That article began with these questions:

1. How can I develop a team that will not need to talk to me and still move forward?
2. Why do we have a great strategic plan and then only get a fraction of execution of that plan?
3. Why don’t the functional leaders of this organization work together more effectively?
4. How can we engage people in our vision and make it their own?
5. There is no one who can take my position at this time, and I am not sure the people that are on my team can be the ones.

I would like to postulate that the most important aspect of leadership development in 21st century business is the ability to create leadership at all levels. Top leadership cannot afford to continue to have only a small percentage of people leading a large number who have not learned to express their leadership, nor use information about the vision of the organization to affect their conversations and decisions.

We all know that communication is key, yet how can we define communication so that it affects results? In the Rockefeller Habits the first and most important question is: Is the Leadership Team Healthy?

The first area to look at is the top leadership team to assure that the coming together of that team creates positive changes in the people, strategy, execution and cash position of the business.

When you decide to make meetings a priority, execution improves almost immediately. I was invited into a large Fortune 500 company because one of the top teams was having difficulty due to continuous conflict that was exaggerated by lack of effective communication and collaboration.

The plan that I proposed and delivered included individual confidential interviews with specific questions relating to team effectiveness, leadership and collaboration. I interviewed the Vice President team leader and the direct report leaders who each lead a team of managing leaders within the manufacturing plant. In addition, an initial day-long meeting was scheduled with the leadership team, followed by four monthly meetings over a period of 6 months.

The results have been very positive with the team working together in a new way, with a sense of empowerment, effective communication, and results that have created greater accountability and rhythm in the manufacturing area.

The first meeting consisted of using the Rockefeller Four Decisions Methodology and some communication exercises that began to get past the conflict and focus more on the strategic direction and core values of the team, and of the larger business.

The most effective and important part of this process is to allow team members to go beyond their own personal concerns, and to access their leadership and their contribution to the business as a whole.

In the Execution Module, the most important aspects are: priorities, metrics and meeting rhythms.

Have you struggled with meetings that lose focus and seem to accomplish nothing or less that you planned?

Would you see the advantage in having meeting rhythms that would create better, faster decisions?

The rhythm refers to daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual contacts of the functional teams in the organization, starting with the top leadership. You can start to reshape the effectiveness of your meeting rhythms to conform to the real time of your business.

Daily Huddle-–These serve to Synchronize the Team. They are short, no longer than 15 minutes, and can be shorter. They are designed to bring forward issues that need resolution but do not necessarily need to be solved on the spot. The format is short and allows each person to speak and to talk about the day, what is up, and if there is any place where they feel stuck

Speeds up business, insures teamwork, and heal relationships

Weekly Meeting—Focus and Collaboration: These serve as a status and update session for the leadership team and other departmental teams.

Monthly Meeting— Learn and Solve: This meeting includes the top leadership and the next level to provide information and to review progress. These meetings, along with the huddle and weekly meetings, address the strategy and progress, as well as provide a leadership opportunity for the management staff to give them a sense of progress and of their contribution to the overall strategic plan.

Quarterly Meeting— Full Day: Priorities and Critical Numbers: These serve as directed review, communication and education opportunities, and create the sense of teamwork at all levels.

The four meetings above are the recognition of the 13-week cycle of each quarter for the whole organization.

Annual Meeting—Reviews the year and plans for the upcoming year.

I highly recommend Scaling Up by Verne Harnish where these meetings are discussed more fully. The Rockefeller Habits and Four Decisions are a very effective way to scale up your business and to increase results. I find this way of expanding business and of creating a culture that develops leadership and accountability to be effective and practical.

I hope this month brings great results and connection for you and your team!

As always, if you have a question, challenge, or success story you would like to share, please be sure to leave a comment. Also, if you are interested in an opportunity to experience this methodology, please let me know. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

Now many see that meetings are the core of successful implementation or execution of strategic planning. Both of these areas can be done more successfully by setting priorities and giving teams the ability to communicate, set up accountability, and problem solve with greater trust.

