SHAWN DEVINE · LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Most managers were promoted for being great at the work. Nobody taught them how to lead the people doing it.

I design and run leadership programs, team sessions and presentation training, mostly for professional services firms. You'll work with me directly, from the first phone call to the last session.

Book a 30-minute call See what I work on

Shawn Devine running a leadership session at a flip chart

You'll deal with one person from start to finish.

The person who asks the questions on our first call is the person who designs your program, and the person who stands up in front of your team to run it. Nothing gets lost in a handoff, because there isn't one.

What to expect

I start with your people, not my slides

Before I design anything, I talk to the people involved and find out what's actually getting in their way. The program comes out of that, which is why no two of them look alike.

Your people do the work, not the listening

I keep the lecture short. People practice on situations they're facing right now, with the colleagues they face them with, and they leave with something they'll use on Monday.

I'll tell you if I'm the wrong fit

I collaborate with Loeb Leadership, ALG, Training Edge and P2Excellence. If your project needs something I don't do, I'll say so and point you to someone who does.

WHAT I WORK ON

The problems firms usually call me about.

More on the practice

Participants working at tables during a DLS workshop

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTManagers who were never taught to manageNew managers still doing the work instead of leading it, and experienced ones who put off the hard conversation until it turns into a performance problem. Usually that's a cohort program over several months. Sometimes it's one well-aimed workshop.Leadership development TEAM EFFECTIVENESSTeams where the real conversation happens after the meetingMaybe it's a new leadership team that hasn't learned how to disagree, or a group coming off a merger or a rough year. I start by figuring out what's actually wrong, because the fix for a trust problem isn't the fix for a clarity problem.Team effectiveness PRESENTATION & FACILITATIONPeople who have to hold a roomRunning a room is almost never taught and almost always assumed. I work with partners preparing for the pitch that matters, leaders who have to deliver hard news well, and internal trainers who want to run their own programs with confidence.Presentation & facilitation

ASSESSMENTS I USE

A profile is a starting point, not a solution.

I'm an Authorized Associate for Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors®, certified in both, and they show up in a lot of my work. The profile gives people a shared language. The workshop is where that language turns into different conversations the following Monday.

When I run the session, everyone's profile is included.

See the assessments I use

Everything DiSC^®A shared language for how people prefer to work and communicate. I run Workplace®, Management, Agile EQ™, Work of Leaders® and Productive Conflict as workshops for individual contributors, managers and leadership teams.DiSC workshops The Five Behaviors^®Built on Patrick Lencioni's model. It gives an intact team an honest read on trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results, and a plan for working on them together.Five Behaviors team sessions

HOW I WORK

Three ways to work with me.

Not sure which one you need? That's what the first call is for.

Custom DesignNothing off the shelf fits what you need. I'll build the program around your people, your calendar and the way your firm actually works.Expert FacilitationYou already have a program, yours or someone else's. I'll deliver it, and adjust it in the room when the room needs it.Build Internal CapacityYou want this capability inside your firm. I'll coach your facilitators and help you build programs you can run yourselves, so the work keeps going after I leave.

TRACK RECORD

In more than twenty years of doing this, I've worked with Fortune 100 companies and small nonprofits, law and engineering firms, universities and pharmaceutical companies. A lot of them have asked me back.

CURRICULUM: Designed original programs for Emory University's Center for Lifelong Learning
INTERNATIONAL: Facilitated teams on several continents
CERTIFIED IN: Everything DiSC®, The Five Behaviors®, EQ-i 2.0®, Change Style Indicator® and Leader Network Diagnostic
EDUCATION: Psychology degree from NC State. Master of Education from the University of Georgia.

ABOUT SHAWN

Who you'll be working with.

I've spent more than twenty years designing and running leadership development, much of it for firms full of people who are very smart, very busy and not especially patient with training. That shaped how I work. I keep the lecture short, build every session around real situations, and make sure people leave with something they'll actually use.

I'm based in Atlanta and work with teams all over the country.

More about me

Tell me what's going on.

Most work starts with a 30-minute call. You tell me what you're trying to fix, I'll ask a lot of questions, and by the end we'll both know whether I'm the right person for it. If I'm not, I'll tell you who is.

Book a 30-minute call