DISC, Motivators, Team Strengths DISC, Driving Forces, Cortex Team Strengths, Stress Quotient, Emotional Intelligence Each of these assessments delivers vital information to help you quickly assess the strengths and weaknesses of your team members and leaders. Using a proven Cortex method, these assessments based on real science will move you to a more efficient and effective way to pin point exactly what and who you need to focus on to create optimal performance from your team. TTI Success Insights (TTI SI) believes all people are unique and have talents and skills of which they are often unaware. TTI SI and its network of Value Added Associates, like Cortex Leadership Consulting, exist to reveal and harness these talents, using the Science of Self. Over three decades, TTI SI has researched and applied social and brain science, creating assessment solutions consultants in 90 countries and 40 languages used to hire, develop and retain the best talent in the world. TTI SI assessments are at work in the Fortune 1000 companies and have worked with over 100,000 companies over the years. TTI SI tools are EEOC and OFCCP compliant and are continuously tested and refined to ensure the highest standards of ethics and reliability, which is why Cortex has chosen to use TTI. With a tenacious, innovative culture, TTI SI and Cortex Leadership Consulting transform potential to productivity, performance and profits. TTI Success Insights® believes there are five dimensions of a superior performer that can be measured by our research-based assessments: Behaviors Motivators Acumen Competencies Emotional Intelligence Who you are, what you do and how you do it. The research-based, validated TTI Success Insights assessment we use at Cortex Leadership Consulting measures behaviors in five behavioral dimensions using the DISC theory. DISC measures Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance and was first developed by William Moulton Marston. Our Behaviors/DISC assessment is key in helping people understand HOW they behave and their ability to interact effectively with others in work and life, as well as how they respond to the following challenges: Problems and challenges Influencing others Pace of environment Rules and procedures To see a sample of our in-depth 23-page DISC Assessment Report, click here . Becoming self aware is the first step on your leadership journal. WHAT MAKES OUR DISC ASSESSMENTS MORE RELIABLE? The provider we use, TTI Insights, were the first DISC providers to guide companies from the prospective employee stage to selection, from on- board training to job-related development. More importantly, TTI SI is the only provider of DISC assessments in the marketplace that generates 384 unique reports, based on both the high and low scores revealed in each individual’s two DISC graphs (natural style graph and adapted style graph). In other words, TTI not only studies the behaviors that come naturally to the respondent — both how they act (Behaviors) and why they act a certain way (Motivators) — but we also analyze and present the less dominant behaviors. Developing these less dominant behaviors presents opportunities for self-improvement and greater understanding. Where other companies only provide a snapshot of an individual, we provide a full picture to gain a greater understanding of self and others. In addition, TTI SI is constantly running internal studies, including the study of adverse impact and is conduct- ing test-retest analysis to validate and to improve our products. These steps allow our suite of assessments to remain at the forefront of innovation and stand the test of time. MOTIVATORS Whereas Behaviors illustrate the HOW of our actions and decision-making, Motivators explain the WHY behind your actions and passions. Motivators, based on Eduard Spranger’s theory of human motivation, are the windows through which an individual views the world. These intrinsic motivations explain the key driving forces about someone’s on-the-job performance and why they act a certain way. Theoretical — the discovery of truth Utilitarian — money and what is useful; ROI Aesthetic — form and harmony Social — an inherent caring for people; helping others Individualistic — personal power, influence and renown Traditional — a system for living To see a sample of our in-depth 23-page Motivators Assessment Report, click here . Contact Cortex Leadership Consulting to learn more. Contact Us!

