John Robison, COO, KTGY

Talk Description
KTGY’s comprehensive professional development program, ELEVATE, has fueled individual and organizational growth, fostering an environment of connection, trust, and a passion for learning. John will delve into this journey, sharing insights on the program's inception, evolution, and the broad-reaching impact it's had on the company, the participants, and himself. Discover the strategies and actionable steps that have made ELEVATE a model for professional advancement, offering ideas and lessons for attendees to apply within their own organizations. Join us to learn how nurturing talent and promoting continuous learning can become key drivers of growth in any organization.

Speaker Bio
John Robison is the COO for KTGY - one of the nation's foremost residential design firms, and innovators of places that people call home. John began his career with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, working in the practice side of the industry before moving into management roles through his affinity for technology and operations. With an MBA from Chapman University, he combines his education and experience in business and architecture to help lead KTGY’s strategic growth activities, process improvements, and leadership development programs, while providing oversight for the various operational functions of this large, national firm. John is passionate about the built environment and the architect’s role as a social facilitator, and strives to advance that conversation as a member of the AIA LFRT and past President of the AEC IT Leaders organization.

Talk Timeline

Introduction
00:30 Question: “What is more important than this?”
00:49 Introduction to KTGY
01:51 We All Need Good Leaders
02:54 The ChatGPT Outline for a Business Leadership Development Program
03:20 Elevate Leadership Program Outline

How We Got Here
04:08 The Journey to Get Here
04:44 The Founders Legacy: Generation to Generation Leadership
05:25 Shareholders: Passing Leadership Along
07:02 Do we have the leaders?
07:50 Natural and High Potential Leaders
09:02 Better Leaders and Managers = Better Outcomes
09:31 Why Not? (Many Reasons)
10:49 Other Training Options
11:40 Crowdsourcing Ideas
13:45 The Important: Why We Should Do It Ourselves

The Program
15:28 What It Looks Like
16:14 The Learning Environment: Cohort-Based Learning
17:10 Four Topic Areas
18:12 Continuous Reading, Monthly Virtual Meetings, In Person Intensives
19:16 John + Tricia’s Involvement
20:16 Example Schedule for Intensives
20:53 Example Learning Objectives
22:22 Example Experience Objectives
25:32 You Get Out What You Put In
27:09 Experiential Reflections

Outcomes
29:24 Graduating Classes
31:10 What We See and Hear
34:31 Evolution and Growth
36:07 It Changed Me
37:00 Insights, Realizations, and Takeaways

Christopher Parsons of Knowledge Architecture interviews John Robison and Donovan Helminiak of KTGY at KA Connect 2024.

Q+A Timeline

00:00 What are the two other Elevate programs you are pursuing?
01:46 Donovan, who are you and why are you here?
02:07 How do you handle chargeability with such a large time commitment?
03:10 Are people selected for the program or do they apply?
04:24 Why did you want to join the program?
04:55 How was it different than you expected?
05:22 Did you see a significant change in how participants led their teams in productive confrontation?
08:00 Are you happy with the pacing?
08:59 What is the conversation like with applicants who don’t get accepted?
10:19 Are there any common reasons an applicant is not ready for the program?
10:53 How broad a net do you cast when inviting applicants?
12:46 What are you getting out of the program that has helped you evolve the firm?
14:30 Have you thought about how to sustain the program after you and Tricia move on to do something else?
15:43 Donovan, how have you changed as a leader?