The essential component of business growth and success is the Health of the Executive Leadership Team which cascades down into the business no matter how large the company. Meeting Rhythms are an effective way to promote a healthy company culture and ongoing awareness of priorities within the organization, which is essential to moving business goals and business growth forward.

Meeting rhythms encompass the course of a full year, and are positioned as an important part of the overall business strategy and flow. Below are the recommended meetings to include in your company rhythm , from daily huddles to the annual meeting. Some may already be a part of your execution culture, some may not. The important thing to remember is that team cohesiveness at all levels is vital to the process.

Daily Huddles: these meetings typically start the day, and are held with everyone standing (who is able), and last 15 minutes or less. Daily huddles must have a specific agenda:

• What’s Up for you related to today
• What is the top priority for the day
• Am I stuck

Weekly Team Meetings for focus and collaboration: The weekly meeting should be held at the same time each week. Most organizations hold them either at the start of the week to set the stage for a productive week ahead, or at the end of the week, to serve as a recap of the week’s activities and performance. This is an opportunity to gather brain power to discuss strategically issues and solutions. This is also an opportunity for the leader to spend time with the team encouraging team relationships.

Monthly Meetings include front-line, middle and senior management and focus on strategic discussion and collaboration on issues and solutions, and further learning. They can be half or full day.

Quarterly Meetings: These are typically held offsite for one day to encourage uninterrupted focus on action planning and review of the yearly strategic plan.

Annual Meeting: This is typically held offsite as well for up to two days and includes review and strategy of the plan for the upcoming year.

The term Meeting Rhythms is used because the successful implementation comes from making the above meeting structure a part of everyday work patterns.

In my last article, Are you Thinking and Planning or Just Doing, I mentioned the basic foundations of strategy; Core Values and Purpose, along with Brand Promise and knowing your Core Customer. In all meetings, except the huddle, it is a good idea to review your organization’ values, purpose and brand promise, or have them visible. This way the foundation of your business is always present in each meeting as the planning and review are done.

Huddles and Weekly meetings provide opportunity to build trust and to correct difficult interaction issues. When things are left unspoken they tend to grow. However, adopting the business practice of regularly scheduled time together can help teams lift above their emotional reactions that stop progress, and bring them back into focus. Meeting rhythm creates consistency, which in turn, creates greater trust, and comfort in accountability.

You can find more information on Meeting Rhythm in Verne Harnish’s book, Scaling Up, How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t.

Do you have a question, challenge, or success you would like to share? Please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

I believe that the Collaborative Leadership Four Meeting model is the best for creating greater cross functional goal achievement with an organization, and more effective project management among leaders and their teams. Effective communication is an essential part of this collaboration, and meetings that communicate goals and initiatives must be deliberately structured to encourage input and maximize engagement.

Creating engagement and buy-in – perhaps the most important part of our meeting model is the Introductory Meeting. This is where team leaders set the new tone and expectations for meetings going forward.

Here are the steps for your first Introductory Meeting:

• Discuss the concept of using meetings to move into greater connection, accountability and solutions. Emphasize that practice shows that taking time to develop better communication, partnership and sharing of possible solutions will move strategic plans and goals forward with greater speed and empowerment for all involved.

•  Ask them to use the time between this introductory meeting and the first of the Four Meetings to consider what is going well and what is presenting a challenge to them.

•  This is a time to introduce the idea of presenting a report that has a focus on a win, as well as a current challenge, as a way of effectively utilizing the meeting and the team. This will replace the usual business report that is often read without comment. It sometimes takes some time to get people comfortable with the vulnerability of talking about challenges

•  This is an opportunity for the leader to demonstrate by having an example of what’s going well (a Win), and a challenge that is being presented; and what a next step might be. You can let them know that no one will question during the presentation. You can use ½ hour to have everyone give the same communication. There is no right or wrong way to do this. The important element is the communication and the willingness to do something different to enhance results.