A Leader's Time Metabolism - It's Not the What, It's the When September 19, 2019 Lynda McNutt Foster It’s not the what, it could be the when. In my ebook, Time Mastery: 7 Simple Steps to Richer Outcome , in our Leading a Winning Team coursework, we provide an assessment that allows leaders to determine what I have termed as their time metabolism. Simply stated, your time metabolism is a measurement of your physical and mental energy throughout your day. To master your time, as a leader, you can optimize your strengths by measuring when your energy is highest throughout the day and when the low points are. Completing your most difficult tasks, for your behavioral style and skillset level, at times when you have the most energy can be key to being in your “flow” zone more of the time (a state where you are working within your strength zones that bring you the most amount of creative and strategic output as a leader). The more time you spend in your flow zone, the higher level contributions to your team and organizations you can make. Some leaders love to get to work by 6am and knock out lots of tasks that any other time of the day would be difficult to complete due to distractions and perhaps a low desire to complete them. The higher your energy level, the more chance you have of completing difficult tasks. When your energy is low your willpower to be tenacious wanes. To optimize your time metabolism, try doing the hardest things when you have the most mental and physical energy and the things you like to do, complete when you have the least (because doing those will tend to give you extra energy). If you are a people person, even when you are tired you will find the energy to interact and connect. If you like to complete tasks more than you like talking to people, do those things when your energy isn’t at it’s highest because you will be energized by the quietness and solitude of checking things off a list and knowing they are done! What’s your time metabolism? When are you the most likely to tackle and solve the toughest challenges your team or organization is facing?

2.0 in the age of AI: The High-Potential Leader's Fast Track to Self-Mastery The path to effective leadership is no longer a slow climb—it's a sprint. Today's rising managers, supervisors, and high-potential employees, and existing leaders must understand themselves, raise their emotional intelligence, and increase their discernment faster than ever to succeed in an AI-accelerated environment. EPIC 2.0 in the Age of AI program transforms generic training into precision talent development. Key Program Deliverables This program is specifically designed to provide your organization with an immediate return on investment by focusing time and energy on high-leverage skills: Mastery of Self-Awareness Scientifically validated assessments (DISC, 12 Driving Forces, AI Traveler, and others) ensure customized materials, fast-tracking self-awareness for intentional leadership. Time Mastery 2.0 with AI Adopt the Time Mastery 2.0 framework for your exact role to optimize schedules, focus on high-value outcomes, and leverage AI for task delegation and efficiency. Trust as the Engine of Change Learn practical techniques for building and maintaining trust across three levels of Conversational Intelligence, reducing internal and organizational drama. Strategic Communication and Problem Solving Gain immediate practical communication and application skills using the updated VIPEi Framework (Vision, Ideation, Planning, Execution, Iteration) to restore team adaptability and accelerate insights and use it for your, specific, problem or project. Learning How to Learn in the Age of AI Develop a co-thinking mindset, using AI not just for speed, but for clarity and strategic partnership, mastering high-impact prompts. Utilize tools and frameworks to understand and communicate with others more effectively and collaborate with better outcomes. Self-Mastery Leadership Challenge chosen by each participant that ensures application of the EPIC 2.0 learning experiences. Participation during sessions in 3-4 person Thinking Pods to practice what they are learning and ways to apply it immediately. EPIC 2.0 Why This Program, Why Now The path to effective leadership is no longer a slow climb—it's a sprint. Today's rising managers, supervisors, and high-potential employees, and existing leaders must understand themselves, raise their emotional intelligence, and increase their discernment faster than ever to succeed in an AI-accelerated environment. EPIC 2.0 Age of AI program transforms generic training into precision talent development. Leaders are currently wrestling with the twin burdens of low-value interactions and "work-slop" (ineffective work product resulting from poor AI integration and unclear self-management skills) and "drama" (resulting from a lack of self-awareness and self-regulation). Cortex, which is now training hundreds of leaders in both human-centered skills and AI essentials, designed EPIC 2.0 to solve this gap. EPIC 2.0 is a dynamic 2-day experience that transforms leaders from overwhelmed responders to more agile Co-Creators who seamlessly integrate human judgment with AI-enabled insights. Contact Us! Read More What you can't get anywhere else 1. High-Performance Acceleration: Experience a two-day transformation that fast-tracks self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and strategic execution—skills leaders usually take years to master. 2. Human + AI Integration: EPIC 2.0 bridges leadership science and AI capability, showing leaders exactly how to reduce “work-slop,” eliminate drama, and lead with clarity in an AI-driven world. 