I stumbled across an on-going study about how people respond to problems and challenges in their lives.This discovery—now called the Responsibility Process™—helped me understand why and how my own team failed (the humbling truth was I failed my team). 
My book detailing what I learned is in it's 9th printing. Business schools and corporate training departments around the world use Teamwork Is An Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility. It remains a steady seller. I'll give you a copy of it at Knowledge Team Leadership. And Fortune magazine, in their 2006 issue devoted to teamwork, called Teamwork Is An Individual Skill the only teamwork book worth reading. Seriously. (An Amazon search on the keyword "teamwork" produced 52,242 titles.) ~ read more comments from participants at the end of this page ~
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Double your team building/team leadership
skill in 2 days and get more done
with less stress
Attention Team Leaders, Agile Coaches &
Leaders, and Project & Program Managers:
You can build any team any time
And do so systematically with confidence
regardless of your "people skills"
Guaranteed*
How? By learning and applying step-by-step proven team leadership discoveries
about how to get things done under conditions of shared responsibility
Your training on how shared responsibility works in the mind of every human being and what to do about it to build powerful teams is the best I've ever seen. I thought I knew a lot about leading agile project teams before attending Knowledge Team Leadership. Now I know so much more. Knowledge Team Leadership, and especially the principles of Responsibility Redefinedª, have made a huge difference in my ability to orient and lead teams that deliver results, in my agile software development consulting practice, and in my life. Thank you Christopher for investing your life in understanding and teaching this information. Ashley Johnson |
Date:
From: Christopher Avery PhD
RE: Deliver greater results with less stress and more fun
 |
Christopher Avery |
Dear Friend and Fellow Team Leader or Member,
What's one of the most frustrating things about work these days? Here's what I hear:
"The endless hassle of having to depend on others just to get my own work done."
Yet team leaders worldwide are mastering the secrets of success in shared responsibility situations. And it is changing lives, work, and relationships.
These secrets of shared responsibility improve results, teams, and the lives and careers of the people they touch.
Nothing feels better than knowing
exactly how to build your team
...how to really make it click, and then acting on that knowledge. It sets you free. It gives you power. It expands your choices. You are free to lead. You can achieve. You can respond to anything and overcome any challenge. And you can have the work-relationships, career, and assignments of your dreams.
Because you know exactly how to build any team any time.
Are you in this situation?
You share responsibility with others to get things done. But you donÕt report to them. They donÕt report to you. However your outcome, your results, your reputation, and eventually your paycheck depend on what you do together.
Does that describe it?
Imagine coming to work everyday and working with a team of people who practice the highest standards of shared responsibility every day, in every situation, with everyone around them, including you.
And imagine being able to bring out that spirit of shared responsibility in every relationship at work.
It is so cool.
Now imagine you could do that day after day, year after year. What would that mean to your career?
If you're like most people, you're saying to yourself, "That would be amazing!"
What I'm talking about here is...
Results, Confidence, Less Stress & More Fun
These are the ultimate benefits of mastering Knowledge Team Leadership under conditions of shared responsibility.
Hi, my name is Christopher Avery. You may have heard of me. IÕve been studying and teaching the art and science of building and leading effective teams for over 20 years.
Want to have a some fun? Watch this video when you |
Do you find it challenging to consistently gain team members' attention, align around a common objective, elicit commitment, and work effectively together in an environment of trust, goodwill, and cooperation?
Do you find it increasingly frustrating to get things done with others in this complex and everything-is-hyper-urgent environment?
Do you have too many priorities with too much urgency, too many assignments, little or no budget for travel, or time for meetings?
Are you and the people you rely on spread too thin, across too many times zones and cultures, and with your schedules impossibly compressed?
If you answered Yes, you are in good company (and I can help).
Everywhere I travel, professionals tell me the challenges to building responsible teams are increasing.
Well I have good news. The principles I have successfully taught to thousands are more valuable today than ever.
Falling down can be a great teacher
|
I read your book on a flight home from Oslo. I loved it! I must have recommended it a dozen times in the last week. ~Mike Cohn, MountainGoatSoftware.com |
Is this really the magic bullet?
I imagine you think I'm claiming to have found the magic bullet, and if you just believe in this magic bullet you will be a great and successful leader and will never face another team building challenge again.
Not true at all.
The truth is that learning, adopting, and applying this powerful mind set doesn't make your team building problems go away at all. Instead it puts you in a position of confidence and freedom to face them, diagnose them, and solve them fast.