For one global organization I work with, this model moved regional vice presidents and directors to greater communication and accountability, which resulted in creative solutions coming from everyone. The trust in the meeting and communication process, created greater trust with each other and in working together. Leaders now talk to each other more regularly. In addition, engagement in the strategic plan and implementation increased as the members of the team communicated more frequently with each other to create planning, and to share ways to move forward more effectively.

One VP told me that he used the model to lead his own group, and to assist his leadership team to manage their work teams to meet the goals that were set by the business. Trust to be authentic and to share the truth became easier and productive.

This change in focus can create some discomfort as people move out of the comfort zone of protection and presenting a good picture. A leader must assure team members that challenges are part of growth which allows us to step into new territory with a sense of support rather than being judged and evaluated personally.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• Make Collaborative Leadership and team alignment a priority and communicate that to your team

•  Set up a team meeting to discuss and to introduce the process

•  Know that the team alignment process with a consultant and with the team during regular interaction will take time which will be made up by creating more efficiency and implementation with a new mindset

•  Give yourself as the leader the coaching and reflection time to develop new goals based on the fact that 21st century business demands collaboration

•  Be open to new ways of thinking and doing and to your own leadership expansion

•  Know that empowerment of the members of your team will create more time for strategic thinking and interaction with other business leaders

Stay tuned for more on the Four Meeting Model; we’ll be taking a closer look at the elements of the First Meeting next time.

Would you like to see the Four Meeting Model in its entirety? Request a copy here: Send me a copy of the Collaborative Leadership Four Meeting Model.

Do you have a leadership question, challenge, or success you would like to share, please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

Stage I:  The Change: The Event

Often organizational announcements are made without any plan for moving through the process of letting go of the old processes and bringing in the new. Meetings with those who work together are essential during this time so that new methodologies can be created. Often these meetings are about rumors and fears without much planning involved. It is important that the leadership take time to make the necessary announcements about what will change, and what will stay the same, so that some of the fear can be acknowledged and addressed. Naturally the change will negatively affect some, so following through with these people when the changes take place is extremely important. Often at the beginning, and toward the middle of the change process, uncertainty does not abate because of the lack of communication. If a process for letting go and clarity about moving forward is intentionally directed, it can make a huge difference.

A clear example is an acquisition whereby a much larger company buys a smaller one and begins the process of melding the staffs, letting some go, shifting leadership and creating a new organizational model. This process takes time, but often the lack of communication and development begins as soon as the change has been made, resulting in confusion and an environment of fear. The need for clearly defining what will be let go and what will remain is very important to convey to employees at the beginning, but is typically not done. The processes for changing roles and behavior cannot begin until this is communicated.

Stage II: The Transition Period

As the change moves forward, the Transition or neutral period is the most important focus for successful change and is often neglected. There is a period of less activity and focus toward goals as the organization adjusts. The good news is that by giving permission to your team(s) to look for new ways of doing things and relating, leadership peers can take more time to create new initiatives for achieving results.

Intentional communication is necessary so that the adjustment period (Stage II) is an accepted change mechanism. During this period, as people adjust, it is important to have intentional conversations in order to create greater opportunity for innovation.

Stage III.  The New Beginning

The new beginning is more than just a new start because it requires that new processes and relationships are put in place and brought about through intentional communication.

This stage can only begin in full when the first two stages have been successfully implemented. At this point not every problem or issue will be resolved, but it does mean that the change is moving forward and requiring new behaviors for everyone.

Because of the continued, intentional communication and devotion to adjusting and creating new processes, new relationships are formed, geared toward implementing the new behaviors required to create new results.

If you are moving through the changes described, consider planning specific meetings with teams in the organization to clearly define what needs letting go, what adjustments are needed to move forward, and what new behaviors are needed, replacing the old. Leadership can only implement new processes successfully when everyone is engaged in the change, and given the chance to let go, adjust and create a new beginning.

