Posted: February 22, 2013 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

Yesterday I was talking with a client who had some exciting news:  She was the heir apparent to taking over a key position in her company.  She wanted a professional development plan that would help prepare her for the position.  We started with the amount of annual income she would be making, and computed that her time would be worth $75 per hour.  We then reviewed her time log, and asked the question: “How many of these tasks and activities would you pay $75 per hour for?”

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Posted: September 6, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

In the summer of 2009 in the heart of a painful recession, one of my clients shared with me how he was frustrated with two of his employees. They had both worked for the company for over 15 years and they did good work. They also didn’t like each other and frequently engaged in bitter arguments. This particular day these two team members got in to a fist fight that resulted in one of them storming out and going home for the remainder of the afternoon.

The boss responded the way he always had: He became the mediator. I asked him how often he had to do this, and he said it was a regular occurrence. I asked him: “Are these disputes costing you?” He said they were. They affected productivity and also distracted them from their work. Since we had been working hard on productivity and on-time delivery, I ask him, “Is this behavior acceptable?” He said no. “Would you like to change it?” He said yes. That was all we needed. We worked out an action plan. It involved clear communication.

1. Begin positive. “We have a problem. Before we begin, I want you to know that I appreciate your dedication to this company and the quality of work you are capable of doing. The problem I want to discuss with you involves an incident that happened yesterday. “
2. Relate the story in a factual manner. There was a dispute. Voices were raised. Following the discussion, one of them left for home.
3. Explain the repercussions. I count on my team to be focused, positive, and productive. When you engage in a dispute, you distract yourself from your work, and compromise the productivity of our working environment. We cannot afford this and it will not be tolerated.
4. Explain how you feel about it. As I reflect on this, I have to say that I am quite disappointed, and I feel let down. In this tough economy, I have sacrificed my own salary just so that I could keep everyone working full schedule. Your choice to engage in conflict yesterday negatively affected our teamwork and profitability.
5. Explain consequences. In writing, detail the consequences should either of them engage in this behavior again. (Suspension, docking of pay, etc.) Get their signature.

This procedure was followed. That was over three years ago. The two fellows are still working at the company, and they have not had a dispute since then.

When the boss had this conversation, he shifted the responsibility to get along on their shoulders. It was their responsibility. Jim was able to take these two from “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” to “YIKES!” Here is the crazy part: They were happier and enjoyed their work more after the “conversation”. You might also ask, “Do they like each other now?” No. They still can’t stand each other. They do get the job done, and they keep their behavior under control.

I run in to situations like this frequently. There are managers who have been playing referee for years. We don’t have time for that if we want to focus on growing and managing our business. If you have a problem similar to Jim’s, why not have “the conversation” and put it behind you?

Posted: August 14, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

This past week, I was on a coaching call with an entrepreneurial client.  Her business is growing, and she wanted to be sure she was building the kind of culture that would be an extension of her values.  In our conversation, Sue mentioned how pleased she was with one team member in particular.  Here name is Connie, and her efforts and enthusiasm are in the “wow” quantum.  She offered extra services and thought of “add-on’s” she could provide that required little or no capital investments.  She was also a cornucopia of ideas and suggestions.  As my mother would say, “Put a nickel in her, and you’ll get your money’s worth”.

Hearing about Connie reminds all of us of where all individual greatness begins…enthusiasm, passion, and a deep abiding desire to contribute and succeed.  How about team greatness?  I have found that it starts in the same place:  A good team is built around a positive, focused and energetic nucleus.  Quite often, that begins with one person.

This concept is nothing new.  It makes sense.  Making it happen takes strong leadership.  In the late 60’s, the Green Bay Packers won so many championships that Green Bay received the nickname of “Title Town”  Coach Vince Lombardi was open about his strategy:  He built his team around the quarterback – Bart Starr.  He knew that if he started with a pure nucleus, that nucleus would generate enthusiasm, and attract like-minded attitudes and commitment

Let’s go back to Sue:  Like the coach, Sue has chosen to build her team around a solid nucleus, and that is Connie.  Her next step is to have a one-on-one conversation with Connie, and let her know the game plan.  From that point, through open communication, trust and respect, her business is positioned to grow in good health.

