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Recipe for Partnership By guest author and Pathways Facilitator Brett Kleffner Mr. Firefight is an executive for a fast-paced, industry-leading company. He averages just over 100 emails and 50 phone calls a day. The smoke you smell at his desk is from two things: one - paper moving from in-box to out-box at such speeds that friction nears combustion, and two - all his junior executives who lead teams of managers are interrupting (if they dare) to hand off their fires to Mr. Firefight. Mr. Farmer is an executive with the same company. His email box and phone are just as busy and his office is just as smokey - from all the hot ideas he's stoking with his colleagues. Mr. Farmer practices something that Mr. Firefight doesn't - he asks specific questions to create momentum and ownership, which ultimately creates leaders around him. Suppose both executives are faced with the following scenario. A junior leader is looking for direction on how to incorporate her suppliers to work with her management team and with her managers' work groups. The same request from a junior leader is made to the two executives, "I need direction to give a presentation regarding partnership and the advantages of working as one team." Mr. Firefight's coaching sounds like this: "Junior Leader, It's important that our suppliers work with your managers well so we can keep operating costs down, and so we can rely on those relationships when the market takes its inevitable dive during the annual cycle. Let them know you mean business and that you won't tolerate any dissention. Keep your presentation tight and to the point and be sure they know why they need to come on board. Come to me with questions because I've done a thousand of these presentations. Good work, Mr. Firefight		Craig Ross, Director of Pathways     Steven Vannoy, President and Founder
Wow, that was quick and informative. Still, with all the telling, what is the message behind this message to the junior executive? What can Mr. Firefight expect the next time the junior executive is asked to lead a team meeting? Considering that Mr. Firefight's strategy for growing teamwork is to tell them why to be on the team, how stable will the foundation be? Is it possible that telling someone why to come on board (or why to do anything for that matter) - no matter how rationale and true the reasons- is less effective than asking them to identify why they want to join you? Let's take a look at another approach that grows both the junior executive and the teamwork between the suppliers and the managers Mr. Farmer's coaching might sound like this: "Junior Leader, Your vision for one-team attitude is a perfect situation to lead with questions and will certainly grow our business. Well done! Is the relationship with your suppliers what truly matters the most? If yes, then why are questions such a powerful tool? Or is the most important thing a specific behavior of the suppliers - for example prompt payment or speedy adjustments to business demands? If yes, then why is it so important to deliver a powerful message about what is important to you? Then have lots of follow up questions and listen like crazy. The following is just a draft. Of course you will make it your language. One tip that really adds value to the question strategy while you are using it is to have everyone write down his or her answers first if it's a large group meeting. You probably already know that your answers are half of the process. Question #1. Mr. Supplier, regarding your relationship with our company, where have we had, or are we currently having, successful teamwork? Question #2. What are we both doing that is creating that teamwork? (or maybe...what are the key behaviors we are showing that are creating that teamwork?) Question #3. Thinking long term (one year, five years), what would an ideal business partnership between our company and you look like? (here, be sure your response to this question includes your vision of one team) Question #4. What are the benefits to you when we have a one-team attitude and (one of their visions too) while doing business? What are the financial benefits? Question #5. What are the first steps for each of us to take to make this one team vision a reality? I look forward to hearing about your success with this powerful tool. You don't need to reply to me with this answer, but answer for you: why do you want to use this tool? What do you hope to gain by using it? Regards, Mr. Farmer That took much longer to communicate and business is about speed-speed-speed right? Exactly. Mr. Farmer just saved himself long-term hours (and more hours) of repeat mentoring. What difference will it make to Mr. Farmer now that his junior leader has a tool to create ownership between groups, between individuals, with customers for years to come? Did Mr. Farmer know why it's important for suppliers and junior leader's managers to unite as one team? You bet. So why coach junior leader to ask them? In the words of a Pathways to Leadership client, Gretchen Worm, "It used to be that business was so fast that I had to tell people what to do. Now it's gotten even faster so I can't take the time to tell them. It is imperative that I ask them questions so they can think and act for themselves."

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