Do you have a question, challenge, or success you would like to share? Please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

During these events the main opportunity is to communicate and to connect, and I was particularly interested in the Negotiation break-out session which allowed us to look at negotiation from a personal point of view.

As a promoter of communication, connection and relationship, I had a surprise during an exercise that was part of the negotiation session. We were asked to take some money out and to develop a partnership. One person in the partnership gave the other person their money. Then we were asked to negotiate to have our money returned. The person who had our money was encouraged to be honest and to return the money only when they felt there had been a successful negotiation. I presented what I thought was a very effective argument for returning my money. I gave some good reasons and explained my situation. She said no, and when the feedback occurred, she felt that she had not been engaged or that I was concerned about her perspective.

As we reviewed, I saw that in my rush to prepare a good presentation, I had overlooked what I know is the most important part of negotiation; creating a connection through communication and relationship. The power of engagement and the use of inquiry were vitally important for a successful negotiation.  Throughout the week, there were many other opportunities to practice creating connection through inquiry.

As many of you are moving into the end of the final quarter of the year, it is important to create an environment of negotiation and cooperation to achieve the foundation you envision for meeting the goals for next year.

As you engage in meetings with your vision as a leader, remember that engagement is the most powerful asset you can have. Take the time to use the Essential Parts of Speech as you prepare for meetings and discussions:

• Framing
• Inquiry
• Advocacy
• Illustration

1. Framing: Prepare a brief introduction as you share your vision for the meeting:

a. What is the purpose of the conversation?

c. What do you want to discuss?

b. What is the outcome you would like to see?

c. Illustration can be part of the initial framing to create greater clarity

2. Inquiry is next: Make sure not to talk too long before pausing to engage others

a. Ask questions about how others respond to what you are presenting

b. Create a safe environment that encourages honesty; and state your desire to engage those in the room as they are vital to the results

c. Ask questions to create clarity so that others feel comfortable asking for more clarity

3. Advocacy is contained in almost every discussion. It is important to say what you envision as the result of what you believe to be a good step forward. Advocacy can be like the elephant in the room when it is not stated clearly and your agenda put on the table.

4. Inquiry is used throughout to create engagement.

A suggestion as you move forward is to always consider the engagement aspects first as you are looking at goals or initiatives. Below is a five-part self-inquiry that will help you create more focus on people to achieve greater success.

Engagement Assignment:

1. A business goal that I would like to accomplish this year is:
2. How can my peer colleagues or other members of my team enhance and develop my vision?
3. What can I do or say to engage others (see above)?
4. What do I want to hear or experience to be more engaged myself?
5. How can I motivate myself to be more engaged with others?

Have a good couple of weeks and I look forward to connecting again soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions, challenges or successes you’d like to share, please be sure to leave a comment. I would enjoy hearing from you! – Patricia

In our initial conversations, I became aware of his caring and his expertise. In addition he had some ideas for the bank that he was not communicating due to his sense of inadequacy at the executive leadership meetings. As we went through his routine he began to talk about his open-door policy. As you might imagine, he was extremely well-liked by all and spent his day getting interrupted constantly. This, to me, is an example of the collaborative leadership premise that, one of the least successful modes used for communication; is the “drop in” meeting.

We all appreciate a sense of control over our lives, but in reality the drop-in meeting creates interruption, a lack of preparation, and can lengthen into a long period of time where the person who has dropped in has abdicated his/her responsibility for reflection, research and decision making.

Scheduled meetings on the other hand, even short ones, can be valuable and connective. It is clear that the mindset surrounding meetings will be part of the change that occurs in a collaborative leadership culture. The word “meeting” has from time-to-time been thought of with distaste, irritation and sometimes dread. But effective communication and connection can only happen within a meeting, where the meeting process is a focus prior to and during discussion of agenda items or initiatives. Leadership, in the context of the meeting process, and in general, is not a role as much as it is a behavior. Therefore, everyone in the room has the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to contribute to the meeting purpose.