How? Because:
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You will understand why a team does or doesn't generate a felt sense of shared responsibility
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You will have a fistful of diagnostic and interpersonal tools you can use to make an incredible difference should you choose
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And you will know there is always an effective action you can take to build any team any time
I've got some great news for you today
I personally invite you to participate in something very special.
It's quite unique, and very unlike anything you may believe to be similar.
This is how you can learn and understand how shared responsibility works to keep teams stuck or propel them forward so you can be a great team leader or member...
Introducing ...
> > the new 2-day intensive format you demanded < <
I recommend you crawl over broken glass, walk on hot coals, and swim through shark-infested waters to get into this event — it's that important!
You will learn exactly how to understand, orient, build, and lead any team any time.
I promise.
But wait. Before we go any further, please consider your response to this question.
Where will you take your career when you can confidently understand, orient, build, and lead any team any time?
While you consider your answer, see what these graduates say about their confidence, results, levels of stress and fun before and after Knowledge Team Leadership
Wendy Nagy, Director Program Management |
Chris John, CEO, United Benefits Advisors
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| Greg Krisher, Software Engineering Manager, GE Analytical Instruments, Boulder, CO |
Rachel Weston, Agile Coach, Rally Software Development
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Matt Stonesmith, GE Analytical Instruments |
Stacey Hunvald, Agile Facilitator |
Outstanding seminar. By far the best of any company sponsored training I have attended. Brent Hoffman My mind set now is that I can make that team successful no matter what players are on it and no matter what role I play. My mind set now is that I can make that team successful no matter what players are on it and no matter what role I play. We even turned around a failing manager and department by using the tools I learned at Knowledge Team Leadership. Clare Huspeni ...made an incredible difference in terms of how these folks work together We took over 200 employees in one division through Partnerwerks' program over the course of a year. We have been very, very happy with the content of Partnerwerks program and model as well as with their service. This process has made an incredible difference in terms of how these folks work together in ways that are very, very different from how they started out. Qualitative differences have to do with vastly improved
We certainly have experienced a significantly increased rate of participation and involvement in the division. Folks feel more valued, i.e., that what they have to say might actually be of interest to other folks.... Morale has improved in a lot of ways and the expectations of folks in the organization have continued to increase. They feel not only more empowered but more entitled. This has them being consumers of management and leadership attention units, so they are much more articulate about what isnÕt working. Dr. Tracy Gibbons Results have been dramatic and extremely positive. ...we met or exceeded all our objectives. But more importantly, those who participated in the project have really grown as individuals and as coworkers. Dear Christopher, It's pretty clear to me that we'd be out of business if we hadn't done this work with your company Partnerwerks! The market offered DTM a 9-month window to complete a 15-month development project. Worse, there was disagreement among design team members about whether this project was the best use of company resources. We knew that our challenge was not just project management, but a team challenge. We hired Partnerwerks to orient, train and monitor our project team because we needed people working in the same direction, with high energy and high trust. I picked Partnerwerks for your focus on getting people to be responsible for and own the team process, rather than follow a cookbook approach to teaming. It wasnÕt a ropes course. When we came away, the people owned the solution. Results have been dramatic and extremely positive. From a company financial and product viewpoint, we met or exceeded all our objectives. But more importantly, those who participated in the project have really grown as individuals and as coworkers. Partnerwerks' work remains alive long after the project. We are the best weÕve ever been at being collectively focused and directed without a lot of interpersonal chaos. Our meetings are effective and efficient. That in itself has made a huge difference in the way we conduct our business. Everyone goes to the meetings they need to go to and trust others to have the meetings they need to have. We trust each other to progress and communicate. We trust people in meetings when we can't attend. Hidden agendas have really been minimized. Even people who were not on the core team and were not trained by Partnerwerks picked up on the environment rapidly and fit right in. The "road map" we generated is working well for us. Craig Wadham, It opened my eyes... Now is a perfect opportunity to let you know again how valuable I thought this training was. It opened my eyes in several ways, and I sense that it did the same thing for several other folks in our office. You did a wonderful job conducting the training, and your enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject matter was very inspiring. It was a very worthwhile experience. Amanda |
Let me tell you all about
If you are willing to work half as hard as I do for your success during these two days your results will come, you will be amazed at how quickly time flew by, how much you learned, and how confident you are about addressing any team issue any time. Guaranteed*.
