Coaching Your Team to Reach Their Maximum Potential

Leaders have the challenge of knowing how to maximize the working relationship with each employee on their team, individually and as a cohesive unit. Compatibility among co-workers tends to make it easier for them to work together. However, it is not always achieved.

The Hidden Benefit of Keeping Teams Intact is an extremely insightful article that appears in the December 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review. The authors, Robert Huckman and Bradley Staats, share “Most managers underestimate the power of familiarity. Managers understand intuitively that team familiarity – the amount of experience individuals have working with one another – can influence how a group performs.”  

Oxford University professor, David Upton, conducted a study at software firm, Wipro and examined 1,004 development projects that involved 11,376 employees. They analyzed detailed personnel records to determine which employees had worked together before and to what extent. They also observed how well each team performed, using criteria such as number of defects in the software each produced, and groups’ adherence to deadlines and budgets.

At Wipro, a 50% increase in team familiarity was followed by a 19% decrease in defects and 30% decrease in deviations from budget.

Teams, departments, and working groups work more effectively as their members become familiar with one another.

It’s important to understand the characteristics of each individual team member. How does each team member work? How do you work as a manager? Knowing the characteristics and behaviors of team dynamics will allow you as a manager to better understand, relate to, and have a positive influence on your team.

When behavioral characteristics clash, this could possible cause conflict. So what is your first step?

The first step is to gain awareness. Make a commitment to provide the tools and actionable data your leaders and teams need to increase team awareness. 

article appeared in Profiles International Workplace 101 Blog 

Author: John Bradford

Contact Parsley Performance Solutions at 888-332-6409 to learn how you can help your managers and leaders coach more effectively!    

Does Your C-Suite REALLY Understand Your Strategic Priorities?

If I were to ask members of your executive team to identify your company’s top three strategic priorities would their answers actually match?

The November 2013 issue of Inc. Magazine reported that 64% of executives think their top teams are aligned, but in truth, alignment happens in only 2% of companies. There was even less consensus when executives were asked about their company’s value proposition, according to Inc. Navigator CEO Brent Sapp.

This was not news to me. In 1992, I was challenged by the president and chief executive officer of an office furniture manufacturer to justify why he should support and fund a leadership offsite. In the meeting with the president were members of his executive team. I requested permission to demonstrate just one value of a leadership offsite. He agreed and I gave the five executives three post-it notes. I asked the team to write the company’s top three strategic priorities on the post-it notes. I then asked the president, how likely is it for the team to pick the exact same responses? He told me the responses would all be the same. He learned quickly that two-thirds of the team members were misaligned.

I then asked the president what the value would be to the company and shareholders if after one leadership offsite, the leadership team was not only aligned to the strategic priorities of the company but also aligned with the critical leadership competencies necessary to fully execute the actions required to achieve the strategic priorities. Needless to say, that leadership offsite was supported and funded and the result was the 100% alignment of strategic and operational priorities. 

Twenty-one years have passed and the same issue of misalignment is rampant in many organizations. Don’t believe it? Then test it in your organization! This process will work at the executive level or any level of the organization. Just follow this simple process.

1) Give each participant three post-it notes.

2) Identify the focus question and write it on a flip chart or white board.
- Executive example: What are the company’s top three strategic priorities?
- Function, department or team example: What are the top three goals that our department or team must achieve this year?

3) Without discussion, direct the participants to identify one response per post-it
note. After the participants complete the assignment, ask this question: How likely is it that we will all have the same three responses? Lead a brief discussion.

4) Have the participants individually bring their post it notes to a flip chart, white board, or wall and identify their responses to the group. Then ask the group to organize the responses by agreement in rank order.

5) The executive or leader in charge of the team does not share his/her responses. His or her responses are the correct response and are shared last.

6) Have one participant review the rank ordering of the responses with the group. Lead a discussion about the level of agreement and disagreement.

7) Have the leader of the team share his/her response. This sets the stage for the leader to discuss the level of alignment and areas of misalignment. Facilitate a discussion with the intent to reach an agreement on the importance of alignment, and identify actions that the group can take together or individually to make sure they stay in alignment.

This activity is critical if your organization is to achieve its strategic priorities, or if your department is to achieve its goals.  Navigator CEO Brent Sapp said, “The importance of transparency is clear (75 percent of leaders surveyed called it critical), but growth has a curious way of clouding your team’s collective view.” The organization that survives, Sapp says, “are those that block out the noise and focus clearly on exactly what customers hire their company to do.”

Remember, employees spend time and resources on those actions they deem most critical to their success. Make sure those actions are aligned with the strategic priorities and/or department goals. Tell them to ask themselves each and every day if the task they are performing is in support of the strategic priorities or department goals, and if not, why are they doing them?

Contact Parsley Performance Solutions, a Strategic Business Partner of Profiles International to learn more about how we help ensure that all levels of your company’s executives can become aligned with the strategic priorities that are critical to the success of your company!  Our leadership development and team alignment programs can make a big impact towards a successful 2014!

Posted on Profiles International Workplace 101 Blog

Author: John Bradford, Senior Vice President, Profiles International

 

It's not about me, it's about you... the 21 questions you need to ask in a job interview

 

I am passing along some great advice from Marc Canedella, Founder of The Ladders.
www.theladders.com 

David
 
David Parsley
Parsley Performance Solutions

--------------------------------

It's time for my twice-a-year update of the best questions for you to ask in an interview.

