Performance

Cultivating Team Accountability

by

Since leaders are responsible for the performance of their teams, they often assume the role of primary accountability monitor for each team member.   In team meetings, each teammate reports to the leader, in turn, on her or his activities. The result is a one-sided presentation of information between team member and leader, with little dialogue occurring among the rest of the team. This creates an environment in which team members assume that the leader is the only …

Read more

Relying on Feedback

by

All automated systems rely on feedback loops to sustain accuracy and repeatability. These loops compare results against system settings, and adjust variables to ensure alignment and expected performance.   Then, when change compels a system’s performance to improve, there’s a ready baseline of consistent data against which to measure and generate improved results. It’s a logical, unemotional process that delivers higher performance.  The performance of people is similarly subject to unrelenting change that disrupts their status quo. And because the …

Read more

3 Keys to Evaluating Culture and Value Creation

by

Multiple studies agree that value creation is more dependent on successful culture integration than on any other factor; they cite poor cultural compatibility as the root cause for the high rate of acquisition failure. Without a timely and extensive integration of cultures, creating value will not be possible.  The traditional due diligence process evaluates multiple quantifiable parameters to validate the intuitive sense that a specific deal will create value, but often, the least attention is paid …

Read more

Why Teams Bond

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Teams bond when they struggle together to accomplish an objective. Every military, athletic and business leader knows this truth and relies upon it. Why do team members choose to join in the struggle? Accomplishing the objective is meaningful. The struggle provides a unique opportunity to make a difference, to contribute to a vital, significant endeavor. Participating enables mastery. Struggling with the team to overcome barriers enables the mastery of individual strengths that increase satisfaction, self-confidence and …

Read more

Performance Makes the Difference

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet There are leaders who believe that discussing performance with an employee, using a structured process, is a waste of time for the organization and for the employee. If the process is conducted inappropriately, then they may be right. Some businesses have ceased performance discussions entirely.On the other hand, when leaders believe that their people make the difference, then they appreciate their responsibility to invest in their human resources, initiated through individual discussions …

Read more

Leadership and Challenge

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449      There are times when leaders must confront adversity that threatens their business. Other times, to improve performance, they disrupt the established order by challenging the status quo. Whether the challenge is external or internal, leaders make things happen. Leadership and challenge are inseparable. Business leaders you admire are likely remembered for launching an entrepreneurial venture, developing a novel product and service, transforming a failing business, or revolutionizing …

Read more

3 Steps to Managing Autonomy

by

Give people choices, some control over their actions, and their performance improves. This is the essence of autonomy and why it is a proven motivator. But once autonomy is earned, then it must be managed, because the circumstances that originally enable it are likely to change. If you want your high performing, self-directed people to succeed, then monitoring the situation in which they work is critical; one change in your team’s work pattern can cause …

Read more

The NEW 5 Ps of Business Development

by

Collaboration Constrains Commoditization Many years ago, when I was in grad school, we spent many hours analyzing how the traditional 4 Ps of business marketing – Products, Pricing, Promotion, and Physical distribution – could be leveraged to strengthen competitive advantage and compel customers to purchase our products.  Later, the 4 Ps became the 5 Ps when it was realized that execution of the 4 Ps requires competent, dedicated People. These days, rapidly evolving technology is …

Read more