Consider the benefits you will enjoy
With the Knowledge Team Leadership skill set, you can expect to:
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Get your own work done easier, faster, and better when dependent on others |
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Be a much better team member or leader |
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Get things done across boundaries |
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Put yourself in position to be promoted |
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Gain respect |
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Know what to do to move any collaboration, partnership or team forward |
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Overcome any team challenge |
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Demonstrate competence and confidence about getting to breakthrough when confronted with differences and conflict |
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Get past upsets and frustrations faster, more naturally, and with less residue |
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Surround yourself with team members who practice responsibility |
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Demonstrate people and organizational savvy especially when and where authority and process are fuzzy |
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Know how and when to gently contribute or, if necessary, take charge to get folks aligned and moving forward |
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And more |
Come claim these 4 ultimate benefits
& lead others to enjoy them too
Results
Know you will reliably produce results with any group because you understand exactly what to do when you share responsibility with others to get something done...
Confidence
When you understand exactly how shared responsibility works, you can be confident that the only thing that stops you in teams is you—and that you know what to do about that. You are larger than any team problem. You can overcome any team challenge.
Less Stress
When you are clearer about what to do to move forward, you experience less anxiety. And when you experience less resistance from others, it make work less stressful, doesn't it?
& More Fun
Being a part of a great team is never boring, dull, or a strain. It's always rewarding and feels effortless even though you are intensely focused and working hard. You deserve that.
Here's what else you get
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2 full days of intensive hands-on proven-on-the-front-lines-of-leadership skill-building. We'll study from 8:30am to 9pm the first day (yes, 9pm) and 8:30am to 5pm the second |
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A practical "lab" experience. The non-optional lab from 5pm until 9pm on Day 1 is a self-organizing group study session you can accomplish over dinner with others. This unique lab is how you integrate and demonstrate your new insights about team leadership -- immediate application followed by debrief the next day |
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A uniquely valuable "image-based" participant manual containing your customized notes. Many graduates report referencing theirs for years afterwards. |
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Certificate of Completion for 20 classroom hours. Participants who fully engage in the entire intensive from beginning to end will receive a certificate for 20 (not 16) hours you can use to claim PDU's or continuing education credits from your professional association |
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Leadership skills based on what works naturally (called "is-based") as opposed to "should-based" models requiring everyone to read the same book or attend the same training |
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Your own copy of Teamwork Is An Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility to reference and reinforce your continued learning after the intensive |
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Your own copy of The Leader's Guide supplement to Teamwork Is An Individual Skill for role-specific guidance about how to apply the principles in the book (and training intensive) |
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Personal invitation to a private 90-minute follow-up teleconference with Christopher Avery and your class-mates a few weeks following the live session. You will have the unique opportunity to ask questions after having an opportunity to apply your new leadership skills on the job |
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and more... |
And you will learn
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Expose the 5 smelliest myths about team development so you can steer clear of them and leverage what works instead
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Access the 3 sources of power available to any knowledge team leader or member and learn to access the best one at the best time
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Apply the Responsibility Processª when things go wrong so you can get the team moving forward again immediately
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Witness for yourself why you would want to take 100% responsibility for the productivity of your team, no matter what your role, and how it is directly related to your success
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Discover, practice, and call-up at will the required mind set for knowledge team success so you can build any team any time
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Welcome chaos, breakthrough, and improvisation because you'll know how to respond to change for the good of your team and project
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Know which decisions are yours to make, which are others, and which are collective decisions so you master the essentials of consensus-building, empowerment, and team trust for amazing team dynamics
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Know how to get others to show you their most responsible behavior rapidly so you'll have confidence in your peer leadership abilities
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Get clear about what consensus really means and why is it so darn important to teams and to your own success
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Discover what synergy meant before Dilbert and how to re-capture that meaning so the output of any team on which you serve exceeds the collective input
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Apply 1 simple test for individual decision making on high performing project teams and enjoy knowing that your teammates are all acting in each other's best interest at all times
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Master a proven method for orienting and re-orienting knowledge teams so you can confidently give any team the best chance to reach high performance
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Practice the 5 highest leverage activities you can do to build any team any time and be amazingly effective and efficient with your team building time
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Learn the keys to building your team without taking time away from work for team building so you don't have to sacrifice productive time together
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Rethink how you define a team (by it's members or by the collective task). It will change forever how you view team performance
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Generate a sharp focus on the task as the reason for the team in order to get everyone on the team feeling like they are in the same boat together
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Apply a specification for knowing when the team really understands it's scope as a team for powerful alignment, i.e., everyone going in the same direction
