Corporate Human Capital Development
The founders of Frieda Partners have been called upon to analyze the personality profiles of top performers in a variety of different fields including: fund management, trading, security analysis, risk analysis, private equity, sales, professional sports and coaching in order to add a level of precision to the recruitment, hiring and execution process.
The firm has been engaged in leadership development for industry leading executive teams. The development work focuses on improving individual self-awareness and self-regulation under stress and integrating the results to enhance group functioning.
Effective development at the individual, group, and organizational levels requires learning new ways of thinking and behaving. The six-point program provided includes: learning, feedback, reflection, awareness, acceptance, and action.
Advisory Services Designed to Improve The Hiring Process
The firm is recognized for adding valuable insight and an extra level of precision to the hiring process.
The Birkman Method assessment is one of the instruments Frieda applies in this work. The Birkman is the interface between individuals and their occupational and social functioning. It pre-supposes a social and occupational universe in which there is a dynamic interplay of forces. The Birkman results designate different aspects of a person’s profile that advance or recede based upon these forces. For instance, when one’s occupational strengths and motivational needs are aligned to the job requirement and complementary to the group, performance is enhanced. If not, effectiveness and performance recede. The Birkman assesses each individual’s core interests, organizational strengths, preferred operating styles, underlying motivational needs and potential stress behaviors. It is internationally recognized as the most sophisticated instrument of its type and was partially funded by the National Science Foundation.
Frieda applies the Birkman Method to understand the individual and composite profile of an executive team. The Birkman confirms the organizational and interpersonal components of group strength and exposes areas that may need to be augmented. The data are interpreted for management and recommendations are provided to improve the team’s operational effectiveness.
The profiles of candidates considered for open positions are analyzed and interpreted to provide management with immediate insight into the people they are interviewing that would typically take two years of observational experience to obtain. Frieda insures that its clients understand the distinction between how candidates “present” themselves; who they “truly” are; and, how they will ultimately perform and fit.
Leadership Team Development
A number of defining behavioral forces are at play within each leadership team. Teams reveal a tendency toward one of the following three primary behavioral operating profiles: constructive, passive/defensive or aggressive/defensive. Constructive teams operate in a collective orientation toward achievement, are humanistic and encouraging to one another, and feel a strong affiliation and respect for each individual member. Aggressive/defensive groups exhibit undertones of opposition toward certain members and are typically weakened by individuals who have a need for power and domination. A passive/defensive group consists of individuals who are more concerned about their personal security so they tend to be more dependent on one another, stick to the “status quo” and avoid confrontation.
Frieda’s principals preside over immersive survival simulation cases developed by noted behavioral psychologists, Dr. Robert A Cooke and Dr. J. Clayton Lafferty, founders of Human Synergistics International, to assess the underlying dynamics of executive team functioning. Once a team is assessed, the principals explain the productive or counterproductive impact of the group’s style on group productivity; describe ways in which the different individuals within the team influence the group’s productivity; and identify and recommend steps that can be taken to improve the team’s operating effectiveness.
How It Works
Each simulation presents a scenario, such as being stranded in the desert, and then challenges the team to rank various objects they require for survival.
The exercises ensure that all team members have the same level of knowledge about the artificial situation (not very much), meaning they must rely on their ability to set objectives, analyze and evaluate alternative strategies, and finally choose a solution that will best meet the objective.
Team members complete the exercise individually and then as a team. The results present a measure of the group’s ability to perform as a team. Following the exercise each member of the group completes an in-depth survey – “The Group Style Inventory” questionnaire developed by Dr. Clayton Lafferty.
Frieda synthesizes observational data and the Group Style Inventory results to present the team’s profile and compares it to that of a high functioning team. A twelve-dimensional “Circumplex” is plotted to reveal the forces at play that drive group performance and effectiveness. Some forces within each group are effective and productive. Some are not. Whether effective or not, the composite results describe what’s happening inside a team and provide a direction for change, development and productivity enhancement.
Representative Clients
The principals have applied these corporate services to hedge funds, private equity firms, businesses, professional athletes and Division 1 athletic programs. A representative list of clients working with the principal includes: Fortress, Vardon Capital, Litespeed Partners, Sterling Partners, Greg Norman Enterprises, WNBA Enterprises, Foundation Recovery Network, M. Martin, Baltusrol Golf Club, Preston Trail Golf Club, Whisper Rock Golf Club, Brook Hollow Golf Club and Wichita Country Club.