Todd Wangsgard
Enterprising, results-driven, and grounded are words that describe Todd Wangsgard. He brings 24 years of leadership and organizational development experience to his clients.
Clients value his ability to create clarity out of the business fog that prevents most companies from enabling greatness and developing the capabilities of their associates.
Todd has excellent professional experience. He was Senior Manager of Training, Talent Management, and Communications for ATK Lake City, a government-owned, company-operated manufacturing center in Independence, Missouri. He organized the training department, developed and implemented all levels of leadership curriculum, and oversaw the operation’s succession planning and teambuilding strategies.
As the Manager of Professional Development for ATK, a $4 billion aerospace and defense company, Todd led the creation of employee and leadership assessment and development initiatives for operations in 23 states.
Todd worked for Intermountain Healthcare, Inc. in Salt Lake City, Utah, the intermountain west’s largest physician, clinic and hospital network. He founded IHC University and managed the implementation of curriculum as well as the administrative team of IHCU.
An industry cross section of Todd’s clients represent higher education, health care, insurance, manufacturing, aerospace, and defense.
Todd holds a PhD from Walden University in Leadership and Organizational Change. He has also earned his MBA from the University of Phoenix and a B.A. from Weber State University (Ogden, Utah) in communications.
Todd is affiliated with a number of professional organizations and holds certifications to teach a number of programs. He is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a Master Facilitator for Achieve Global, and a Certified Professional Behavior Analyst (DISC).
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FranklinCovey Consultant Blogs | Todd Wangsgard | Covey
Leadership and Trust – Keyword: “Confidence”
This is the first part of a three-part series on trust by Dr. Todd Wangsgard, to be featured in the Texas/Oklahoma FranklinCovey blog.
Author of The Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey, defines trust as “confidence born of the character and competence of an individual or organization.” This simple yet complete definition of an otherwise squishy subject takes into account both the feel-good side of trust in character as well as the practical side of one’s reliability in competence. Both character and competence lend confidence to those who would consider following any leader. And more than ever before, trust (or confidence) is sought after by an increasingly globally savvy audience of human beings who see the impact that geo-political activities are having on their individual well-being.
SMRC (as we affectionately call the author at FranklinCovey) also boldly asserts that, “trust is the key competency of the new global economy.” Again, as you replace “trust” in that sentence with “confidence,” one can see how the currency of trust is not just a “nice-to-have,” but rather an absolute imperative for leadership effectiveness under any circumstances. It is key, because without it, business plans, corporate promises, financial metrics and reports all come under the scrutiny of one question: “Yes, but what should we believe?”
The Speed of Trust book and classroom experience offer several models of thinking to better understand and define trust that break the subject down into understandable water cooler discussions. The Four Cores of Self Trust that subdivide Character into one’s integrity and intent and Competence into capabilities and results. The Five Waves of Trust that any leader must assess and develop within, including Self Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational (or team) Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust. The 13 Behaviors of High Trust, including Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Right Wrongs, Get Better and nine others.
I recently worked with a successful CEO in the manufacturing and fulfillment business who has truly lived out the kind of trustworthy behavior described by SMRC. He has worked side-by-side (while the CEO) with frontline employees on the manufacturing line to learn what they do and to help keep costs down during a recent recession (Show Loyalty, Deliver Results, Confront Reality, Practice Accountability). He has made an effort to get to know every single employee in the company and remembers to send them a hand-written birthday greeting each year (Demonstrate Respect, Show Loyalty). While announcing a 15% pay cut for himself, he asked all exempt associates to accept a 7½% pay cut to help off-set their losses or agree to termination with a 3-months’ salary severance package (at their higher rate of pay). No one left and all were subsequently rewarded with “back-pay” on their lost wages after a couple successful intervening years and given a sizeable bonus (Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Show Loyalty, Get Better, Keep Commitments).
The confidence that Stephen writes about and that I’ve witnessed in industry over the past 25+ years starts with a leader who has genuine confidence in himself or herself and in the associates who choose to follow. Give them a leader they can trust (the Self Trust wave) and you have a foundation upon which you will build lasting relationships, enormously successful organizations, and a brand that generates intense loyalty and growth.
FranklinCovey Poised to Reinvent Productivity
Get ready!
