Turn good managers into leaderswho hold the standard.
Your best banker became a manager. Nobody installed how to lead when the pressure arrives. Guide Yourself™ does, and Guide Certification builds leaders who develop other leaders.
The leadership risk that doesn't show up in the board packet.
Your best banker became the branch manager. Nobody installed how to lead when the pressure arrives.
- Two or three people make every critical decision.When one of them leaves, so does the bank's ability to execute.
- People issues escalate into business risk.Problems that should be handled in the branch end up in the CEO's office.
- New managers lead former peers without a playbook.They either avoid the hard conversation or overcorrect into driving.
- The bench behind your key leaders is thin.Succession becomes a hope instead of a plan.
Installed, not taught.
Every offer runs the same four steps. That's why the behavior is still there in 90 days.
- 1Learn the behavior.One specific behavior, practiced on situations from your own bank.
- 2Commit in writing.Each person writes what they'll do, where and with whom.
- 3Apply it at work.Real customers, real team members, real pressure.
- 4Inspect it weekly.A short weekly check (MMI) makes sure it held. What slipped gets a recovery plan.
What changes, at every level.
For CEOs and executive teams
- Stronger bench strength and succession readiness
- Less dependence on a few key leaders for critical decisions
- Fewer people issues escalating into business risk
For senior and mid-level leaders
- Confidence to influence up, down and across the bank
- Practical tools to hold standards without conflict or drama
- The ability to guide teams through pressure and change
For emerging leaders
- A clear leadership identity and practical confidence
- Better thinking, better decisions, stronger presence
- Credibility earned through real application, not titles
The investment.
Compare it with the cost of one failed leader, one regretted promotion or one stalled successor.
Guide Yourself
6 three-hour sessions over about five months. Each leader learns to govern their own behavior under pressure: define winning, lock the standard, hold it, name the drift and reset what they tolerate.
30-day satisfaction guarantee.
Talk with Steve about Guide YourselfGuide Certification
12 sessions over about ten months: Guide Yourself plus Guide the Leader™. Leaders learn to install the standard across their own teams. Graduates are Certified Guides.
Talk with Steve about the full pathwayOpen seats or a private cohort for your bank, including your executive team. 8:30 to 11:30 AM in Livonia, Lansing or virtual.
The curriculum, session by session.
Guide Yourself stabilizes the individual leader. Guide the Leader, the second half of Guide Certification, installs the system across their sphere. By Session 12, leadership behavior at your bank is governed, not managed, and you have Evidence of Installation.
Guide Yourself
Guide Yourself stabilizes the individual leader.
- 01Why Leaders Step InMap the default that activates under pressure
- 02Define WinningClarify outcomes so teams self-correct
- 03Lock the StandardSet non-negotiable behavioral baselines
- 04Hold Under PressureRefuse to let convenience erode the standard
- 05Name the DriftRecognize when standards are quietly eroding
- 06Reset ToleranceClose the gap between what's said and what's enforced
Guide the Leader
Guide the Leader installs the system across their sphere.
- 07Install Clear WinningDefine the Primary Result and Guardrail that govern all decision-making
- 08Install the Leadership Standards LibraryBuild observable behavioral standards leaders can inspect and enforce
- 09Organizational Tolerance AuditName the behaviors that have quietly become tolerated and reset them
- 10Install Behavioral InspectionEstablish early warning signals that reveal drift before results decline
- 11Install Recovery DisciplineInstall the structured protocol for resetting standards without emotional escalation
- 12Weekly Behavioral Governance (MMI)Lock in Monday Morning Implementation as the permanent governance rhythm
Session 12: Evidence of Installation
The program ends with a review of observable proof. Your leader walks away with a governed weekly cadence and behavior your bank can see.
Common questions.
What does it cost, and is there a group rate?
Guide Yourself is $6,500 per leader for 6 sessions. Guide Certification (all 12 sessions) is $12,500 per leader. Group rates are available for 3+ leaders from your bank. Corporate invoice available. Contact us to structure team enrollment.
Is there a prerequisite?
No. Guide Yourself is the entry point to the Human Performance Operating System™. Guide Yourself installs the identity and behavioral discipline that Guide the Leader builds upon in Guide Certification.
How is it structured?
Guide Yourself: six 3-hour sessions over about 5 months, $6,500/seat. It stabilizes the individual leader. Guide Certification: 12 sessions over about 10 months, $12,500/seat total. Every session runs one loop: learn the behavior, commit in writing, apply it at work, inspect it weekly (MMI). Phase 2: Guide the Leader (Sessions 7-12) installs the system across the leader's sphere of influence. Each session is 3 hours. By Session 12 of the full program you have Evidence of Installation, observable proof the behavior has changed.
How is this different from other leadership programs we've run?
Most programs create awareness. Guide Yourself installs the Human Performance Operating System™. Your leaders don't just learn concepts, they install disciplines that govern how they behave under real pressure. The accountability structure between sessions ensures it holds. 95% completion rate.
What happens after 12 sessions?
Banks that complete Guide Yourself have behavioral governance installed at the leader level, with Evidence of Installation to show for it. For a full leadership layer or bank-wide deployment, continue to Leader Installs or Full Enterprise Installation. Contact [email protected] to discuss.
Is this specific to community banking?
Every example, case study, and application exercise is built for community bank leadership. Not adapted from corporate content, built from the ground up for branches, commercial teams, operations, and C-suite.
Leaders who create clarity under pressure, build trust quickly and develop other leaders instead of dependence.
Without it, succession stays a hope instead of a plan.