Beyond the Classroom – CBL Leadership Dev. Program

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Leadership development often begins in a room, through coaching, discussion and reflection.

But the real test comes when those lessons are taken back to the workplace.

In part four of our special series, Leading Forward, we look at how Cable Bahamas’ year-long leadership development program connects to the day-to-day work of leading teams, serving customers and keeping communities connected.

For Dion Cox, leadership is not an abstract idea.

As Outside Plant Supervisor for Eleuthera, his work touches services families, businesses and communities depend on every day.

And in a role where issues can come up and change quickly, leadership often comes down to how well a team responds.

Dion Cox – Supervisor, Eleuthera Outside Plant, Cable Bahamas

“It gets challenging at times, but nothing that we can’t overcome with my team. We put our heads together, and we get the job done.”

That is where the leadership development program begins to move beyond theory.

Participants are not only discussing leadership in a workshop setting. They are being challenged to connect those lessons to the responsibilities they carry every day.

International leadership consultant Ernesto Uscher says the connection between leadership and results is central to the program.

Ernesto Uscher – International Leadership Consultant

“The idea is that we started to establish clear metrics, trying to understand the clear connection between leadership and results so that leadership is not an intangible, so that leadership is not a soft skill. Skill so that leadership is a power skill so that we can really make sure that leadership drives the right results the right way.”

And those results, Uscher says, are not only measured internally.

For leaders like Javier Bowe, Director of B2B Sales, the connection between employees and customers is direct.

He says when leaders listen to the people closest to the customer, the business is better positioned to respond.

Javier Bowe – Director, B2B, Cable Bahamas

“Well, if you collaborate with the employees, that means that you have your ear to the ground because your employees are who deal with your customers on a day-to-day basis. So the more feedback you get from them and act on it, the better the company would be and more successful.”

It is a practical view of leadership, one that connects coaching, communication and decision-making to the customer experience.

For Stacy Johnson, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis and Data Governance, being trusted with greater responsibility has also shaped the way she sees leadership and growth.

Stacy Johnson – Director, Financial Planning, Analysis and Data Governance, Cable Bahamas

“As a professional, it truly meant that my hard work was seen by others and to be given the opportunity to manage both Cable Bahamas and Alive has been truly a blessing. Because I see myself as a pretty shy person. But clearly, they saw the hard work that I was putting in, the work ethic that I had, the ability to work with teams. It meant that they put trust in what I was able to do.”

Different roles. Different islands. Different responsibilities.

But across the leadership development program, one lesson continues to build: leadership is not proven by what happens in the session.

It is proven by what happens after it, when teams have to solve problems, meet goals and deliver for the people they serve.

Dion Cox – Supervisor, Eleuthera Outside Plant, Cable Bahamas

“The high I would take away from being a leader in my leadership role is us meeting our objectives for last year and the year before, most of them being able to execute a plan that was started from the beginning of the year and seeing it through to fruition. That would be the major thing.”