This fall the geniuses in our Product Development team will be consumed by FranklinCovey’s biggest product launch in history. We are set to, once again, redefine the field of time management. Not since the ubiquitous Franklin Planner covered the globe in seven-ring binders has such a movement had more impact on personal and professional productivity.
The 5 Choices
Yes, that’s the name of the course. Of course, the number 7 still shines in the halls of FC, but 5 now gets a whole new following, positioned to reshape how people think about information, technology, balance, priorities and renewal.
One of the books that was researched to create The 5 Choices is Schwartz, Gomes and McCarthy’s “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The four forgotten needs that energize performance.” The authors not only reinforce Dr. Covey’s four dimensions of sharpening one’s saw – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – but they offer new research on the increased productivity that results from regular breaks in a sustained effort in order to maximize focus, concentration and yield. Read it!
I’m looking forward to the certification event I’ll be attending for full-time FC consultants in Salt Lake on July 18-20. I’m sure I’ll want to share more details with you then. But for now, plan on attending a complimentary worldwide launch event in your hometown. Here’s the insider link to the pre-registration site. We are conducting 170 of them across the globe. Theres ’s sure to be one close to you.
Let your first choice be to not miss out!
Who Got You Here?
While on a recent business trip to Alabama, I found myself free for a day in the middle of a week’s consulting. Remembering that my aunt had told me we have ancestors in Alabama, I decided to ‘look them up.’ The ones I’m aware of are all dead. But why not connect with my past – see who I might dig up. (poor word choice)
With a family tree in one hand and the steering wheel in the other, I proceeded south to Montgomery, Alabama and then west to Fort Deposit and Mt. Willing, where many members of my dad’s mom’s family once lived. While underway, I thought I’d call my aunt, just to get any more tidbits about the family that may help me find something, someone. She explained how she’s always imagined that our forbearers were wealthy plantation owners, lounging about their estates sipping julep. She then conceded that it is more likely we hail from a family of back-woods red necks. Upon winding my way to the first of two cemeteries, I surmise her second theory is probably more accurate.
I quickly found the resting place of my great-great-great-grandma, Charlotte Pace! While standing over her grave marker and that of other extended family, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect, gratitude, even reverence, for what they did to survive, thrive, and ultimately get me here.
This ponderous moment caused me to reflect on the many people who have personally influenced me for the better – my favorite 4th grade teacher, a little league football coach, my mentor and scout camp director, countless friends and family, many great bosses and work associates, and of course my amazing parents. In their own way, each of them made a contribution to me – some of them on purpose, others by accident or fate. Either way, I’m grateful to everyone who’s helped make me who I am.
Each person was/is a leader – a person of great influence.
Leadership is about “finding your voice and helping others to find theirs.” Dr. Covey calls this The 8th Habit “Leadership really is the enabling art. Great leaders enable their people to produce far more than they could dictate themselves. Leadership is the highest of the arts, simply because it enables all the other arts and professions to work.”
Who brought you to where you are? What kind of leadership did they display? What kind of leader are you to others? So you know who got you here; now, who are you getting there?
How Are Your 7 Habits These Days?
It’s always good to check in from time to time and see how well you’re living The 7 Habits. Plus, I just discovered this nifty little self assessment that anyone can take! It’s a PDF document. Feel free to share it with friends, family, and colleagues. Then, dig back into Dr. Covey’s book (now in its 21st year!) to find out what tips might help you boost your scores. Or, better yet, find an opportunity to participate in The 7 Habits Signature two- or three-day course.
Be Proactive and Sharpen the Saw were my high scores. Seek First to Understand and Synergize were weak points.
Next, I’m going to ask others to rate me on a separate copy of the assessment. It will be interesting to see how their perspective matches or differs from mine.
Take the assessment and then come back and tell me what you learned!
Principles Are the Permanent Bail-Out
As congressmen contemplate how to stimulate a stubbornly sluggish economy, you already know the answers to recession-proofing your career and life. I can’t tell you how many times our FranklinCovey principles have crossed my mind this past week as we watch lawmakers work towards compromise.
- Create Transparency
- Clarify Expectations
- Right Wrongs
- Get Results
- Talk Straight
- Listen First
- Keep Commitments
Just to name a few.
When the Conference Board released its 2008 CEO Challenge report (Financial Crisis Edition), I was struck by the sudden rise in rank, from 34th place to 9th, of the respondents’ perceived need for more Business Confidence.