June 26, 2020
The leadership development program at Grand Lake Casino (GLC) is a disciplined initiative, focused on creating courageous leaders that identify and achieve their personal purpose and contribute in meaningful ways to the growth and development of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation. The program is executed through workshops and associated curriculum that educates and informs leaders on the value of growth and outward mindset, performance measurement, accountability, recognition, coaching skills, communications framework, operational best practices and keystone behaviors of exemplary leaders. Through this program, property managers are provided the tools to build high-performance teams while creating and sustaining movement.
The GLC leadership development program is a blend of 1-on-1 personal development and team-based learning that uses live performance improvement initiatives as the learning lab. For personal development, participants in the leadership development program complete personality assessments and work with executive coaches to understand and explore their individual strengths and challenges while identifying opportunities to lead in more effective ways.
The team-based learning takes place as facilitated workshops that initiate actions that move the business forward. Many of the improvements seen around the casino today are ideas and strategies spurred from these discussions. Some of the most important work undertaken by the leadership team at Grand Lake Casino has been clearly identifying why the casino exists and the experiences they are striving to provide for team members, guests and the Nation. The team has a clear purpose and is committed to advancing their purpose through very specific behaviors.
The leadership at Grand Lake Casino is clear about their purpose. They believe “Together, we will grow a thriving community of doing our best work. Every day.” They go about achieving this purpose by:
- Supporting one another
- Being kind & respectful
- Exhibiting exemplary leadership
- Facilitating intentional communication
- Recognizing accomplishing
- Being gritty about the details
- Staying committed to learning and growing
The clear purpose and defined commitments not only lay out their reason to exist, but how they will go about their daily work and interactions with one another to create the best possible experience for team members.
The team is disciplined and intentional about their efforts and have a creed of “where focus goes, energy flows.” Through team-based learning, leaders learn how to innovate, have difficult conversations and collaborate on projects that address complex challenges. The program includes role-playing and coaching ...learning how to guide others through challenges.
How does leadership development impact the casino?
We sat down with the leadership team at GLC and asked them about the overall impact of the program on their individual leadership presence and team agility. Present in the group was General Manager Dusty Logan, Assistant General Manager Nick Birdsong, and Marketing Manager Tedra Hudson.
Tedra Hudson shared: “The program has added cohesiveness to the team. The communication and collaboration and flow of the various departments works now, and the challenge of executing large projects goes so much smoother as a result. It has given each of us more grace for one another, and being closer to our teammates and knowing what they are facing at any given time. Allows us to adjust and help one another out when we need it.”
Nick Birdsong commented: “While we each have our own individual goal it reminds us we have one larger big goal together as a team. It is not as individualized as it was previously. We see the problems as a team, where we win together by helping one another out. It has created a deeper sense of trust, learning to see things from a different perspective, dropping our bias and embracing one another as people.“
Dusty Logan emphasized: “We have learned through our monthly leadership workshops how to communicate and engage with one another in a healthy way, even in conflict situations. Our leader-to-leader engagement has improved dramatically and the sense of team here is something I have never experienced before. It’s impacted our culture and positively impacted our team members because we are able to serve them as leaders in a more meaningful way. We value the differing perspectives of each other and we are much more strategic about our decisions. The growth and performance of our team over the last three years has been tremendous.”
Why is it important to invest in our leaders?
Logan shared: “Being a tribal member in leadership, I have learned there is a significant opportunity to learn from others’ and that being a lifetime learner is central to being an effective leader. Continuing to build my leadership skills helps me be in service to more people and makes me more equipped to help the people I am fortunate enough to lead through their challenges. I enjoy getting better at the things I do. Becoming a better leader allows me to contribute in a more meaningful way to my family, my community and my company. When I started this program, I thought it was only about being a better manager. Going through this process, I realize I am learning to grow and understand more about who I am as a person and learner, and how those things relate that to my professional life.”
Birdsong contributed: “Our training teaches us that as a manager, our roles affect a lot of people outside of me. It is my responsibility to pull wisdom from leadership... I’ve never seen this many tribal members in management or supervisory roles and I take pride in the fact our enterprise is empowering us all as individuals and leaders.”
GLC management believes that as the organization grows, so should the leadership skills required to scale with the organization, gaining additional wisdom, perspective and insight on how to be even more strategic and effective for the enterprise. To thrive now and sustain well into the future, our businesses must move with the same speed as our challenges.