Tribal leadership training

Empower your organization across tribal government and enterprises with leaders who drive profound change with Wipfli’s Leadership Essentials development program. 

We don’t just teach leadership concepts. We help you cultivate leaders capable of creating positive change, fostering engagement and strengthening culture and performance.  

The Leadership Essentials program  

At Wipfli, we believe one of the most important responsibilities of tribal leaders is developing their people. When leaders invest in people, they become more engaged, more independent and grow in their capacity to fulfill their role. 

Our leadership development program is designed to help emerging and established leaders move from day-to-day management to effective leadership:  

The Leadership Essentials Core-7 modules include:  

1. Defining leadership and being an authentic leader 
2. Communicating effectively 
3. Partnering for performance 
4. Delivering feedback 
5. Coaching for growth 
6. Delegating with purpose 
7. Building a high-performing team 

We also offer four Lead the business modules to support the Core-7:  

• Change leadership 
• Leading through ambiguity 
• Being an inclusive leader 
• Success through effective meetings 

Delivered by tribal experienced Wipfli practitioners, the program combines in-person and virtual learning to help leaders strengthen communication, navigate challenges, build trust, address conflict and lead organizational change with confidence. 

Who is Leadership Essentials for? 

This program brings together your newly minted leaders, council members, seasoned mid-level managers, and upper-level executives so they work as a team to drive transformative change, navigate the complexities of leadership with confidence, and achieve benchmarks for success. 

Strong leadership requires alignment across tribal councils, enterprise boards, executive teams and departments. Wipfli helps tribal organizations strengthen collaboration, accountability and decision-making so leaders can move priorities forward with greater clarity and confidence. 

Our structured, data-informed approach strengthens the key drivers of high-performing teams and governing bodies: 

• Understanding leadership and workstyle differences: Leaders gain insight into individual work styles, communication preferences and decision-making approaches that influence team effectiveness. Using validated assessment tools, including Predictive Index, we help teams identify strengths, uncover barriers to collaboration and improve working relationships. 
• Building high-performing leadership habits: We help leaders develop the behaviors that strengthen organizational performance, including building trust, fostering accountability, aligning around shared goals and creating an environment where open and productive dialogue can thrive. 
• Improving execution and organizational alignment: Tribal councils, boards and leadership teams learn how to focus on strategic priorities, leverage collective strengths and improve coordination across departments and enterprises to achieve consistent results. 
• Creating clarity around goals and responsibilities: We facilitate alignment on organizational priorities, decision-making authority and leadership expectations so teams can work together more effectively and execute with confidence. 

Wipfli’s tribal leadership coaching services help high performers, new leaders in transition and executives who aren’t reaching their full potential excel by addressing specific skill deficits and focusing on the key aspects of leading others. 

Whether leaders are transitioning into new roles, preparing for greater responsibility or working to maximize their effectiveness, our coaching provides personalized guidance to help them reach their potential. 

Our process 

Through a three-step process — discover, conquer resistance, transcend — we help leaders understand themselves, challenge limiting beliefs and embrace growth. 

1. Discover: We help leaders understand how they operate, identifying their core values, beliefs and strengths, as well as the behaviors acting as obstacles to their success. 
2. Conquer resistance: We challenge individuals’ beliefs and assumptions about their leadership and recruit a team that can support their development. 
3. Transcend: We help leaders find their edge and leverage it so that they can transcend their limitations, and we enable them to foster an ongoing, relentless curiosity through a growth mindset. 

Our approach 

We offer two coaching options to match your organization’s needs: 

• Rise: Wipfli’s Rise is an accessible, 90-day approach to help your most critical leaders reach the next level in their growth. If your organization is in the process of transformation or innovation, this approach can help your leadership rapidly realize their capacity to own and drive change. 
• Transform: Wipfli’s Transform approach provides leaders with long-term support to help them develop the skills they need to better guide the organization. During this During this six-to-12-month approach, we support them with personalized, one-on-one coaching to help them develop critical leadership skills, such as EQ and executive presence. 

For both approaches, our coaches apply proven assessment tools — including 360-degree evaluations, EQ-i 2.0 and Predictive Index — and in-depth guidance to help your leadership transcend and create a lasting impact.

Build stronger teams and more effective leaders with data-driven talent insights. Wipfli helps tribal governments and enterprises use proven talent assessment tools to improve hiring decisions, strengthen leadership development, support succession planning and enhance team performance. 

Predictive Index  

As a certified Predictive Index (PI) partner, Wipfli helps tribes use behavioral and cognitive assessment data to make more informed talent decisions. Whether you’re hiring for critical roles, developing future leaders or improving team dynamics, PI provides valuable insights that help align people with organizational needs. 

With Wipfli and PI, you can: 

• Improve hiring and onboarding outcomes. 
• Reduce turnover and increase employee retention. 
• Build teams with complementary strengths and work styles. 
• Support leadership succession and workforce planning. 
• Align talent with organizational goals and operational demands. 

EQ-i 2.0  

We guide organizations in using the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i 2.0) to identify and develop high-potential leaders. We help you apply EQ-i 2.0 results to:  

• Create targeted development plans for staff across your organization. 
• Identify staff who have leadership potential, including the emotional intelligence needed to lead effectively.  

360-degree assessments  

Leadership effectiveness is shaped by how leaders are experienced by others. Wipfli helps organizations implement 360-degree assessments that gather feedback from peers, direct reports, supervisors and other stakeholders to provide a comprehensive view of leadership performance. 

You can leverage these insights to identify strengths and growth areas, as well as create tailored development plans that help leaders:  

• Improve effectiveness.  
• Enhance overall operational performance.  
• Boost team engagement.