New Strengths-Based Development Program announced
by two local women business owners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
President of Developing Professionals, Lori Miller of Lancaster, and Dionne Kress of Amherst, President of D.M.Kress, LLC, are excited to announce their new strategic partnership that focuses on an Olympic-Strengths-Based leadership and coaching program.
Strengths-Based Training-Turning Your Employees into Olympic Performers is a program that takes traditional classroom based training to the next level of effectiveness by incorporating coaching as a follow-up for continuous growth and learning. Miller and Kress believe business professionals are just like professional athletes who require continuous coaching to move them to the next level of performance. During the classroom based training participants are required to take two assessments one identifying natural strengths and the other indentifying leadership behaviors. The results of the assessments are utilized during the coaching sessions for continued strengths development and performance improvement.
"We believe business professionals should develop their talents and strengths just like professional athletes. Athletes begin by focusing on their natural strengths and areas of passion; then they utilize a professional coach to support both their development and success," stated Kress.
"Olympians commit themselves to their talent, passion, and calling. They take responsibility for achieving their personal best and work with a trainer and coach to ensure continuous performance improvements," added Miller. "Our program follows the same concept."
The Olympic Strengths-Based program benefits all levels of an organization:
• Strengths-Based Leadership training for all management levels as well as employees.
• Sales Training for all levels of experience.
• One-on-one leadership and sales coaching.
• Group leadership and sales coaching.




In a 2010 survey of 219 experienced managers, they were asked to respond to a series of questions about benefits of coaching and its impact on employee performance and results. The key findings stated that the participating managers considered coaching as critical to their success, as well as the success of their employees. The findings also concluded that coaching requires individualized strategies focused on employee strength, ability, and motivation. Currently, employees are not receiving the coaching they want or need and managers believe they have considerable room for development in this area of leadership practice (Longenecker, 2010).
In 2008 Dr. Kress conducted her doctoral research focusing on the executive coaching and understanding perceptions of self-awareness and leadership behavior changes. She interviewed 25 top-level executives and found that leaders who participated in the coaching process experienced it as an opportunity to practice, learn, and grow in their areas of strength. The leaders felt that coaching provided real-time leadership development allowing for immediate implementation of new skills conducive to the fast-paced business environment. As a result, they had improved leadership and organizational performance.
The most revealing statistic is that job training increases performance by 22% but training with coaching increases performance by 88%.
For further information about this program, contact Dr. Dionne Kress at 716-435-9591 or checkout www.developingprofessionals.com or www.dmkress.com


The strategic partnership of Miller and Kress has a strong focus on Strengths-Based development followed by leadership coaching - giving their clients a competitive advantage. Miller and Kress' business model is based upon the same principles as the creation of their strategic partnership. They each work from their area of strength and are keenly aware of how their leadership behaviors influence their performance.
Lori Miller, of Developing Professionals, has 20 years of successful executive level experience working in industry, education, and media. Lori has facilitated hundreds of training sessions and seminars on all aspects of interpersonal skills and leadership development.
Dr. Dionne Kress, of D.M.Kress, LLC, has 16 years successful business management and sales experience. As a professional coach, Dionne has worked with numerous professionals exploring their strengths and applying them to overcome general obstacles, and transitions in their personal life, relationships, and profession leading to more effective leadership and sales skills.