How do leaders improve team performance? - part #2

There is an interesting thing about the best teams, they just keep getting better. When I am with them, I am constantly trying to figure what it is that makes the difference. For awhile I thought it was something to do with who was in the leadership positions. While I think this clearly does make a difference, I have also noticed something else, namely the whole team holds people accountable, not just the person in the leadership position.

The subject of accountability continues to be a popular topic. Everyone is talking about it and few are clear about what it means and how to do it. Most people focus this subject on the supervisor and direct report relationship, as in holding a person accountable for getting something done. However, few recognize that holding people accountable is supervisor to direct report, but even more so on successful teams it happens at the peer to peer level. It is interesting to note we often do the former and skip the later.

When it comes to accountability, we also don’t differentiate between results based accountability and behavioral based accountability. As Patrick Lencioni in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Jossey-Bass, 2012), wrote: “Even well-intentioned members of a team need to be held accountable if a team is going to stick to its decisions and accomplish its goals…. The reason that behavioral accountability is more important than the quantitative, results-related kind has nothing to do with the fact that it is harder. It is due to the fact that behavioral problems almost always precede - and cause - a downturn in performance and results.” As he continues, “The ultimate point of building greater trust, conflict, commitment, and accountability is one thing: the achievement of results.”

In order to successfully hold people accountable, and to get them to hold each other accountable, i.e. peer-to-peer, all involved have to know their personal SMART goals, and their team’s SMART goals. You would be surprised with how many do not know the later and only focus on the former. Furthermore, people have to know what is expected of them at the individual level and at the team level. Finally, leaders need to create an environment where people feel safe enough to be coached, to receive feedback and to give it.

When it comes to continual improvement and effective accountability on all levels, I believe the leaders and the teams need to understand the individual and group “why”. As Simon Sinek writes, “What I’m interested in is what gets people up every single day to do something, maybe pay a premium, maybe suffer inconvenience, maybe sacrifice because they’re driven by something else. What is that thing? What I’ve learned is it’s that question, why. It has a biological imperative, it drives us, it inspires us.”

This week, think about and discuss with others the difference between results based accountability and behavioral based accountability. Then check to make sure you know the team’s why and the individuals on the team’s why. This will make a difference in how you move forward and prepare for the new year.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Giving Thanks

This is the week that many people are focused on food preparation, travel plans and being together for Thanksgiving. And while I am a big fan of pumpkin pie, family sitting around the table, and cooking up a great meal, I am an even bigger fan of giving thanks for all the blessings that have come our way.

I am thankful for the blessing of good food, a safe place to live, and clean water. I have been to places in my life journey where this was not present.

I am thankful for meaningful work and great people to do it with. I have been to places in my life journey where everyone really wanted to be some place other than work because it was not safe, meaningful, or supportive.

I am thankful for good healthcare because I have been to places in my life journey where there were no doctors, dentists or nurses who cared.

I am thankful for family, the ones I choose and the ones I have. I have been to places in my life journey where people did not feel safe or supported within their family circle.

I am thankful for the work people are doing in regards to justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. All of us have work to do in these areas.

I am thankful for love, forgiveness and grace because they are the foundation of so much in life.

And finally, I am thankful for you. I have been to places in my life journey where loneliness is not a momentary experience but a constant. Knowing that I am part of a larger circle of people who are trying to do good and make a difference in a world that is challenging and difficult is heartwarming and up-lifting.

This week count your blessings, share about them with others around your table, and give thanks.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Why Invest In Leadership Training in 2019? - Part #3

People in leadership positions during the next 3 - 5 years must be able to do the following in order for them and their organizations to be successful over time.

First, they must be able to create and communicate strategy in a manner that creates focus instead of panic.

Second, they must be able to define a problem, technical or adaptive, and then be able to solve the problem.

Third, they must be able to build and maintain teams, analog or digital, and then get them to deliver results in a timely manner.

Finally, they must be able to coach individuals and teams so they improve their performance.

The challenge that I see this fall is that few people in leadership positions are good at coaching and even fewer are good at delegation. While on one hand these seem pretty basic skills for people in leadership positions, the reality is that to do them well, a person needs a greater depth of understanding and clarity to be effective. 

For example, in order to be an excellent coach, one should receive excellent coaching. Many report to me that this is not taking place on a regular basis within their company. Next, to be an excellent coach, one needs to understand that coaching is a structured dialogue and development process to improve professional competence to execute a particular goal while supervision is to observe, direct and oversee the execution of a task, project or activity. Many people confuse the two different activities.

When it comes to the subject of delegation, most people in leadership positions have also experienced very poor delegation. They are not sure if they have complete control to do whatever needs to get done or if they need to first run all decisions before action past the person who delegated something to them. Finally, many people feel like they got delegated the work but not the clarity or authority to do it well.

These are problems during the next 3-5 years that we can not let continue to take place. We need individuals and teams to receive solid and effective coaching. We also need people to delegate well given the expectations of customers and strategic partners.

And here is where the 2019 From Vision to Action Leadership Training can help. Through a challenging and interactive curriculum which blends lectures, selected readings, small and large group discussions, and how to skill-building exercises, participants in this four part leadership training gain critical knowledge and skills which improve their ability to not only create and communicate strategy, define and solve problems, build and maintain teams, but also coach people and teams better plus learn how to delegate effectively. 