3. Exclusive Leadership Frameworks: Access the Time Mastery 2.0 system, the VIPEi Strategic Problem-Solving Model, and the AI Traveler Assessment—frameworks used by hundreds of high-performing leaders to optimize their teams and decision-making. Frequently Asked Questions What is the primary purpose of the EPIC 2.0 program? EPIC 2.0 is a dynamic 2-day experience designed to transform leaders from overwhelmed responders into more agile Co-Creators who seamlessly integrate human judgment with AI-enabled insights. The program aims to transform generic training into precision talent development. Who is the target audience for the EPIC 2.0 program? The program is designed for rising managers, supervisors, high-potential employees, and existing leaders. What specific challenges does EPIC 2.0 address? The program is designed to solve the gap resulting from leaders dealing with the "twin burdens" of low-value interactions and "work-slop" (ineffective work product due to unclear self-management skills and poor AI integration). It also addresses "drama" that results from a lack of self-awareness and self-regulation. Key Deliverables and Content What are the key deliverables of the program? The program focuses time and energy on high-leverage skills to provide an immediate return on investment (ROI). Key deliverables include: Mastery of Self-Awareness using scientifically validated assessments. Time Mastery 2.0 with AI to optimize schedules, focus on high-value outcomes, and leverage AI for task delegation and efficiency. Developing Trust as the Engine of Change by learning practical techniques for building and maintaining trust across three levels of Conversational Intelligence. Gaining skills in Strategic Communication and Problem Solving using the updated VIPEi Framework (Vision, Ideation, Planning, Execution, Iteration). Learning How to Learn in the Age of AI, including developing a co-thinking mindset and mastering high-impact prompts for strategic partnership. What frameworks and assessments are utilized in the program? Scientifically validated assessments are used to ensure customized materials, including DISC, 12 Driving Forces, and AI Traveler. The program also teaches the Time Mastery 2.0 framework and the VIPEi Framework. How is the learning applied and practiced? Application is ensured through a Self-Mastery Leadership Challenge chosen by each participant. Participants also engage in 3-4 person Thinking Pods during sessions to practice what they are learning and identify ways to apply it immediately. Logistics and Investment What is the format and duration of EPIC 2.0? The program is a dynamic 2-day experience delivered through in-person, live instruction. What is the cohort size? The cohort size is limited to 14-18 spaces to ensure maximum personalization and high-touch facilitation. When does the program start? Each cohort will collectively pick the best date for Day 1 and Day 2 based on availability to ensure high-level participation. The upcoming Cohort kicks off in January of 2026. What are the associated investment costs? As a Special Partnership Offering, the investment varies by membership status: SRCC Member Rate: $1,100 per participant. SRCC Member Rate (2+ participants from the same organization): $950 per participant. Non-Member Rate: $1,250 per participant. Who are the partners offering this program? This Special Partnership Offering is provided by the Salem-Roanoke Chamber of Commerce, Cortex Leadership Consulting, and Metis. Contact Us! First Name* Last Name* Email* Company* Position* I am interested in the following (select one or more). Additional Information Reserving an EPIC 2.0 seat for myself Sending one of my employees to EPIC 2.0 Sending two of my employees to EPIC 2.0 Sending three or more of my employees to EPIC 2.0 Submit

Assessments and Tools Conversational Intelligence Conversational Intelligence at work is necessary for building trust. Not using it could lead to disengagement. You’ll learn the signs of trust and how to tap into people’s highest level thinking potential. Join Becky Freemal, anchor of WFXR news, with Judith Glaser, author of Conversational Intelligence and Lynda McNutt Foster, CEO of Cortex Leadership Consulting. DISC Assessment The research-based, validated TTI Success Insights assessment we use at Cortex Leadership Consulting measures behaviors in five behavioral dimensions using the DISC theory. DISC measures Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance and was first developed by William Moulton Marston. Cortex Team Strengths The Cortex Team Strengths assessment helps to better understand which of the four phases of a project cycle you prefer to work within. Ideally, teamwork proceeds sequentially from initiation to ideation, elaboration, and completion. Cortex 360 Assessment 360 surveys are assessment tools that provide leaders and employees with feedback about their performance. The surveys’ subject is rated in areas such as leadership, communication, productivity, and technical skills. The subject also rates themselves in these areas. DDT / TED TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic) is a positive alternative to the Drama Triangle, which was first described by Stephen Karpman, MD. The Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT)™ is comprised of three roles: Victim (the primary role), Persecutor (which the Victim blames for their suffering); and the Rescuer (who steps in to try and take away the Victim’s suffering). People shift in and out of all three roles in this Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT). Stress Quotient This assessment is designed to pinpoint the source of workplace stress for individuals and teams Time Mastery You’ll never deal with time the same way again after learning the Cortex Method of time design. Meeting Toolkit this tool can be purchased to be used as “training tools” for leaders to conduct the most effective and efficient meetings possible for their teams. Currency of Trust This powerful communication tool has multiple applications. We work with the 6 elements of trust, which include Sincerity, Involvement, Competence, Standards, Reliability, and Time.

