Pathways to Leadership

Our Mission is to unleash the verybest in People, Teams and Organizations.

Archive: Field Reports ......from Participants

Reggae, a Recipe, and a Rhyme

We all have situations like this - meetings that focus on problems, or worse, turn into blame sessions. Here's how one creative manager, using our Recipe for Partnership tool, along with some clever props, conducted a meeting that got his people's attention and corrected a destructive misperception.

Our company started offering DSL (high speed) Internet access in a neighboring town and was at the beginning stages of the project. We were confronted with the usual list of problems: the customers don't understand the product, we are still learning how to put the service in the customers' homes, the boundaries for our service are not fully defined, etc. These issues were relatively small, however, after six months of dealing with them the employees had grown weary.

In an effort to begin the dialogue and develop a pro-active approach to solving these challenges, I went to a coworker and discuss the upcoming meeting. She jokingly told me that she would help but I had to rhyme the solution before she would pay attention. We both laughed and discussed my presentation. When we were done, I thought about her poetry challenge and decided to surprise the team and actually do it.

When I performed the next morning (with guitar accompaniment) it was a tremendous success. Not only did I strum the guitar and read my poem, but I also put on shorts, a fake beard and a Bob Marley-like wig. The employees were definitely able to take their focus off of themselves and the problems for a moment and enjoy the hilarity of seeing their boss humiliate himself.

After we all had a good laugh, I proceeded to lead the team through the Recipe for Partnership. We started by asking "What's working?" and finished with "How are we going to do it?" The Recipe was perfect for our needs.

At the end of the process, the employees had taken their focus from "what's causing us problems" to "look how much work we've succeeded in doing". After all, we had taken a product from concept to several hundred customers in a very short time. We were also hearing a lot of positive comments from our customers. How had we missed the fact that we were facing problems because we were doing so good?

Perhaps the best outcome for me was when three of the employees on our team came up to me after the meeting and thanked me for a job well done. They too were dreading the meeting and felt that the opening act and the Recipe for Partnership gave everyone a chance to focus on the good that comes from our team's work and relationships.

No Micro-Managing!
Behlen Mfg. Co.

When I first was awarded my TI job, I felt those I supervised needed to be micro-managed. After going through the program, I saw how some of the tools could help change this. During a safety meeting I used the 3 Conditions of Change and asked the crew what they wanted to achieve and what goals they would like to set for themselves. Their responses were great! Now I only check on them twice a night, if that often. The goals were achieved within weeks, they enjoy their job more and have better attitudes, and so do I.

Magic Moments Save the Day
Behlen Mfg. Co.

Joining a different department 15 months ago has been the biggest challenge of my career. During the interview they informed me of the wide range of personalities within their unit, but I did not realize the scope of that statement at first. One of the people I worked with there tended to be negative, and sometimes I caught myself on the backside of the Energy Circle as a result. My job became a tedious chore and my self-esteem floundered big-time! I was stressed and emotional. As a direct result I had to start taking medicine for high blood pressure.

At that point, I began to put my training to work. I started taking magic moments when a stressful situation arose, and amazingly things started to turn around. I knew my accuracy percentage was high, so I focused on being a vital key on our team. Accepting my co-worker's behavior, good and bad, helped immensely. The result is I refused to let my self-esteem be affected by negative energy. Instead, I reflected on the positives of the day. At home, I was happier and more energized and my spouse noticed too. Negativity is such a waste of time because it produces poor attitudes and divides teams. Helping one another and looking at the positives will keep any team strong. This has really improved my work attitude and effectiveness.

Duncan Aviation Makes Fortune's Top 100 Again!
Taken from the Duncan Aviation Newsletter, March 2003

Once again, Duncan Aviation has made Fortune Magazine's Top 100 "Best Places to Work" list. This is the third consecutive year for Duncan, and each year, their placement has moved closer to the top. In 2001, they were ranked number 62; in 2002 they were ranked number 30. This year, they moved up to number 25.

Not only that, but Duncan also received the Wellness Councils of America "Gold Well Workplace" award. Some of the criteria for this award include senior level support, wellness committee work, data collection, and a supportive environment.

That says a tremendous amount for the way Duncan personnel at all levels have supported the work culture, and we know Pathways to Leadership has been a vital part of their efforts. Congratulations for doing such a great job on the High Road to Wellness!

Raising the Bar - Novartis/Gerber Products Co.

We are raising the bar in the Product Development group. Staff are now expected to provide technical leadership in addition to product development support. We're now working in a truer partnership with Marketing. This is a stretch goal for our staff who had been positioned as more of a "take-direction" service in past years. I have successfully incorporated these tools into this change process.

During this time one staff member asked for a technical lead assignment, another asked for support to develop these skills and yet another asked for assignments in new product categories. This was on top of other new responsibilities. We are well on our way to the new level of performance needed for the business to deliver $35MM to $40MM in new products each year to achieve annual targets of growth. Pathways to Leadership is an indispensable part of this transformation.

