However, during the ensuing year, I’ve noticed that implementation of these strategies has lagged. There seems to be an absence of engagement in the process and in the results; and so I began emphasizing the importance of including more focus on engagement as part of the Strategic Planning process for greater team buy-in and participation.

The teams I am working with today are taking more time and resources to focus on all aspects of collaboration as a way to enhance leadership. In addition, by bringing engagement into the Strategic Planning Process, together, we have created strategic plans that involve every leader’s participation in developing a clear strategy that promotes a sense of ownership and commitment from everyone involved in the implementation. This is critical to achieving greater results as both a leader and a team.

In my last blog post I described Four Engagement Questions to ask your team in your next strategy session. Today I want to continue to generally describe the strategic planning component of the Collaborative Leadership model, with emphasis on engagement and describe the first high level question in more detail; Creating the Future: What behaviors do we want to bring forward?

To begin the Strategic Planning Process, acting as consultant/coach I meet with individual team members, starting with the Executive Leader of the team and continuing with each team member, confidentially discussing each of the 4 engagement questions.

Next, the feedback and suggestions from each of these questions is shared during the subsequent offsite meeting as general comments without names, and copies are distributed to refer back to. As we discuss the feedback, it becomes clear where the priorities lie for both short-term and longer term strategic planning.

And, since all team members have contributed in advance to identifying the strategic priorities through the individual interviews, they arrive engaged and ready to continue at the Strategic Planning Offsite.

Obviously participation in the the Collaborative Leadership model takes commitment and time spent on the collaborative process so that the result creates an environment where open, honest discussion can take place.

Let’s take a closer look at the first of the 4 Engagement Questions:

Creating the Future: What Behaviors Do We Want to Bring Forward?

This question begins the process of greater engagement and allows for a focus on behavior in the leadership group, as well as staff who interact with internal and external customers.

Often behavior and how to work together are at the very core of getting the necessary strategic results. When you give focus to desired behaviors it affects your communication, accountability and the desired outcome of strategic planning.

It’s important to remember that the methods you create for discussion, decision making and implementation within your organization are as important as the intent. Ask yourself and your team these methodology questions:

• How does your team behave in pursuing organizational goals?
• How do they communicate these goals with their direct report teams?
• How does your behavior and communication affect your customers?
• How do you communicate and discuss policies within the organization?
• What behaviors do we want to bring forward overall?

I have been inspired by the time I have spent individually with each leader I m working with today and the depth of participation and brilliance that I have heard. Once people communicate their perspectives and priorities freely and individually, it becomes much easier to say them to the team. The value of each person’s perspective and experience during group discussion is clearly demonstrated and clarity is reached so that the team priorities can be set with team engagement.

To begin this process of engagement in your organization, ask yourself the above questions and individually in your one-to-one meetings, as well as team/staff meetings, to determine what actions and behaviors maximize your strategic results. I think you’ll be very interested in the answers you get!

Please let me know if I can assist in your next Strategic Planning meeting.

Do you have team engagement experiences or challenges you’d like to share? I’d enjoying hearing from you; please be sure to leave a comment.

The concept of the We-Pod is important because it’s created by individuals who have been spending a large percentage of time in an I-Pod. When they come together, learn more about each other, and agree to share accountability, each person improves as a communicator and problem solver. The We-Pod gives rise to greater creativity, high performance, and innovation. In the current climate, the success of a team is more important than ever.

When strategic planning is narrowly confined to profit, revenue and targets, it is difficult, at times, to get full engagement and ownership of goals. The important thing is to start at a high level, with an overview that includes visioning of both the results, as well as the teams’ participation in those results. This also includes a clear vision and mission that inspires the work, resources and time spent fulfilling goals. Inspiration is much easier to create in the We-Pod as collaborative leaders.

Use this high-level strategic process to jump-start your next planning process. The four engagement questions below require a high-level of engagement from all team members. More specific strategic goals can be created that include implementation steps once the answers to these questions are on the table.

1. Creating the Future—What Behaviors Do We Want to Bring Forward?

 This question begins the process of greater engagement and allows for a focus on behavior in the leadership group, as well as staff who interact with internal and external customers. Often our behavior is not a part of planning and yet it is the very core of getting the necessary strategic results, but is overlooked as a “no brainer.”

In an offsite with a global client, during the discussion of this question, she brought up not only their leadership behaviors, but also the behaviors of team members, one or two levels down, who would be creating the results; their interactive style, time spent in connection, and their overall engagement in the vision of the new environment when results were accomplished.

2. Expanding the Brand—Who Are We and Where Are We Going?

Create a vision for the future; for instance, what will your team look like by the end of the year, at the end of next year and possibly up to 3 years in the future.  Organizations are changing so fast today to adapt to the current business environment that going any further is not effective.

Take a look at look at business results, processes and communication locally, regionally and across the organization. Promote consistency of goals and the discussion of each person’s interpretation of these goals. Communication of this vision will override assumptions and create engagement that leads to results.

3. Investing in People—What Are the Important Values and Are They Aligned?

Identify, establish and communicate core values by which business will be done: communicate to your team how these values are to be shown and communicated to your customers and internal colleagues; encourage open discussion to maximize team alignment and buy-in.

4. The Essential Elements for Growing the Business – What Values are Important to Our Customer?

This is so important; often, over time, organizational goals are not in alignment with their customer; to their changing values, nor sensitive to the human interaction necessary to create the level of satisfaction that brings success. Make sure you are listening to what your customers are saying and asking of you.