Consider an opposite approach:  What if Sue did like many managers do?  She would spend far too much time talking and wrestling with those people who were dragging their feet, or just not that engaged.  All the while she would be doing this, Connie’s enthusiasm could lose steam, and there could be a high risk of losing a gem.

If we want to build an ideal culture:

1. Identify those with the most enthusiasm and who are in alignment with the vision and goals of the company.
2. Form your team around them.
3. Watch it grow!

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Five competencies of a championship team: http://www.durhamcoach.com/blog/2012/08/09/the-five-competencies-of-a-championship-team/

Posted: August 10, 2012 | Categories: Leadership

Several years ago I was working for a company that prided itself in their positive and supportive culture.  One day I was asked by the company owner for my opinion on the new email marketing plan.  I responded by saying I had received two leads from the program.  Keeping in mind our commitment to continuous improvement, I also suggested that they may want to reduce the frequency a little, since I had two customers comment that they felt they had been “spammed”.  My comment was not welcome or appreciated.   Afterwards, my manager took me aside and said, in effect, “Don’t do that anymore”.  I followed his advice, and that was the beginning of my next chapter – becoming a certified coach and starting my own company.

In his book The Mind in the Making, James Harvey Robinson said, “We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs, but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their championship”.

There is always room for improvement.  If we are going to make a constructive suggestion, we should heed Mr. Robinson’s words, and realize that a person’s pride is attached to an idea.  “Cushioning” is important.  Here is an example.  Using the above situation, I could say, “I wanted to give you some feedback about our new marketing program.  First of all, I like the graphics, and am pleased to announce that I already have two leads I have closed.  If I were to look at a way to make this marketing effort even better, I would re-evaluate the frequency of the emails we are sending out.  I say this because I did receive two comments from good customers.  They said they appreciated the follow up.  They would prefer that it be every two weeks instead of each week. “

If we position ourselves like this, we increase our chances of avoiding a defensive barrier emerging.  This strengthens our ability to influence.

Posted: August 9, 2012 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

One of the benefits of having my own company is being able to select who I work with.  I prefer to work with teams that operate at the championship level.  It is more fun, and far more rewarding.  But you say, “If they are champions, why do they need me?”  If you are a good bowler, golfer, or baseball player, do you ever stop wanting one more pin, a lower handicap, or a higher batting average?”  Championship teams operate differently from so-so teams.  In addition to focus, extra effort, and character (See link to 2/6/12 blog below), the champions all do the following:

1.  Working agreement:  (See link below) whether formal or informal, winning teams know how they work together best.  Everyone is important, and so are their needs.  Building a working agreement establishes a frame of reference that keeps each team member with a healthy mindset with maximum focus and minimum distraction.
2.  Winning mindset:  Powerful teams welcome challenge and see setbacks and disappointments as an opportunity to try again more intelligently
3.  Problem solving skills:  Not only to the champs have a good attitude about difficulty, they stick to the problem solving process and see it though without skipping a step.  That is why they are so good at focusing on the problem and not the personality.
4.  Skillful, synergistic communication and coordination: Not only do they have a process for solving problems, they also have the skill that goes with it.  Everyone’s input is important, and meetings and discussions produce quality results because they have idea fluency and incorporate collective wisdom.
5.  They know their roles.  It’s one thing to say, “That’s not my job”.  It is another to do someone else’s job for them.  Champions know their roles, and they count on their teammates to do the same.  These winners put heavy demands on themselves and create a “structural tension” that gives them that winning edge.

Putting these all together, I think we can best sum it up with a quote from Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi:

“You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business.  But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body.  If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second”

http://www.durhamcoach.com/blog/2012/02/08/championship-teams-do-all-three/

http://www.durhamcoach.com/blog/2011/10/19/does-your-team-have-a-working-agreement/