I've put this list together because so often we can forget what an interview's all about. It sure feels like it's about you, but it's really not.

An interview is actually about how you can help your future boss and future employer succeed. It's about finding out what their requirements and hopes are and matching up your background and experience with what they need.

Overlooking these basic facts about the interview is easy. There's so much else going on in your work, your life, and in your job search, that you can forget to look at the interview from the interviewer's point of view. And that's a shame, because you need the interviewer to walk away from the interview thoroughly impressed.

When I ran these questions previously, commenter "spiderji" wrote in and said:

Marc, I used some of your questions in a job interview today. When I asked how to get a "gold star" on the evaluation, the interviewers faces lit up!" I contrast today's interview with others I've been on where I didn't have any meaningful questions at the end. This one was electric! I won't know the results for a couple of days, but if they hire me I'll owe you a drink! Thank you!

And reader LBRZ shared:

I have to thank you! I had an interview yesterday and it went great. When I asked about his leadership style and reward system his face lit up like a christmas tree. After he answered the question "how can I help you receive your next promotion?", he began to give me advice on how I should negotiate for a higher starting salary.

And that's exactly the point, Readers. By asking these questions, which focus on the needs, traits, and preferences of your future boss and future employer, you're demonstrating that you are somebody who is genuinely interested in their well-being. And the more interest we show in others, the more commitment they show to aiding our cause.

With that in mind, here's the twice-a-year update to my collection of "best interview questions" below. My aim here is to arm you with easy-to-ask, revealing-to-answer questions for you to take with you to an interview:

1. What's the biggest change your group has gone through in the last year? Does your group feel like the tough times are over and things are getting better, or are things still pretty bleak? What's the plan to handle to either scenario?
2. If I get the job, how do I earn a "gold star" on my performance review? What are the key accomplishments you'd like to see in this role over the next year?
3. What's your (or my future boss') leadership style?
4. About which competitor are you most worried?
5. How does sales / operations / technology / marketing / finance work around here? (I.e., groups other than the one you're interviewing for.)
6. What type of people are successful here? What type of people are not?
7. What's one thing that's key to this company's success that somebody from outside the company wouldn't know about?
8. How did you get your start in this industry? Why do you stay?
9. What are your group's best and worst working relationships with other groups in the company? What are the pain points you have to deal with day-to-day?
10. What keeps you up at night? What's your biggest worry these days?
11. What's the timeline for making a decision on this position? When should I get back in touch with you?
12. These are tough economic times, and every position is precious when it comes to the budget. Why did you decide to hire somebody for this position instead of the many other roles / jobs you could have hired for? What about this position made you prioritize it over others?
13. What is your reward system? Is it a star system / team-oriented / equity-based / bonus-based / "attaboy!"-based? Why is that your reward system? What do you guys hope to get out of it, and what actually happens when you put it into practice? What are the positives and the negatives of your reward system? If you could change any one thing, what would it be?
14. What information is shared with the employees (revenues, costs, operating metrics)? Is this an "open book" shop, or do you play it closer to the vest? How is information shared? How do I get access to the information I need to be successful in this job?
15. If we are going to have a very successful year in 2015, what will that look like? What will we have done over the next 13 months to make it successful? How does this position help achieve those goals? (This question helps show your ability to look beyond today's duties to the future more than a year away.)
16. How does the company / my future boss do performance reviews? How do I make the most of the performance review process to ensure that I'm doing the best I can for the company?
17. What is the rhythm to the work around here? Is there a time of year that it's "all hands on deck" and we're pulling all-nighters, or is it pretty consistent throughout the year? How about during the week / month? Is it pretty evenly spread throughout the week / month, or are there crunch days?
18. What type of industry / functional / skills-based experience and background are you looking for in the person who will fill this position? What would the "perfect" candidate look like? How do you assess my experience in comparison? What gaps do you see?
19. What is your (or my future boss') hiring philosophy? Is it "hire the attitude / teach the skills" or are you primarily looking to add people with domain expertise first and foremost?
20. In my career, I've primarily enjoyed working with big / small / growing / independent / private / public / family-run companies. If that's the case, how successful will I be at your firm?
21. Who are the heroes at your company? What characteristics do the people who are most celebrated have in common with each other? Conversely, what are the characteristics that are common to the promising people you hired, but who then flamed out and failed or left? As I'm considering whether or not I'd be successful here, how should I think about the experiences of the heroes and of the flame-outs?
I hope you find these questions useful in your interviews, Readers!
A final note. Previously, another commenter, "Lenore", asked:

Hi Marc. Awesome questions! My question for you is.....how do you ask questions when you are meeting with more than one interviewer. I met with 3 to 4 interviewers, one at a time. I didn't want to come off generic by asking each of them the same questions. I guess you can go by their role to determine what questions you are going to ask. Sometimes they are all top executives. I'm guessing there are enough questions to divide amongst them all. I had asked so many questions in an interview once, that I didn't want to seem redundant. Do you think this is ok?

To which I replied:

Great question Lenore. Three options: 1) Change the wording a little bit each time so you're not asking the same question in the same way. 2) Mention that "You know, I already asked your colleague about this, and I'd love to hear your thoughts..." 3) Divide the list and ask different people different questions, as you suggested. Hope that helps! M

OK, Readers, have a great week in the job search!

I'm rooting for you!

Marc Cenedella, Founder
The Laddres