As I worked with my client, we set up a new routine which included having available hours posted on the door so that appointments could be made for those times. A positive consequence of this routine was that the members of his team began to talk more to each other, and to arrive at his office with more organized thinking and with decisions for approval rather than beginning discussions.

In addition, my client was able to organize his day and set aside time on the calendar for thought projects that he wanted to do, which also gave him confidence to discuss his ideas in the Executive Leadership meetings.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss how the Process Focus of meetings can help you create more effective communication within your organization, please contact me directly at patricia@bridgingassociates.com. In the meantime, I’ll be discussing the process further in my next post.

Leaders are expected to have ideas and solutions. One of the most effective tools for creating solutions is to have the benefit of connections that you can count on for discussion and clarity. In most organizations the time for connection is not a priority; but I am advocating making this a priority so that, when needed, there is a quick and clear ability to communicate and move forward with clarity.

If you are a leader who wants to break through the barriers to essential collaboration, there is an important practical step you must take: make regular appointments with colleagues who are your peers, as well as the team members that you lead.

One of the basic issues in organizations is the lack of connection between peers. Some thought leaders suggest that the team of which you are a member, your team of peers, is the primary team, while the team you lead is the secondary one. In my experience of working with teams, especially leadership teams, I have found that most leaders are more concerned about the team they lead rather than their team of peers where the ability to create more strategic results and innovation exists.

When meeting with colleagues, asking questions can be more important and more effective than any information you might impart. As a mentor to the team you lead, the way to move a team agenda forward is to create questions to ask each team member which, when answered, gives them an opportunity to share themselves and their knowledge with their colleagues, and to build trust. Often leaders approach team members with an issue beginning with phrases that create defensiveness instead of problem solving. With peers, the opportunity to problem-solve and to move the organizational agenda forward is available; if you give it priority and time to develop.

In the team development model used for Jumping from the I-Pod to the We-Pod, much time is spent in breaking the barriers to essential communication and collaboration. One of the biggest barriers to overcome is fear or mistrust, so asking questions and seeing the answers as a fund of knowledge for success can be quite powerful.

Essential Collaboration is necessary for building and sustaining the business, as well as for innovation. In order to have conversations that create essential connection, it is important to make asking questions or inquiry a major part of your agenda in order to get to the heart of the matter. These are not challenging questions, rather they are requests for information that help you understand what is important to the other person.

As a coach and consultant it is my job to ask questions to assist you in identifying the priorities that are important and the actions that will bring the results.

For example, recently I was talking with the new CEO of a large non-profit organization. As we explored the coming year with his team, I began asking him some questions. You can imagine that leading in a new context can seem overwhelming at first, and I was talking to an experienced CEO who has led other organizations. His leadership skills were developed, however, because this was a new place with a new culture, discovering how it operates and what changes are needed to bring it into the current context was essential.

Challenging people is not the first step; finding out what is important to them is. The following questions helped my client clarify his priorities and next steps:

1. How did you get started?
2. Where do you wish you were making faster progress?
3. What are the most exciting parts of the job?
4. Are there things you need to de-emphasize or stop doing?

These questions are ones I often ask as a coach as I assist executives to look at strategy and priorities, and they are questions you can ask yourself as you prepare for conversations with colleagues and your direct reports. Often questions like these allow you to move “out of the box” and become more aware of what is important and what actions need to be taken to move forward.

Please share your own thoughts and experiences by posting a comment.  I’d enjoy hearing from you!

Decisions within an organization are made in many ways due to a number of factors:

• Time line
• When action is needed
• Engagement
• Team leadership
• Organizational impact

In general the level of involvement in decision-making tends to determine the level of ownership, and the more involvement and input your team has, the more engaged they will be in supporting the decision and in the implementation. But sometimes decisions need to be made quickly and at the top without team input.

So what can you do to keep your team engaged and accountable when decisions come down from the top?

