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I attended a graduation ceremony as a guest of someone who had just completed a Dale Carnegie course. I knew that the Dale Carnegie organization offered courses to help develop personal speaking skills. What I learned that evening was that Dale Carnegie is so much more, and the value added was apparent and clearly articulated. In fact, I was moved by the experience. The next week, I interviewed Mike Day, general manager of Carnegie’s Des Moines operations, to learn more.

In this economic downturn, I wanted to know how companies are justifying the expense when so many of them are laying off people. Day said that the best leaders and managers look at employees as people who help organizations succeed in all kinds of environments. The senior leaders for local clients such as Hy-Vee Inc., Deere & Co. and Baker Group understand that organizations need to make commitments to help people succeed. Leaders at all levels need to learn to coach and mentor when organizations are growing or experiencing challenging times. Day told me that Dale Carnegie uses public speaking skills as a vehicle to develop self-confidence in the ability to communicate, which in turn builds stronger internal and external relationships.

When people learn to have honest conversations with themselves, they are capable of creating an environment where people can be totally engaged. Day said Dale Carnegie provides companies with an opportunity to improve relationships, fine-tune processes, retain workers and recruit customers.

It is true that most of us have to do more with less, doing the work faster yet better. Leaders know something has to change and there is a tendency for leaders to want to change everyone else. But what kinds of behavior are leaders modeling? People seem to reflect what they see.

According to Day, the fundamentals of the effective leadership philosophy are clear:

People support a world they help create.

Leaders drive business results by gaining the willing cooperation of others.

Day said that if people are not doing what you want them to do, there are some fundamental questions to ask:

Do they know what to do? Do they know how to do it? Do they believe they can do it? Do they lack the motivation to do it? If so, why?

I left the graduation ceremony realizing that leadership is about becoming the best people we can be. Leadership development is a journey for which there is no finish line.

If we could all demonstrate the support, encouragement and openness to feedback and growth that existed in that room, all organizations would be healthier places to work. And most of us are spending more time at work these days. So why not make it the most positive experience possible for everyone?

Jann Freed holds the Mark and Kay De Cook Endowed Chair in Leadership and Character Development at Central College in Pella.