8 Statements That Will Change Everything About Recruiting and Retention at Your Company June 6, 2019 Lynda McNutt Foster “We came to realize what is perhaps the biggest problem of all with the idea of culture: it doesn’t help us understand what to do more of, less of, or differently. For that, we must take you to where the experience lives: to your team, and network of teams, and their leaders. That’s what matters most,” Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall in 9 Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World. Two decades worth of research about why and how people perform well at work has culminated in this book. I am convinced about the research and the impact it can have on companies that are struggling to recruit and retain the best workers because Marcus Buckingham is not only an expert in this space, the research mirrors what we have been studying for the last 7 years from our goMonti data sets. The main conclusion that the research in 9 Lies About Work demonstrates is good news. It states that “what people care most about at work is within your team leader’s control.” As they state, a team leader can’t always set corporate policies, but what they can do is: Set clear expectations for their team members Position each person to play to his or her strengths every day Praise the team for excellent work Help people grow their careers Build trust with the people on the team that they serve The focus should be on helping grow the abilities of team leaders to: Give their team member’s a sense of universality – all of us together Recognize each team member’s uniqueness In other words, magnify what we all share and to lift up what is special about each of us. How can you measure how your teams are doing within your organization and determine future sustained or increased performance and retention? There are 8 statements that should be asking and gauging responses for regularly (once a month or at least once a quarter) to measure what matters the most to measure the aspects that drive performance, voluntary turnover, lost work days, accidents on the job, and customer satisfaction. The 8 statements are grouped into two themes. The first is the team member’s communal or “we” share experience at work or rather the “Best of We,” and they are: I am really enthusiastic about the mission of my company. In my team, I am surrounded by people who share my values. My teammates have my back. I have great confidence in my company’s future. The second set of statements are themed as the individual’s experience at work or rather, “Best of Me”. They cover a team member’s internal questions like, “What is unique about me? What is valuable about me? Do I feel challenged to grow? And they are: 5. At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me. 6. I have the chance to use my strengths every day at work. 7. I know I will be recognized for excellent work. 8. In my work, I am always challenged to grow. From Chapter One of 9 Lies at Work, the first lie at work is that people come to work for companies. The research is sound on this, and that statement is not true for most people. What is true is that people care which team they’re on and which company they join. Need help executing these concepts? Find out how your team members would score on the 8 statements. Wondering how your team members would score on these 8 statements? goMonti is currently conducting local research and can issue this employee engagement and team performance survey at no charge for current clients. If you are an existing client, contact us for more information at info@cortexleadership.com . If you are not a current Cortex client, one or more of your teams may qualify to have us issue the survey at no charge. To receive information about our new Employee Engagement Surveys and how they can transform your teams, contact info@cortexleadership.com . Watch this short video from Coffee with a Coach, A Cup of Confidence, about the 8 statements and how team leaders can use them to gain powerful insights.

Your Executive Leadership Journey Begins Here Your leadership impact will be greatly affected by the competencies you are able to build a foundation for and enhance as you adjust to changing working environments and market conditions. Deciding which ones you will need the most in the coming 1-3 years is a critical success factor in achieving the outcomes you want you, your team, and your organization to achieve. Review the following information to ensure an understanding of each competency, complete the spreadsheet provided, and then review it with whom you report to so that you can ensure alignment. This information will be used to create your Cortex Leadership Development Plan that you will utilize during your executive coaching journey. Step 1: Review the Leadership Competencies Selection and Instruction Guide Guide Step 2: Review the Executive Leaders Mission Statement Mission Statement Step 3: Complete the Value Portion You will need this Value List to complete Part one of the Leadership Mission Statement exercise. Values Exercise Step 4: Complete the rest of the Mission Statement Step 5: Leadership Competencies Consider your Top 4 Leadership Competencies and why developing those are the most important in the coming year. Assessment Step 6: Review with your Supervisor It is best, when you complete this exercise, to review it with who you report to in order to get their feedback.

