I just spent the morning with a great group of leaders- dedicated, confident, and caring. All had their heads and hearts in the right spot. One of the topics we started talking about what how to grow their leaders underneath them.
One of the parts of our discussion that got “wings” was how they had to understand the importance of teaching the “thinking” to their direct reports not the doing. I find that highly competent leaders often fall in to the rut of believing the value they bring is in knowing the answers. This makes them the “go to” person for all decision-making. In this situation you actually become the road block.
See today’s situation below to see one way you can set your team up for success to be more collaborative, creative and aligned with you, your values and the company’s values.
******************************************************* PS If you want to find out how to think and speak holistically and strategically join us for our upcoming Managing Your Strategic Message Session for Leaders. Learn More
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Outcome Thinking® Solution
How to set up a successful retreat involving new staff
by Anne Warfield
SITUATION:
I have an upcoming retreat with my team. I have about 1/3 new staff and I am wanting to set the tone for the group as to what we are to focus on this next year, how I want us to operate, and how we will measure success. With so many new staff what is the best way to set up a successful retreat that bonds us, challenges us and gets away from just treating it as a meeting where we set “to do’s”? I want this group to start thinking more strategically.
OTHER PERSON’S PERSPECTIVE:
Employees all want to do one common thing- to please you. They want to be thought of as valuable, conscientious and thoughtful. Therefore, how YOU set up this meeting can make a big difference between it being tactical or strategic as they will do exactly what you ask of them.
THINKING IT THROUGH USING OUTCOME THINKING®:
The most important thing here is to think in terms of “Bucket Brigade”- what are the big things that if you accomplish them the fallout will be that you will automatically accomplish some of the smaller items.The biggest payoff you can ever have out of a session is to bond the group strategically so they move in synch and challenge things appropriately. So how do you do that?BEST HANDLED/PHRASED:
In order to do that I find you need to have these common elements done in order—as the order creates the natural Bucket Brigade
1. Values
a. Start the session by sharing the values of the organization and your personal values you want the team to operate under. Flush out a conversation on how these values create a high performance team. One of your components should be a dialogue about Trust- how you build it, what breaks it and how you earn it. Then talk about trust as a team, trust with you and lastly trust with the clients your team serves-internal and external.
2. How to work with me
a. Have the team write ‘How to work best with me.’ Here they should write out what things they like people to do, what drives them nuts, how they handle stress, how they handle crises, how they learn, etc. Literally this should become a go to piece that each team member knows exactly how their team mates think and work. On the bottom of the sheet should be “how to best connect with me (rank these items 1-4 with 1 being best and 4 worst)—phone, text, email and face to face/virtual.
b. After they fill these out they read them allowed in a circle so each person gets a chance to clarify what they wrote.
c. Here’s a secret for you as a leader- positive people start their sheet out with what they like people to do so they can work more efficiently while negative people start their sheet out with all the things people can do that drive them nuts. Gives you good insight in to your team.
3. Lay Out Key Objectives for the year
a. For objectives that are consistent year to year-
i. Challenge the group as to What we do now, HOW we can do it better, how we will make the change, what will success look like & how will we measure it
b. For objectives that are new this year-
i. Challenge the group to think from the recipient’s perspective- what will this business want and why or how does this tie to the corporate objectives.
c. Lastly figure out all the Failure Points- what are all the things that could make your group not succeed at reaching your objectives and then figure out how you could stop that from happening or respond if it does happen. This will give your group a contingency plan and help them to start to be more strategic with obstacles.
This formula will push your group to be more strategic, less “me” oriented and stretch them to think from others perspective.
Deal of the Month!
What Words Influence Others and Build Trust
Have you ever wished you knew just what to say so someone loved your idea, funded your project or bought from you?
Is there magic to the words you use that either sway a person to an idea or repels them?
In this session you will learn:
– What stops people from listening
– Which words evoke trust
– Which words kill trust
– What you can do to become more influential
You will be surprised to learn which words actually kill trust. Many of these words are used by people who believe they are being persuasive but they are really killing trust! They actually cause people to resist you without them even knowing why they are resisting you.
Click here to register for the “Successful Communication, Brain Style Analysis” Virtual Training, a 90 minute training session with a personalized Outcome Thinking® Communication Assessment included, that you can now watch anytime that is convenient for you.
Quotable Quotes
“The only thing worse than a quitter is the person who is afraid to start.”
Do Less, Gain More Employee Accountability
There is a strange phenomenon I find among leaders–they are often causing their own greatest problems by trying to do something nice.
“Before attending the Managing Your Message seminar I would prepare my presentations with what I wanted to present and then they were subject to many revisions.
Now I prepare the message/presentation according to what the audience wants to hear. Outcome Thinking® is an excellent program that helps you connect with your audience (verbally/non-verbally) and send the right message for your desired outcome.”
Richard Conner, Senior Manager, Global Marketing, Medtronic
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