• Create an information session and ask your team for input on implementation plans to bring the engagement quotient up.
• Help your team clearly understand the decision by explaining how it was made and what the implications are.
• Create a plan for implementation with clear communication and accountability steps.
  By providing your team with the larger picture on decisions made, and by encouraging their input in their area of expertise, you create greater buy-in and accountability with each team member.

Sometimes we think that meeting to make decisions is inconvenient and time-consuming; and indeed I was involved in a Linked In discussion just a few days ago on this very thought which has inspired me to discuss the qualities of an effective meeting in my next post. An effective meeting can create a very productive work session that furthers the results that everyone is working for. Stay tuned!

As always, I encourage you to share your own thoughts and experiences by posting a comment.  I’d enjoy hearing from you!

PS: Look for my forthcoming book publishing soon; Jump from the I-Pod to the We-Pod: Breaking through the Barriers to Essential Collaboration for Business Success.

Today I’d like to give you some keys to moving away from the Command and Control model of Leadership, which has created the I-Pod existence, to the new leadership model of the We-Pod where communication is the key to maximizing team results and overall success within the organization.

Command and Control: Keeping the I-Pod Intact

We all know the name of the old leadership model. We also know that it is changing; however it still exists in tactical organizations, sometimes lost in detail, forgetting the importance of communication and team collaboration, which is the underlying structure of a successful organization. The model of collaboration can take time initially to create, however, once it is done, the quick-thinking responses of people who have knowledge and current information can be amazing.

In my work as a consultant, I have seen an increasing number of examples that demonstrate what happens when a leader holds back and stays in the isolation (the I-Pod) of their own internal conversation. In the fast-paced and changing environment that is the current condition in organizations, flexibility is important, but not more important than communication.

Jumping to the We-Pod: Communication is the Key

As a leader, it is incumbent upon you to communicate and share issues with direct reports, peers and the boss.

A recent situation in my coaching and consulting work has proven to me that withholding communication can be a dangerous game with results that leave a sense of frustration and confusion about “what happened?”

Here are three common areas in an organization where communication is withheld which can impede progress and results:

Communication with the Boss

This is probably the area where the most assumptions are made without checking them out. If you do not share your plans, your progress and your awareness of issues with the boss, their conclusion might be that you that you are not managing issues; when the truth is that you perceive the team situation and have solutions that you are implementing.

Communication with Peers

This is the area that I have found to be the most under used in a pro-active and positive way. You as a leader can begin to make changes, in these communication patterns. In competitive organizations where collaboration is not a priority, it may seem that to reach out to peers, share best practices, and give each other a broader view of the organization’s business might create vulnerability that could undermine your position. If your peers do not know what your focus is or what you are achieving because there has not been communication, they have no opportunity to collaborate, advise, support, give new perspectives, or to work with you on a joint initiative.

I suggest you take the chance, set up lunches and begin to get a broader base of communication. One of my recent executive coaching clients made this a goal: to reach across functional lines and schedule appointments with other VP’s. He was encouraged by their response, was able to learn the reality of their functional part of the business, and they were able to create some shared opportunities for moving the business forward with external connections.

Communication with the Team You Lead

Some of us are perfectionists to the point where it gets in the way of communication and forward movement. If you are unsatisfied with results that have been presented to you as a leader, keep the agreement to respond and communicate your concerns and set up time to handle the issues. Sitting on something that does not work, leaves the team in the dark and you in a sense of frustration and incompletion. Sometimes the team that you lead, without communication of your concerns, can be left wondering and making assumptions that do not move them forward towards a more effective result.

Below are a few suggestions for moving into the We-Pod collaboration model:

1. Make communication a priority by putting it on the calendar.
2. When there is a 1:1 with the boss ask for time to communicate  what you are doing in specific areas, what you have accomplished and what you are working on.
3. Respond to your direct reports when they send anything, even to say you received and want to improve what has been sent.
4. Set up a lunch with one peer every two weeks to give you an opportunity to see where some effective time can be spent going across functional lines.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed the article. As always, please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Stay tuned for my soon to be published book: Jump from the I-Pod to the We-Pod: Breaking the Barriers to Essential Collaboration for Business Success!