For more information about this unique training experience, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Leadership-Training.html

For more information about the dates, location, price and how to register for the 2019 training, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Training-Details.html#Train2019

Now is the time to create better leaders in your organization. If we are to be successful in the next 3 - 5 years, we need to be well prepared. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders improve team performance? - part #1

During our extended meeting, the three of us discussed the issues related to why their two teams were not getting better over time. Each leader reported that their team was defaulting to silo based team behaviors rather than collaboration based behaviors. Give one team was in sales, i.e. mission delivery, and the other was in operations, i.e. mission support, this was a major problem. Each needed the the other team to be successful in order for them both to be successful.

As I listened, I kept thinking of a quote by Gordon Livingston, MD who said “People mistake thoughts, wishes and intentions for change.” The problem was that each team wanted the other team to change first. At the end of our meeting, those gathered realized that their team needed to embrace a continuous improvement mentality rather than a blaming mentality to make both teams to improve. 

Richard Hackman in his book, Leading Teams: Setting The Stage For Great Performances (Harvard Business School Press, 2002) notes there are three common problems on teams who struggle, First, there is the problem of social loafing by team members. Next, there is the problem of mindless reliance on habitual routines. And finally, there is the problem of inappropriate weighting of member contributions. I have seen all three of these problems over the course of my career. I suspect I will see them over the coming years, too. 

However, I have also seen exceptional teams and team leaders get past these problems. The best teams and team leaders I have met build and embrace a continuous improvement mindset. Now, at this point, it is important to reference the work of Patrick Lencioni in his recent book, The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize And Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues (Jossey-Bass, 2016). This author says that the ideal team players are humble, hungry and people smart. While I agree, I always encourage people to dive deeper into what Lencioni wrote. As he explained, “Hungry people are always looking for more.… hunger can be directed in a selfish way that is not for the good of the team but for the individual.” As he continues, the healthy kind of hunger is one that is a “sustainable commitment to doing a job well and going above and beyond when it is truly required.” 

From my experience, these individuals on the team who role model the healthy kind of hunger are the people who want to get better. They understand the purpose of the work, and understand how the needs of the customer are changing.

From my experience, this individual level of work is complemented at the team level by leaders doing what Martine Haas and Mark Mortensen wrote about in their very good article called “The Secrets of Great Teamwork” (Harvard Business Review, June 2016). As they explain, the key is to develop “a shared mindset among team members - something team leaders can do by fostering a common identity and common understanding.” When I see common identity and understanding, I also see one other critical factor, namely common language. I have come to believe that this is the foundation to a shared mindset.

This week, ask yourself how are you building shared language and a shared mindset. Once you are clear about this, then commit to doing it even more. It will pay off in the short term and the long term.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders maintain successful teams? - part #2

One of the things I have learned from meeting with leaders of successful teams is that they role model and empower healthy behaviors. Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford in their very good article called “Decoding Resistance to Change” (Harvard Business Review, April 2009) write that “People expect history to repeat itself - and they resist going through it all over again.” Leaders who overcome resistance focus on understanding why people are showing resistance or lack of clarity. They do not suppress dialogue but instead encourage it. They also assume they and the team will spend time in the trough of chaos and plan accordingly. They get that it is normal for things to get messy. Therefore, they role model healthy personal choices and behaviors when it does.

Second, these same leader continually try to improve their capacity to coach others. They understand, as Patrick Lencioni points out in his book,  The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business (Jossey-Bass, 2012), that behavioral problems almost always precede quantitative results. They also recognize that behavioral problems “occur long before any decrease in measurable results is apparent.”

What we as leaders need to remember is that once a person “experiences good coaching, one becomes a better coach.” Peter Cappelli and Anna Travis say this is very important in their article called “HR Goes Agile” in the March-April 2018 issue of the Harvard Business Review.

Richard Hackman in his book, Leading Teams: Setting The Stage For Great Performances (Harvard Business School Press, 2002) explains that coaches focus on the following three areas: the amount of effort members of the team apply to the work, the appropriateness of the performance strategies to carry out the work, and the knowledge and skill they apply to the work. Therefore, coaching can be motivational, consultative, or educational.

But as I reflect on his writing I am reminded of what Marshall Goldsmith wrote in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Hyperion, 2007). Goldsmith challenges us to “stop trying to coach people who shouldn’t be coached.” As he notes, “stop trying to change people who don’t think they have a problem” and “stop trying to change people who are pursuing the wrong strategy for the organization.” He continues by pointing out that we should “stop trying to change people who should not be in their job” and “stop trying to help people who think everyone else is the problem.” I think we must embrace his perspective and harken back to Jim Collin’s early work where he said “who before what”. From my experience, the best coaches know who should be coached and who will not change no matter how much we try and coach them. Instead, we need to coach these individuals out of the organization rather than try to coach them into the organization.

Along this same line of thought, the big thing about hiring people to join a team is to remember Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Ideal Team Player (Jossey-Bass, 2016), about the three virtues of a team player. Lencioni says that the best team players are humble, hungry and people smart. While I agree with Lencioni and have seen this in my own experiences as a consultant and executive coach, I think there is a missing element.

Last May, I read a quote by Pastor A.R. Bernard that stopped me in my tracks: “Without character, talent will only take you so far.” Upon much reflection, I realized that we, as leaders, need to talk more about character and focus more on character rather than just talent development. We need to discuss the importance of integrity, compassion, and courage during our coaching and our team meetings. We need to talk about what is commitment, faithfulness, and truthfulness. As Abraham Lincoln wrote, “Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree.” 

This week, reflect on the following questions: Who are the people of “character” that I have known in my life? What separates them from others? How do they engage with people in group settings that is unique? How do they role model? It is time that we follow in their foot steps.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257