully anticipate the capacity of the project and what it would become. They didn’t expect that it would take three years to compile, that it would be translated into three languages within the first year, or that it would eventually inspire a successful holistic leadership program of the same name. Their intention was simply to share the insight they had gained in their combined 35 years of leadership coaching.

“We had always wanted to collaborate, and we thought one of the ways we could extend the impact of our work was to capture what we do with our clients in a book that could essentially be used as an encyclopedia. We thought of it as a reference book that somebody could have on their desk to refer to during leadership challenges,” said Ron.

However, it was at a pivotal moment during the writing of the book that Ron realized the possibilities of creating a development program that could offer companies the full range of the 25 competencies that the book outlined.

“It was sort of serendipitous the way it happened,” said Ron. “I was facilitating a leadership program in healthcare during the time we were writing the book, and I was defining the program around the needs of the group I was working with. I hadn’t really made the connection between the program and the book, but when we reached the end of the program I realized that we had just used all the material that would be coming from the book once it was published. I realized the book would be a great resource for a holistic leadership development program.”

So Ron set to work finalizing the curriculum and compiling the faculty for a leadership program that went beyond the traditional soft skills and focused on building the character of a leader. Companies that initially sponsored the program began to see results immediately.

“During one of our early programs, we were working with the middle management team, and within the first two days I received an email from the CEO asking if we could schedule time to work with the company’s senior leadership team as well because they were afraid they were going to fall behind! It was incredibly validating,” said Ron.

Other companies have had similar results. “The companies we work with are seeing immediate increases in self awareness, problem solving, decision making, personal accountability and self management. And they’re seeing practical application happen right away. One of the managers going through our program recently told the group how he had used conflict management skills learned during the program to save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Ron.

The early success of the program has been encouraging to everyone on The Complete Leader team.

“I can’t figure out how I could possibly be any happier with the success of the program so far,” said Ron. “What’s been so thrilling for me is seeing people who are excited about growing their own leadership capabilities, and who begin thinking in ways they hadn’t thought before. We wanted to teach people how to achieve and to relate better, and we see that happening. This community will become the thought leaders of the future.” For more information on the leadership program, click here.