• We do not function as a team.
• I have no idea what “they” are doing.
• I am asked questions that I cannot answer.
• My boss never lets me know what I am doing well.
• The follow through after a meeting is not there.
• We discuss things and never get the final decisions in writing to move forward.
• Meetings are cancelled frequently with no new meeting made.
• I have to keep track of my team because I do not know how or if they are moving forward.
• My directs have teams that are not meeting the goals and I want them to do better

Team engagement in Strategic planning beginning at a high level can be part of the move to greater collaboration in the team. First a focus on communication, accountability and solutions leads to greater willingness and ability to vision and make decisions. Then using that ability and newfound familiarity with each other allows the strategic planning process to move forward successfully with full participation in planning and most importantly in implementation.

In my last post I introduced the Strategic Planning process, and discussed the first of the Four High Level Questions that I ask during the the offsite for the Strategic process.

1. Creating the Future—What Behaviors Do We Want to Bring Forward?
2. Expanding the Brand—Who Are We and Where Are We Going?
3. Investing in People—What Are the Important Values and Are They Aligned?
4. The Essential Elements for Growing the Business – What Values are Important to Our Customer?

I’m delving into the second question specifically today, Who Are We and Where Are We Going, which focuses on expanding the Brand, using high level strategic thought, expression and discussion from all team members that can then move into strategies for specific business areas.

The self definition of the first part, “who are we”, is something that is rarely brought forward in a strategic planning meeting. However, it is a huge part of creating engagement and the collaborative mindset that moves through the obstacles to unified action. As each leader gives their sense of the quality of the organization, what are the important goals, where are we going, and shares this with the team, it is amazing how much new information there is.

So often we assume we understand other people’s relationship to the work and we are just as often not accurate.

The second half of the question, “where are we going”, allows for the vision of each person to be brought forward within specific areas of the business.

During the last Strategic process offsite that I led, the confidential feedback given during the Team Alignment Strategic Interviews was presented in writing without identification. The team was then divided in half to come up with strategic goals for four specific areas of the business that were identified by the feedback given to the four high level questions during the individual strategic interviews.

The leadership team was then divided into two groups to begin the strategic plan. The feedback to the questions was available so they could see what others had presented. The connection between team members that was developed within each small group, was vital and occurred quickly following the team alignment process which had been held previously. So often strategic meetings are large and discussion is limited. Certain people often do not contribute in the group and may have thoughts later that are communicated to only one person, and more importantly, people do not become as engaged in the implementation as is necessary for a higher percentage of desired results.

In this particular offsite, the strategic plan, based on the answers to the four questions, brought forward a vision for the end of the current year, 1 ½ years forward, and three years ahead with clear action steps to create those results.

Because this was a Senior Leadership team of a large global unit of the business, each of the team members had a regional team to lead. Before participating in the Collaborative Leadership/Team Alignment process, these senior leaders were not aware of the challenges and best practices of their peers and the supporting teams. Accountability partnerships for completion of goals created consultation and support. Following the team alignment process offsite meeting, partnerships were created and SKYPE and phone calls used to have regular peer meetings with a partner, fostering the sense of connection and unity as the business is growing.

Once you have an initial strategic plan:

1. Create clear and measurable statements
2. Assign metrics for each strategic goal
3. Discuss issues and challenges of this goal
4. Map out clear Implementation steps
5. Establish accountability partnerships within the leadership team
6. Agree on next steps and due dates to be followed up on in the accountability partnerships

I  invite you to contact me via e-mail patricia@bridgingassociates.com to create an appointment for a 30-minute free coaching/consultation appointment to discuss the strategic planning process in detail and to see what you can use for your next team meeting. Please provide the best number to reach you and three available times you can meet via telephone or Skype (if you have that available), and my office will call you to confirm an appointment.

As always if you have a thought, challenge or success story you’d like to share please be sure to leave a comment!