This is on aspect of the Collaborative Leadership Process that creates the We-Pod value. Stay tuned for more information on implementation and team steps for moving forward.

* Thanks to Judith Glaser – Creating We for the original questions that inspired this writing.

In working with leaders and their teams, my experience has shown me that as they begin to participate in recognition and alignment with each other, a stronger commitment develops to opening up to new perceptions and to actions that make connection a priority. I have been moved by the level of openness and commitment among team members to a new approach and to the reordering of activities that is necessary to take teams and leadership to a new place.

So how can your organization operate more from a place of recognition and alignment?

Lift Your Expectations for Connection and High Performance:

A recent goal from a client I have been working with using the Collaborative Leadership Model:

“I want to create an effective team that communicates honestly without holding back so that we can effectively tackle issues and keep focused onwhat is important. I know that time and resources need to be used to refocus us on the aspects of communication, being accountable, and finding solutions as an everyday practice. I want the team to see communication as a top priority, and to keep agreements for discussions and free expression.”

Often when we want more or to be more, especially in terms of performing and innovation, we look outside for more information. Of course that can be helpful, however using what we already know can be shorter and much more fruitful. The talents and awareness of the team, especially within their own region or aspect of business, is easy to access when the line of communication is built through some specific process and awareness.

What Changes You Can Expect?

As we set up the Collaborative Leadership Process in organizations, we first involve each person prior to coming together as a group to prepare them for open communication and collaboration.

When you set aside time during each meeting to focus on how you are connecting, how you are growing as a team, as well as the what of your projects and goals, life begins to change. As a leader you can finally experience the benefit of input and sharing from your team that makes it possible for you to focus on other important matters such as the changes and actions that are necessary for successful strategic planning. You can trust colleagues to hear and to respond honestly allowing greater insight to move projects forward more quickly.

Increased Benefits:

As your team output improves, this allows you more time to expand your conversational opportunities with other top leaders, turning more challenging conversations into opportunities for more creative solutions.

When focus on Communication becomes a regular part of the team meeting agenda, and you follow the Collaborative Leadership Model how-to for these conversations, particularly in the process of implementation, keeping agreements becomes the norm. Focus and practice allow for new perspectives, and without that, there is only supposition.

Do you have team meeting communication and accountability experiences you’d like to share? I’d enjoying hearing from you; please be sure to leave a comment.

If you’d like to learn more about the implementation steps for jump-starting your team and colleagues into the Collaborative Leadership Model and become a We-Pod, please contact me today.

• Proactive vs. Reactive
• Focus vs. Interruptions and Distractions
• Alignment and Collaboration vs. Competition
• Implementing Strategic Goals

In my experience as an Executive Coach and Collaborative Leadership Coach, I am often told by leaders that although strategic meetings take place, the execution aspect is not successful. Through the cultures of interruption and distraction created in recent times there is a loss of focus. The simple act of coming to work, turning on the computer and going directly into e-mail can create a reactive rather than proactive day.

Following through on strategic goals necessarily requires proactive leaders and managers. These skills can be taught to emerging leaders and individual contributors as part of the mentoring process. One aspect of aligned teaming is focus; opportunities for real communication, and delegation processes with accountability.

Often the culture dictates immediate responses as indicated above. This has led to constant email checking and drop-ins with a neglect of regular meetings, which has created a culture of interruptions and distractions leading to difficulty with focus. To-do lists are made daily without the overall structure of strategic goals and project organization that leads to successful completion.

With the behavior focus and changes described above, the result is that the top leaders are aware of the strategy plan on a daily basis and can plan work that will implement those both individually and as a team.

Reminders for keeping the momentum going:

• Create regular leadership team meetings at least bi-weekly for 1 ½ hours and put in the
  calendar on a recurring basis
• Coordinate Tasks with Calendar
• Create task categories to match
  • Yearly goals
  • Projects
  • 1:1 Meetings
  •  Actions
• Calendar actions
• Set aside work time on the calendar

The four cultural behavior changes, if approached with intention, can be the foundation for creating change that will bring in proactive thinking, alignment, focus, and accountability into your organization.

If you have questions or would like to contribute to the discussion, I would enjoy hearing from you. Please be sure to post a comment. For more information on creating cultural change within your organization visit bridgingassociates.com.  Ask for information regarding Collaborative Leadership: How to Harness the Power in your People.

• Introduce themselves.

• The way they see their function.

• How their function relates to the function of each person at the table.

Did you find:

• That what people said about their function, is actually how others see it? Obviously, if there are differences, this is an opportunity to establish more clarity.

• Ask for ideas on how each person’s functional area relates to the others now, and how that could be improved cross functionally to get better results?

Please share with me your first meeting experience and any challenges and successes you faced.

The Second Meeting is critical in establishing a system of consistent follow up and accountability. It should occur one week after the first and:

• Discuss any questions or issues that may have come up in the intervening week.

• Take a few minutes for each person to discuss current projects or challenges they are dealing with.

• Create agreements from each person to move forward or complete their projects.

• Set up partnerships within the group so each person is accountable to one other person for agreements.

• Discuss with partner the implementation details, and take time to set up check-in calls during the week, for 15 minutes.

• Close meeting.

Be sure to check back soon for my next two blog posts on the elements of the Third and Fourth Meetings. If you are a leader of a team or a member of a team and want to learn even more practical tools that will enhance your team collaboration and communication, contact me today.