Which is More Important, Culture or Strategy?

This week I am in beautiful Palm Desert California at the Global Institute of Leadership Development. This is my eighth year attending as a coach and sometime team leader for the executives and teams who attend in order to expand their leadership and their approach to business.

I am happy to be here to hear some outstanding speakers and to meet and work with leaders from all over the world. The desire to practice high level collaborative leadership is increasing exponentially as the new business climate and this new century continues to call for the innovation of team connection and a new way of communicating and gaining results.

Last year after this Institute I worked with a company in the pharmaceutical industry. I coached and did team consultation with an executive level leader. I had the privilege of talking individually with his team and was able to assist in creating better communication and accountability. As I was writing this letter during a break, one of his team members noticed me and stopped to tell me how much the situation there had improved since I had helped their team create a collaborative meeting and communication process, and how she is more committed than ever to the organization and to her expanding role.

As she continued to share more with me, she said that her boss began to see the talent and ability of his team members more clearly so that now they are being empowered to do more, and with their increased confidence, are presenting innovative ideas to create a more supportive and active system of accountability within their business unit.

This transformational change was brought about largely by giving the team members the opportunity to discuss issues individually with me as the coach/consultant and then the opportunity to come together again with my client, their boss/team leader, to learn how to communicate effectively with each other, and to listen to one another with the intent to hear.

Want to achieve the same results as my client did? I would love to hear another success story so here are simple steps you can implement today; and be sure to let me know how they work for you:

  • Make it your priority to communicate regularly with your team; schedule meetings in advance so team members have time to prepare
  • Schedule meetings specifically for the team to get to know each other better and to share what they do and how it contributes to the larger picture.
  • Encourage team members to create individual partnerships and meet regularly with each other to support accountability and completion.
  • Review prior blog posts to see a description of The Four Meeting Process here.

Stay on the look-out for my upcoming e-book, Jump from the I-Pod to the We-Pod: Breaking through the Barriers to Essential Collaboration for Business Success, which will also contain a detailed explanation of the Four Meeting Process. It is in the final stages of editing and I look forward to sharing that with you soon.

As always, please contact me directly or post a comment with any questions or an experience/challenge you’d like to share. I’d enjoy hearing from you!