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Understand 4 levels of problem-solving maturity so you can tap into the best level to support team collaboration and problem-solving
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Use the 2 magic components of task clarity as a natural team builder
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Adopt the practice of discovering and framing outcomes for unprecedented levels of team member buy-in and commitment on your teams
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Discover why team member motivation is far more critical to project team success than technical skill and expertise so that you can master dealing with issues of peer motivation
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Understand the surprising truth about high-performance teams and having all the right people with all the right skills, so that you can excel with any team you have
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Apply the magic glue of "outcome interdependence" to facilitate an immediate and organic change in the attitudes and behaviors of team members towards one another and the project
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Always be able to discover whatÕs in it for you to work with this team on this project
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How to predict early on the level to which any team will perform, and how to change it if you want to
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How to discover and amplify anyoneÕs motivation for greater buy-in and commitment, even if you have no access to carrots and sticks
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Understand and master the universal keys to motivating peers who donÕt report to you
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Create contexts that drive healthy team dynamics of trust, respect for individuals, and goodwill and cooperation
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Determine how to trust just right in any situation with anyone for the rest of your life for amazing self-confidence and freedom
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Exercise the Waterline Principle for high levels of trust, avoiding the wrong mistakes and making the right ones, correcting, learning, and forgiving
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Make team agreements and ground rules that stick so you can move fast
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Learn just what to do when people violate agreements and ground rules they helped make so that you can get the agreements back in place and have higher levels of trust, confidence, and mutual respect
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Employ 4 Steps for cleaning up broken agreements, relationships mistakes, and other team "oops" so that you can get back on track quickly without losing an ounce of trust
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Unleash the awesome self-organizing magic of an aspirational target so that the team needs no external motivation or management supervision
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Discover and develop the single most powerful competency you can demonstrate as a leader so you can dramatically increase your value
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Understand the natural goal discovery process in a team so that you can know when to push and when to trust that the goal will come
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Internalize 3 never-fail formulas for breaking through conflict so that you can remain calm and focused when facing the heat
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Understand and capitalize on the huge inventory of talents, skills, characteristics, preferences, strengths, and abilities that others bring to your team
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Appreciate more those most different from you, for they are your greatest opportunity for leverage, innovation and discovery
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Realize that roles emerge naturally on effective teams based on what needs to be done and you'll have a whole new appreciating for emergent change
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Know how to see every team member as a go-to person so you'll always have somewhere to turn for help and assistance
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Understand the eternal role of improvisation on every high-performance team so that you can turn every team in a ÒMacGyverÓ team
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View others as levers for your own talents so that you see personal reward in expanding the vision and community
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Make team meetings the Long Lever of the team because that's where the synergy happens
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Discover the 1 thing that differentiates a team meeting from other types of meetings so you can excel in every team meeting
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Get clear about why you should never run your own meetings so that when you do and you don't get the collaborative results you want, you'll know just what to do to correct
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Adopt a simple, portable, and complete meeting system that works every time so you never have to host a ineffective meeting again
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Apply tools and principles for virtual team meeting success.
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Understand and practice the power of Òshared spaceÓ to drive collaborative communications and results
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Turn conflict into breakthrough over and over and over again for higher and higher levels of team performance
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Learn why criticism kills teams and what to do instead so people still get the useful feedback they want, need, and deserve for improved performance
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Determine if the heat of conflict will produce light or just more heat, and how to fuel it responsibly for optimal breakthrough
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Provide effective feedback and communicate expectations without criticizing or diminishing team mates
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. . . and more
More comments from Knowledge Team Leadership graduates
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Please don't attend
If you're convinced total authority and control is the only way to get anything done through others, then please don't register for this seminar. If that's your perspective I don't have anything to offer you expect an argument.
And managers, do not send your resistant players to get "fixed." That's not fair to them or the other attendees (and yes, I can handle their attitudes, heckling, and objectionsÑbut it still isn't fair to them or the other attendees). If you can't get them to volunteer to attend with an open mind, then here's a better ideaÑattend yourself so you'll know what to do when you encounter resistant types (see the bullet points above about dealing with difficult people).
But if you believe that powerful leadership can and must occur in shared responsibility situations Ñ across boundaries, abilities, and role Ñ and you would like a proven approach to study, apply and master, then come join us.
"Okay Christopher, I'm ready to study
Knowledge Team Leadership with you"
How to RegisterIt's easy, just
I understand when I click the link below I will be transferred to your secure shopping cart where I will complete my registration. I understand you will serve a continental breakfast, snacks, and lunch, and that my travel, lodging, and other meals (including perhaps a group dinner for our study session) will be on my own. I understand space is limited and I may not see this opportunity again. I understand you will be in touch with further details after I register as long as I provide a valid email address.