Keynote Speeches Lynda McNutt Foster has been invited for more than 20 years to provide keynote speeches and breakout session workshops for numerous organizations. Whether she’s focusing messages to motivate or to train leaders, Lynda provides fun, interactive experiences that make audiences laugh and think at the same time. Proven to deliver speeches and performances that get 10 level reviews from participants, the executives that hire her keep coming back each year. Here are just a few organizations Lynda Foster, CEO of Cortex Leadership Consulting and her team members, have given keynote or customized workshops for: The Haskell Company PenAir Credit Union RAMP Yokohama Tire Manufacturing, Salem, VA Mark Warner Women's Conference Annual Event RBTC - Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council Emerging Technology Conference 757 Accelerate - Norfolk, Virginia Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce Virginia SHRM, Roanoke, Lynchburg, Bridgewater, New River Valley AEP City of Roanoke Leadership Development Classes Excel Truck Group (formerly Virginia Truck Center) Carilion Clinic – Team Building/Values Corvesta/ Delta Dental VA/ Revolv Blue Eagle Credit Union – Annual Event Kissito/PACE/ Innovage Harmony Senior Services Roanoke Rescue Mission EHS Roanoke College Leadership Development Classes Radford University – Student Leadership Keynote Woman’s Possibility Retreat – Massenutten, VA Virginia Fire Safety Services Annual Conference Tuck Chiropractic VCCS – Leadership Conference Goodwill Industries of the Roanoke Valley Home Instead Senior Care Friendship Retirement Better Building Works Back on the Path Job Search Assistance I Can. I Will. Today. Interested in getting Lynda and the Cortex Team for a Keynote Contact Us!

Cortex Culture Kits Cortex Culture Kits Cortex Culture Kits Cortex Culture Kits Everything a leader needs to conduct tailored, relevant, meaningful, and impactful, 1-hour team experiences that build trust and cohesion. How Culture Kits Work How Culture Kits Work How Culture Kits Work How Culture Kits Work All Culture Kits are designed as a six-part series spanning over 12-months. Already been through a series before through a Cortex Workshop? You have the option to mix & match! By mix & matching, you have the opportunity to design a Culture Kit experience for you and your team that addresses your teams needs specifically. Once choosing or mix & matching your Culture Kit follow these steps: 1 Schedule 6 team meetings with your team spanning over 12-months 2 Notify your Cortex Coach on what your Culture Kit includes and that you have scheduled all sessions with your team 3 Two weeks prior to your scheduled meeting, you'll receive an email with the landing page of each month's materials relating to your Culture Kit What We Offer Cortex Culture Kits Grow Your Team! Stressed for Success Stressed for Success is a guided Culture Kit designed to help individuals understand and manage stress and anxiety. It explores the neurological roots of stress, different types of anxiety, and introduces practical tools to "quiet the bully in your brain." Participants engage in short, spaced-out learning modules paired with simple, repeatable exercises aimed at rewiring stress responses. By consistently practicing the techniques, users can expect to reduce anxiety triggers, improve sleep, gain emotional control, and experience a greater sense of calm and clarity. This Culture Kit is available as a six-part series spanning over 12 months. The DISC Culture Kit series guides teams through a dynamic journey of self-awareness, communication mastery, and collaboration using the DISC behavioral model. Over six one-hour sessions, participants learn to identify their own DISC style, understand and adapt to others, and use this awareness to improve teamwork, manage conflict, and give effective feedback. Each session builds on the last through interactive activities, guided discussions, and practical application tools. By the end of the series, team members will be equipped to leverage their behavioral strengths, flex for better connection, and lead with greater emotional intelligence. *Already been through a couple of these? You can mix and match between all culture kits to best fit your teams needs!* Appreciation The 6-part Appreciation Culture Kit is designed to help teams build a stronger, more connected workplace by practicing meaningful, personalized appreciation. Through the lens of the 5 Languages of Appreciation, participants learn how to recognize and express gratitude in ways that truly resonate with their teammates. Each one-hour session blends science-backed insights with practical tools and guided discussions that deepen trust, increase engagement, and reduce turnover. By the end of the series, teams walk away with a shared understanding of how to make appreciation a natural, everyday part of their culture. Conflict Resolution The 6-part Conflict Resolution Culture Kit helps teams develop the skills to navigate tension with clarity, compassion, and confidence. Each session guides participants through a progression—from recognizing personal conflict styles and emotional triggers, to mastering active listening, respectful expression, and behavioral adaptation using DISC. Teams will learn how to transform difficult conversations into growth opportunities and strengthen trust through accountability and repair. This practical, interactive series creates a psychologically safe environment where healthy conflict leads to stronger collaboration and better results. Want More? Check back periodically to see updates to the Culture Kits we offer! Have questions? Feel free to email info@cortexleadership.com

