Meet Amir Ghannad: Leadership Development Specialist and Culture Transformation Catalyst

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amir Ghannad and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amir, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
“Under-promise and over-deliver!” I believe this advice causes people to play small and refuse to make bold declarations. I believe in “Over-promise and then deliver!” I believe when we make a bold declaration, personally and professionally, and truly commit to becoming the person who is going to create the extraordinary future that we have declared, we tap into our own innate potential and find ways to develop the capabilities required to rise to the challenge. I also believe making such bold declarations inspires others around us and causes them to be the best version of themselves.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At The Ghannad Group, we guide leaders in creating EXTRAORDINARY CULTURES that deliver BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS and UNPRECEDENTED FULFILLMENT. we do that through speaking, workshop facilitation, coaching, and consulting. There are a few characteristics that set us apart and have enabled us to build a thriving business in a short period of time: – We have the benefit of 35 years of experience in organizational development and many frameworks and tools and methodologies but as a boutique firm, we don’t come to our clients with one-size-fits-all approaches. We partner with our clients to understand where they are, what is working for them and what is not, and jointly design an approach to supplement their own strengths. – We believe in the innate potential of people and their ability to be and show up as Transformative Leader. Our approach is to give our clients access to The Transformative Leader within through transformative learning experiences while equipping them with the tools and skills they need to be effective. – The experience I bring to my clients does not only consist of a skillful consultant and coach but most importantly, someone who has actually led organizations, on a few occasions from the worst to the best. – The way I operate as a consultant is not to push people aside and be the hero of the effort but rather as a guide who lifts people up and gives voice to those in the organization whose voices have not ben heard and whose talents have gone unnoticed. The result is not only delivering extraordinary results but an organization full of people who are capable, confident, and committed to carrying the work forward long after I’m gone. – we have a variety of effective and affordable digital offerings that serve as self-learning tools that help our clients sustain the gains after their engagement with us. Our exclusive leadership development community at onthecourtleadership.com is one of those and there are many more ways in which we serve our clients virtually and via on-demand learning opportunities. We didn’t get here overnight. Even though our practice was founded only 5 years ago and we were rewarded by our clients and rose to the ranks of a 7-figure consultancy within 1.5 years, the substance that has gone into my teaching and coaching has been in the works for 35 years. As a Georgia Tech graduate with a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering, I started my career with P&G in Albany, GA in 1985 and went on to work for P&G in multiple locations in the US as well as Bangkok, Thailand, and Schwalbach, Germany before moving on to Sunny D and ultimately Campbell Soup, prior to founding The Ghannad Group. Early on in my career, before I read a single leadership book, I had a realization that my job as a leader was not to tell people what to do because in many cases, I was never going to be as good as they were at wat they did. I recognized that the best way for me to fulfill my responsibilities was to serve the people who worked “for me” and that indeed I was there to work “for them.” I served in a variety of roles in different industries and geographic locations and through it all, I learned that there are timeless and universal principles of leadership that apply everywhere AND that they way they ought to be practiced must be customized to fit the existing culture and communication preferences of the organization. I am proud to say that every bit of our business has come to us through word of mouth and the testimonials we have received form our past and current clients range from significant breakthroughs in business results to meaningful shifts in their personal lives. We have converted all of our programs to virtual and have successfully connected with clients in a variety of settings from our home studios and we would love to speak to anyone who is looking to take the engagement and level of results and fulfillment in their organization to the next level. Visit us at theghannadgroup.com and reach out if we can support you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Aside form the many famous spots in the city, such as Coca Cola and CNN, etc., I would suggest the following: – Ponce City Market – A great place with a variety of shops and restaurant and plenty of open spaces to walk or sit and chat. – Silver Comet Trail – Great for hiking or riding your bike. – Sweet water Creek State park – Great nature trails and an awesome place to hang out and take in the beauty of nature. – Cafe Sunflower – Delicious vegan food

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have been the beneficiary of countless blessings that have been delivered to me through family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers. There is not a single accomplishment in my life that I would attribute to myself and my own efforts alone. First and foremost, my parents made the courageous move and significant personal sacrifices to send me to the US from Iran in 1978 so that I could have a chance at continuing my education without interruption, knowing that they had laid a solid foundation in the first 16 years of my life that would carry me through the challenges I would face. My wife Connie, to whom I have been married for nearly 39 years, has been instrumental in making literally every good thing that has happened in my life possible since I met her at Six Flags over Georgia, where she was my trainer in 1980. My son and daughter who are my business partners and have been my greatest coaches since they were in their teens continue to teach me and inspire me to be the best version of myself. I should specifically mention that my book and our business would not exist, had it not been for my daughter’s nudging and encouragement and her leadership in publishing The Transformative Leader and founding The Ghannad Group. Others I should mention are all the people who reported to me in the early years of my career before I knew anything about leadership. They acknowledged my good intentions and extended grace and support to me to shape me into who I am today. Finally, I would like to acknowledge every one of our clients because my passion for exceeding their expectations keeps me growing and reaching for being the best that I can be. I am grateful for their trust and support.

Website: https://theghannadgroup.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amiraghannad/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaghannad/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmirGhannad
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmirGhannad/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdgNlyEj449zSNpHJVh9–g?view_as=subscriber
Other: amir@theghannadgroup.com https://www.onthecourtleadership.com/