Posted: June 16, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

Each year tens of millions of people watch the Super Bowl.  The winner receives the “Lombardi Trophy”, named after Vince Lombardi, legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers.  Vince knew how to build a championship team.  There was a special element he instilled in his squad that many others did not.  Simply stated, it is putting your team member first.  If we can do this as a leader and coach, there is a good chance our team will over-perform.

Let’s say you have a team that you believe is operating below potential.  How do we get them to improve?  Coach Lombardi built his success around a focal point.  In his situation, it was his quarterback.  In his QB, he needs to transfer all his important values such as discipline, clarity, and unselfishness.  With the quarterback at the hub, he counted on Bart Starr to lead the rest of the team to the hearty attitude and unshakeable work ethic he had been taught.

So what about your team?  First, identify those individuals that have already shown you that they “get it”.  That number may be 2, 3, 6 or more.  This group is your focal point.  These are the folks you can count on to be an extension of your values.  When those on the outside of this group get a taste of the fresh direction, many may like it and begin to join in.  With patience and persistence, the focal group grows to critical mass.  This will provide the momentum to move your team to a higher level.  Those who don’t change their attitude or poor engagement become marginalized.  They usually either join in or leave the organization.  To begin building your championship team, find your “core” and make it grow.  Be a winner!

Posted: February 17, 2025 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

It was June of 1974, and I began my new job as manager of a hotel in Suburban Chicago.  It was exciting and new, and I wanted to get started building a winning team.  I soon became aware of a situation that needed to be changed and I knew making the change would not be popular.  It dealt with payroll:  Paychecks were issued weekly, and we didn’t have a payroll service.  I knew we needed to change to bi-weekly, and I realized that if employees had their choice of weekly or bi-weekly, they would choose weekly.

I thought about my options and decided to make an announcement on July 1st that on January 1st we would be going to bi-weekly.  This would give the team ample time to make any adjustments as a result of this change.

After I made the announcement, one person came up to me and expressed their disapproval.  I empathized with them and mentioned that I was giving a 6-month lead time for each person to adapt.  Also, if they found the new policy unacceptable they would have ample time to find a new job.  From that point on, there was no further discussion.  Soon the concerns had passed, and when we came to January 1st, everything went smoothly.

I can’t help but think of what would have happened if I had announced the change effective immediately.  There would have probably been some resentment, and resentment can grow and fester.

Here is my suggestion:  If you need to make a change that is disruptive of normal routine, allow sufficient time for processing.  You will have more buy-in and less resentment.

Posted: January 16, 2025 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement

I am going to describe a very special person:  When you call or meet with this person, he or she is relaxed and totally present, even if they are surrounded by chaos.  For most of us in this situation, the stress would show on our face or be heard in our voice.  How can we acquire this greater sense of equanimity?

Many years ago I heard a quote that helped me greatly in this area.  “Success is not so much knowing what to do, rather it is knowing what to do next.”  Here are some best practices I have found in common with people who are calm, focused, and present:

1. They know where they are going and our committed to do what it takes to get there.
2. They know their Key Result Areas and manage them well to stay in balance.
3. They plan and prepare relentlessly.  Instead of going with a simple “to do” list, their objectives for the day are directly designed to advance towards their goals, and they have their tasks and activities in proper sequence and priority.
4. And now for their secret:  When they plan their week or day, they look at their discretionary time and plan using only 70% of it  What is the other 30% for?  The unexpected.  There are always going to be problems and crises that occur unexpectedly.  Planning with the 70% formula enables us to allow the priorities that weren’t planned for.  You can be sure that if you plan 100% of your time, you will soon become overwhelmed and demoralized.  Leaving 30% open provides a natural buffer zone that enables us to feel calm and focused.

Posted: December 6, 2024 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Self-Improvement, Team Building

This morning I was talking with a client who had just navigated herself through a crisis.  She was hosting a big event and just before the event was to take place, she discovered that one of the three team members was missing a certification, and the event could not proceed until this problem had been solved.  Sara responded quickly, and was able to find someone with the proper certification to lead the event.  She didn’t panic…she acted.

Shortly after I began my career, I heard an axiom that I have never forgotten:  “If we are suddenly in a crisis situation, we will respond in the manner in which we have been trained.”  If we haven’t had training, we will panic.

One of my favorite examples of how strong training can pay off happened on July 20, 1969.  Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had just landed on the moon.  It was a thrilling moment in US history.  Later on, we learned that the astronauts had a mechanical problem after landing.  They discovered a broken circuit breaker switch on the Lunar Module.  The switch was needed to send power to the ascent engine.  If they failed to fix it, they would have remained on the moon!

Keeping a cool head, Armstrong and Aldrin used a small, felt-tipped pen to fix the broken switch.  It worked!  They returned safely to the Command Module.

Think of your own business or organization.  Do you need to host a CPR class or a fire drill?  Are you prepared to have your wits about you in a panic situation?  If there is something we need to do to be more prepared, we need to take action!

Posted: October 22, 2024 | Categories: Leadership, Management, Team Building

In the spring of 1998, I was “drafted” into the job of coaching a little league team of 9 and 10-year olds. This would be my son’s second year with his team, and if I didn’t agree to be the coach, he would end up on another team.  OK…I’m in!

I began my job right away.  I met all the kids and parents.  I said, “Some of you want to win, while others would be satisfied to see their son have a fun, worthwhile experience.  We are going to do both – win and have fun!”

My first step was to evaluate strengths.  I wanted to see the capabilities in the areas of fielding, running, throwing, base-running, and hitting.  I also paid attention to those who had the most winning attitude.  They were who I built the team around.  Then I developed my strategy.  It was simple…no walks!  Throwing and fielding were the most prominent strengths I observed.  That meant we would make outs quickly, and no runs would be scored as a result of walks.  My defensive strategy worked.  We ended the season in 2nd place with a 15-3 winning record.  The three teams that beat us did so only by a run.  They were good hitters, and their coach encouraged them to swing the bat and never draw a walk.  They were winning on their strengths.

Here was what I learned from this experience.  The quickest way to grow is to know your strengths, leverage them, and build on them.  When we succeed, we will work on the areas we need to get better.  Remember, if the only way we grow is learning from our mistakes, then the best driver on the road would be the one with the most mishaps.  I don’t think we would want to drive with that person!