EPIC Library - Technical Orientation and Lunch with a Leader Recordings EPIC Library - Technical Orientation and Lunch with a Leader Recordings EPIC Library - Technical Orientation and Lunch with a Leader Recordings EPIC Library - Technical Orientation and Lunch with a Leader Recordings Cohort 10 Graduation Cohort 11 Orientation Program Overview What to Expect Who to Contact Structure and Format

Are You Ready to Lose Your Leaders? November 19, 2017 Lynda McNutt Foster 86% of companies surveyed by Deloitte University Press say the need is urgent to develop new leaders. Only 13% of organizations say they do an excellent job developing leaders at all levels. The Global Leadership Forecast reported that 85% of executives are not confident in their leadership pipelines. Perhaps organizations have been asking the question: How many people in our organization will we train to be leaders this year? When a better question might be, how many leaders do we need to train this year? The number of leadership positions that need to be filled as the baby boomers and silver generation retire in the next 10 years, can not be filled by Gen Xers . There’s not enough of them to fill those vacant positions. It’s estimated that 24 million new jobs will be created by 2020 as a result of baby boomers retiring. The Director for Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, Anthony P. Carnevale says, “The cognitive skills that will be most in demand for the jobs available in 2020 are leadership, communication, analytics and administration,” Also important research from Gallup discovered that 50% of the workers who had left organizations did so because of their manager . We’re going to need to train a ton of new leaders and the ones we have may not have the skills necessary to retain them. It is clear that succession planning through leadership and employee development, at every level of organizations, is an imperative. To be prepared, we need to consider that the previous models for training and development are not adequate for the tsunami that is ahead of us. The old model for training and development was an event. Each year, a select group of leaders from an organization were sent away in hope that they would come back to their teams and inspire and coach their team member’s to be more engaged and productive in order to reach the corporate goals that the leader wanted to meet. The training was expensive, which was why only a small number from the organization could go, and the programs took the leader away to a fantasy island where the lessons were set in a perfect scenario that was supposed to result in their team easily embracing the new lessons the leader had learned. If the leadership teams went as a group, their team members often felt like their boss, and his/her peers had learned a new and special “language” that was hard to understand and was never fully explained or understood by them. There was a separateness that was created that led to a “them vs us” mentality and resentment sometimes was felt towards the leaders. Even worse was the idea that the leaders being trained separately from their teams somehow had the skill of facilitation in order to “cascade” what they learned to each team member. This was supposed to happen in a seamless way with no continuing, or meaningful, support from the programs that trained the leaders. If support was given, it was usually done in an impersonal way through digital files or for those with a sizeable enough budget, one-on-one coaching. The old system of leadership training was not designed for today’s rapidly changing workplace that requires practical instruction for immediate challenges that face leaders and their teams daily. Leaders must demonstrate agility and so should the sources that help train them. For organizations to be competitive in attracting today’s workforce, they need to adopt a methodology of continuous development for their leaders with the teams they serve. Today, succession planning can be “baked into” the training. In the new model training is not one event, but instead, it is a series of group experiences that continual development and support leaders. By conducting the training this way, there is no loss of investment if a leader or one person on the team leaves, because the development is cascading to all members of the team. By doing this, you are developing your leaders of tomorrow while supporting the ones you have today. Through short, scheduled group sessions, teams, and their leaders learn to listen for understanding, have the difficult or sweaty conversations (as we call them) most people avoid that leads to their ability to work through and past the toughest challenges. The only way to make leadership development and skill building of your highest potentials affordable is to make it an imperative. It must be something that the current leadership in the organization believes to be one of its highest priorities. Saying it is “urgent and important” yet placing it in the “important but not urgent” quadrant will not create solutions that net results for your culture that reflect positively through your brand. When something is urgent and important it gets done. Creative solutions are found to solve it. The best minds in the company come together to collaborate on ideas and how to implement them. The solutions that are created are committed to and executed from the very top – they are not pushed up. When something is urgent and important it gets done and everyone sees the effect on the organization if it doesn’t. Where do you start if you know you need to train your leaders? 