Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Ford.
Hi Janet, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Leadership with Purpose and Passion (LWPAP), LLC (Janet Ford, CEO)
When you think about a blockage in something such as a pipe, on a street or even an artery, the first thing that comes to mind is to remove it! The same scenario applies to the workplace when we think of “people-problems” that slow down or block the flow of the performance, production, and profits. You want to get rid of or resolve the issues as quickly as possible. Leadership with Purpose and Passion is the solution to “People Pains” in the workplace. We help get rid of the blockages by empowering leaders to lead more effectively.
Leadership with Purpose and Passion was birthed from a belief that every employee, from the janitor to the CEO, deserves to work in a healthy environment. Most people will spend between 30 to 50 years of their life working in some form of establishment to earn a living, whether it’s being an entrepreneur or working under someone else. Unfortunately, the percentage of unhealthy work environments is higher than it’s ever been despite efforts taken over the years to address the ongoing EEOC issues such as discrimination and harassment.
LWPAP is a Minority Women Owned Small Business that provides customized training and support to proactive organizational teams desiring to provide a healthy work environment for their employees. We specifically provide practical leadership and interpersonal skill training to supervisors and mid-level managers that enhances personal performance, improves employee productivity, and ultimately increases company revenue.
What We Believe
LWPAP believes that a healthy and productive work environment is created by effective leadership and it’s imperative for today’s leaders to share their knowledge, skills, and abilities with the next generation.
Why is This Important
Leadership training and development, first off, is a growing industry. The growth is attributed to the retiring baby boomer generation and the influx of millennials moving into those key positions. Moreover, due to the increase in workplace diversity, leadership and sensitivity training is crucial for employers who want to survive in the global workplace and realize the importance of providing a safe space for their employees.
What We Do
LWPAP offers soft-skill training to improve the performance of workplace leaders.
Our Goal
Our goal is to support and assist leaders in providing a healthy and productive workplace for all employees.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Establishing LWPAP as a business, registering as a federal and state contractor, and developing the basic marketing strategy didn’t present the greatest challenge. Luckily, going through the process of establishing LWPAP as a business and developing the basic marketing strategy wasn’t as much of a challenge as I anticipated. However, the greatest challenge was more emotional than physical. Going from being employed to an independent business owner required extreme personal adjustments.
As an employee, even if you’re the CEO of an organization, certain decisions and directions are almost always coming from someone else. But as the sole owner of a business, I realized that everything started and ended with me and that my responsibilities were that of my own! Going out alone made me anxious but willing to learn more about how I could open myself up to various business opportunities. To overcome this challenge, I began to associate with other business owners. I listened to hundreds of one-minute “elevator pitches” and attended business conferences and workshops on setting up various business strategies. This slowly helped build the courage that I currently have now.
Another obstacle I faced was effectively marketing LWPAP. I had to constantly and confidently pitch to upper management within organizations that it’s better to actively train their team on soft skills before issues develop versus trying to put out the fires before teaching proper solutions.
As a former government supervisor and manager, the ability to effectively utilize soft skills was essential to minimizing conflict, resolving workplace issues at the lowest level and maintaining cohesive teams. Soft-skill training is more effective and better received when offered before problems occur because then it’s not perceived as a punishment or an effort to bandage real underlying issues instead of addressing them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Leadership with Purpose and Passion (LWPAP), LLC, a Minority Women Owned Small Business and fast-growing full-service management consulting firm located in the Northern Virginia area since 2010. LWPAP customizes leadership training to support organizational teams desiring to establish and/or maintain a healthy work environment for their employees. The primary focus is on helping both government and non-government organizations improve performance, productivity and profit by addressing “people issue” in the workplace.
LWPAP recognizes that leadership training and development for first and mid-level supervisors and managers is a growing industry. The growth is attributed to the retiring baby boomer generation, cultural changes and the influx of millennials into the workforce, acquiring more leadership roles than ever before. The demand for leadership training has also increased due to the growing diverse and cultural differences in the workplace. The stereotypical workplace is a thing of the past and many organizations are struggling to accept and embrace the new diversified work culture. LWPAP is prepared to help solve this problem by offering practical leadership training to address and effectively resolve issues, restore and maintain productive workplaces.
The training services that LWPAP provides directly address the challenges and difficulties management and employees face as they work to transition from past managerial practices to workplace environments that embrace new skills, talents and abilities of our diverse workforce. We understand that the changes are inevitable and in order for organizations to be successful, leadership must accept the cultural changes and strategically work to incorporate them in current and future planning.
Delivery Methods
Trainings are delivered in conference, workshop and/or classroom settings utilizing blended adult learning approaches. PowerPoint presentations, role-plays, team exercises, open Q & A discussions, text polling, and video clips are utilized to create interactive, positive and practical learning experiences. Course duration can be tailored into 4 to 6-hour sessions depending on the need of the audience.
Group Sizes
● Large group (more than 80) training sessions are conducted in seminar format or auditorium style with little or no audience interaction with the speakers. Materials used in these sessions are provided to the company in advance or distributed as attendees arrive.
● Medium and small group (small 10-49, medium 50-80) training sessions are either seminar or workshop style and include interaction with the speakers and participants. Materials used are distributed during the sessions.
Platform
LWPAP addresses groups through conferences, workshops, classroom settings and one-on-one consulting. Better insight and options for achieving success are accomplished through sharing experiences and providing practical suggestions for addressing workplace issues.
Core Competencies
The following the core competencies for LWPAP.
• Over 30 years of substantial and varied experience in managerial and leadership roles
• Offer practical leadership training and consultation based on higher learning and experiences
• Great reputation with current and former contract customers
• Pool of professional resources available for outsourcing requested training not offered
• Strong desire to make a positive difference in today’s work environment
• Flexibility to address various leadership topics in short notice
• Low overhead costs = reasonable cost for services rendered
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Everything we do in life carries some form of risk and being a business owner definitely creates numerous risk opportunities. First, we must ask ourselves: “how much we are willing to risk in our situation. Fortunately, LWPAP has experienced little risk compared to other companies for several reasons. One, there is little to no overhead expenses because it’s a “home based” business versus one with external office space and full-time employee expenses. Secondly, the work is primarily performed by the owner who is the subject matter expert for most of the training that is developed and delivered. When other expert resources are needed, they are hired as 1099’s only for specific projects. Thirdly, LWPAP started as and remains a debt-free business which significantly reduces the risk of financial disaster.
I do believe that some risks can be positive when it is monitored, such as buying and selling stock. The more knowledgeable you are regarding the risks, the more control you have over the potential outcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: lwpap.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lwpap/
- Facebook: facebook.com/lwpap
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LWPAP
Image Credits:
Janet A, Ford, CEO Leadership with Purpose and Passion, LLC Company Logo