Getting Full Buy-In
Heska Corporation

After a challenging third quarter, I set a goal to incorporate full "buy-in" from my entire team to hit their fourth quarter goal. I asked each team member where they wanted to end the quarter. I asked them what level of commitment they were willing to make/give to our group and the region. By being direct and asking forward focused questions, each person stepped forward with a number and a positive attitude higher than anything I could have expected. We held regular meetings and used the Recipe for Partnership to keep enthusiasm going weekly! Outcome: Our region hit +110% of our plan for the fourth quarter and that recipe for success is being carried over (with some enhancements) to the first quarter of this year.

Also, in preparation for the upcoming performance appraisals I asked each team member to consider the following questions:

What are your goals as they relate to future with Heska?
What tools do you need to help you get to where you want to be?
What can we work on together to help you achieve what you want to achieve?

The results using this approach were a very positive reaction from several team members - each more excited about being brought into the process and having a greater sense of ownership.

Roadblock Dismantled
Schering Plough

A team consisting of ad agency, market research and brand management folks was working to develop new, meaningful concepts to test with consumers. The team had reached a roadblock with hostility, anger and close mindedness getting in the way. After talking with the lead agency contact, we decided to take half an hour at our next meeting and work through the Recipe for Partnership. By the end of the discussion the team had broken down the barriers and had started coming back together. The long-term result was that we actually improved the productivity of our team, built solid relationships and delivered several concepts that beat our target and will ultimately deliver more cases.

Rewards of a Wellness Culture - Schering Plough

We recently achieved hitting a 1-million work hour mark with zero industrial accidents or incidents. This represents a 50 times decrease over the previous year and has saved the company nearly $150,000 in medical and worker's comp cost. Nationally it has placed our company in the top 55 safest places to work in the US. Additional we now either match or exceed the top safety levels for all US-based pharmacy companies.

Build Yourself to Build the Culture

(Anonymous)
When I returned from the training, I asked my team to provide me with some ideas about ways that we could improve as a group. What I got back was generic, politically correct, arm's length answers. I knew right away that there was not the level of trust that there needs to be for honest and open feedback. So I dug deeper into the Pathways to Leadership material and thought about what I needed to do to bring about a wellness culture to those around me.

Of course, the realization finally came to me that I must build it in myself first! Upon further reflection, I realized that, over the past few years, I hadn't been growing and maturing either emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. So I got committed to building a better me. I've taken time each day to focus on learning and living these types of principles. What have I been doing? Building. Building me, building relationships, and building people. As a matter of fact, I have had two of my team on two separate occasions this VERY DAY, tell me that they have seen quite a turnaround in my attitude and behavior. I'm flattered but am really excited about the fact that they feel comfortable enough to make the comments. (Angel chorus sings, "Hallelujah!")

Upbeat Performance Review Process
Caraustar Custom Packaging

As you would expect, the employee review process is not always fun. The objective is to energize people to want to do better than they have, not to deflate their ego and cause bitterness and divisiveness. I decided to use the Performance Review Tool this year. Each manager answered the questions in their own words, but I did the same for them independently. We compared notes in the review. The process was more positive than in past years since we forward focused and looked at how we could do things "even" better than in the past. Sometimes the choice of one or two words in a sentence makes all the difference in the way a person feels about their manager and themselves.

As you know, our business is always challenging. Every year is a tough year. My management team is looking at the challenges of the new year rather than how difficult some of our problems will be. It is a difference in frame of mind that allows us to be positive rather than fearful and defensive. This program has made a big difference in our culture.

$500,000 Vendor Meeting
Ford of Mexico

After recently completing training I had a meeting with one of my managers and one of the family partners of a large Mexican industrial group. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a significant amount of money that one of his companies owed us as a result of its inability to supply parts to our assembly plant on time. My job was to use my leverage/power as a director to make this supplier bend to my will. I could have easily taken the low road and accused him and his company of not fulfilling their side of the contract and demand immediate payment, or else - - but I didn't.

Instead, I started off by using the 3 Conditions That Support Change. I made him feel good about his company and its longstanding relationship with Ford. I then asked him how he saw this situation and asked him for his ideas on how to solve the problem once-and-for-all. Then we discussed whether his solution would be acceptable if the situation were turned around on his company, or if it was the best way to do business in any situation.

After a calm one-hour discussion we came to a mutually satisfying conclusion. Two months have passed and our agreements have stuck and the problem has been resolved for the long term. It was not until immediately after the meeting, however, that my manager told me the person I was negotiating with was known for being a VERY tough negotiator, always demanded his way or nothing else, and usually yelled a lot to intimidate people. I saw a very different person, AND I was able to get what I wanted.

We recovered over $500,000 and we are avoiding the continuation of the problem and improved our relationship with this supplier. If I had not used these tools it could have caused worsening relations with a supplier that was our ONLY source for this particular part. If we changed suppliers we would have had to spend over $100,000 in new tooling and set-up costs AND probably never recovered the $500,000 that he owed us.

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