1. Determine if your commitment to developing your future leaders and to your succession plan will be in the urgent and important category in 2018. It’s fine if it isn’t, just please don’t say it is when it is not. Your mangers will notice the misalignment and more harm than good will come from it. To identify whether it truly is in the “urgent and important” category take a look at the budget you have set for it and the time you have made to create a vision, brainstorm ideas, develop a plan, and execute it. If you haven’t set money and time aside for these things, it’s either not in the urgent and important category now or you are throwing spaghetti at the wall and expecting it to stick. 2. Discover the answer to these questions: How many leaders do we need to have trained in 2018 and why to ensure we are ready for our changing workforce in 2019, 2020 and beyond? What are the leadership competencies they need to be trained in? How will we determine which competencies individual leaders are weak in? What are the best ways to be sure any training those leaders receive will be practiced? What are some of the modern methods of training that we can use that will have an immediate effect on the productivity of the leaders and their teams? How will we make performance development a continuous practice for our leaders and the teams they serve? How dated are the models we are using to train our contemporary workforce? What will success look like from the training that we are going to do? What type of support will be necessary, after the training, to ensure that it sticks? How will we measure the success of the training? Can the training stick without our (meaning the top tier leadership group) participation in it? Would it be most effective to train the leaders with their teams or have them trained separately? Does the brand image of the products or services we offer support the type of culture we are building within our leadership teams? Would you recommend to your best friend, if they are qualified, that they come to work for your company or organization? Make the time to consider these questions and have the sweaty conversations necessary to answer them this week, rather than next. Before the end of this year, instead of next. In 2018 instead of 2019. Your biggest competitors are doing this type of hard work that will lead to changing their corporate culture’s brand in order to reach prosperous outcomes. Cortex is working with organizations, right now, to ensure their profitable outcomes for 2018. We’d like to work with you.

Cortex Leadership Consulting uses proven methods and individual consultation to make lasting hiring choices. Talent Acquisition Talent Acquisition Talent Acquisition Talent Acquisition assess We assess your team and the available talent pool to learn what you need and what's available. advertise Google, LinkedIn, Indeed - you name it, we're on it to find and attract the right candidates. interview We screen and interview candidates, then work with you to identify the cream of the crop. onboard From day 1 through 90, we're there to help. Iterative check ins and coaching help us smooth out those onboarding bumps. Follow up Continuous improvement takes communication. We wrap up each engagement before switching back into gear for the next challenge. Our unique blend of advanced behavioral assessments, scientific rigor, and innovative interviewing techniques ensures we match the right talent to the right roles, driving success and growth in your organization. Our iterative, five-prong process ensures that we fully support your hiring needs. Cortex works to identify your team's unique dynamic and find the right person to fit the culture, not just the posting. Tools We Use Programs We Run Problems We Solve

Training with Cortex Creating Leadership Teams Creating leadership teams that communicate effectively with coworkers, clients and customers. Mapping and Measuring Results Training leaders to map, measure, and design their time for maximum results. Establishing Proactive Ownership Recognizing and stopping the lack of accountability within teams, departments, and divisions and creating a culture of ownership and proactivity. Identifying Talent Identifying and hiring the best talent to fill the right seats on your organizational bus to ensure desired outcomes are achieved. Developing Agile Teams Developing more agile project teams that can innovate, plan, and execute important initiatives. Closing Skill and Resource Gaps Identifying and closing the gaps in skills and resources to enable your organization to grow at its maximum potential. Tools We Use Programs We Run Problems We Solve