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"Hey Christopher, this is a tremendous deal, what gives?"
Great question, and the answer is We do.
We absolutely believe in over-delivering in everything we do.
And the best way to over-deliver is to give, give, give.
By doing so we create an ever-so-obvious value for the money we ask in return, we just think it's good business to treat people the way we want to be treated...that makes sense, doesn't it?
By registering for Knowledge Team Leadership today, you'll be learning some amazing information that is shared by very few people on the planet. You will be helping us get this message out to more and more people. You'll be adding value to yourself and to those around you many times over.
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My Personal Rock-Solid Space Is limited and these events should fill soon
So register today. If you need approval before registering I have three words for you: Get It Now. Time is of the essence.
I'm excited to bring this learning intensive to you, and know you'll be delighted with your experience. By all means if you have more questions please email me (email address below), or better yet, call me at +1.830.609.8955 (Texas, usually) and I'll happily discuss your questions, concerns, and interests to your satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Christopher Avery
President, Partnerwerks Inc.
P.S. If you've looked around for team leadership training, you already know down deep in your heart what a unique experience I've put together here for you. Others teach you what you should do in teams. I show you exactly why people naturally do what they do and how you can respond to build any team any time. It all comes with my 100% satisfaction guarantee, and you get a certificate of completion for 20 hours of PDU's. Get registered now.
P.P.S. A special note to cynics and skeptics. I don't mind a healthy dose of skepticism, but cynics need not register. However, if you are mildly skeptical (as the typical science and engineering professional often is),seeking new answers and new skills, and open to new information and insights, then that makes you a volunteer, and you are indeed welcome. Bring your skepticism, your questions, and your willingness to learn. Pleaseregister now to reserve your seat.
Even more comments from confident graduates
In five years these powerful teams have delivered almost every project run on-time and on-budget and employee retention has been excellent.Ê Five years after attending this seminar, the successes continue in my life and work because of three practices I learned. First, I'm much better at owning the results I create in teams-both good and bad. When I take that kind of responsibility, then I correct and improve faster, as do others around me. ÊI catch myself blaming or making excuses and instead ask myself what I need to do to own it and effectively move on. It has changed how I manage because I hear the difference Êand am able to reward the people who are truly taking responsibilityÊ. I spend less time worrying about people who are good at making excuses. I just stop investing in folks who aren't taking responsibility. And, I invest in people who do. Your model of personal responsibility has had a tremendous work impact because I seared it into my brain and recognize the difference in myself and others. I even use the information with my kids. Second, I no longer view a team in terms of one leader and a bunch of followers. That's a hierarchical view. In fact, you teach leadership through membership and membership through leadership. I remember when someone in class actually said "We've been here for two-and-a-half days learning about team membership, when are you going to talk about team leadership?" That's when I realized powerful teams are composed of many leaders. Each and every individual is called upon to lead at different times and for different reasons. And, as a manager, if I reserve all leadership opportunities for myself, then I will end up with only followers - grudging followers - and we won't be a powerful team. This has made my teams in the last five years much stronger. Third, I'm much more in touch with people in their job than I ever was before. I put littleÊthoughtÊintoÊ what someone got personally from coming to work. It didn't much matter to me. But it has stuck with me ever sense. I learned how to sit down and ask people what they wanted to get out of the project - with everybody, not just the team lead! ÊI know what makes them excited toÊget up in the morning and come to work. My relationships have been much better since that.ÊManaging relationships effectively and productively is critical to theÊ workplace.ÊYou may not be able to quantify it, but you know it's expensive to productivity when relationships are broken. You don't get those types of things in management classes. In five years these powerful teams have delivered almost every project run on-time and on-budget and employee retention has been excellent.Ê Dale Legband, We left immediately more effective and efficient. I attended Knowledge Team Leadership with my department. We left immediately more effective and efficient. Our most obvious and lasting change is how we keep each other informed, address emerging issues and make decisions. Now, years after we attended, and even though team members have turned over, our meetings and communications are highly respectful, more open, and better focused. We make better and faster decisions and people operate with greater clarity and a sense of alignment. And, the benefits continue. One of my team leads who didnÕt even attend with us still goes to your web site today to pull tips off of it to help the process of developing teams and pulling team members together. Jeff H. Zon consider myself privileged... Thank you for spending three days with us sharing your knowledge and passion. I have so much respect for you and what you've created and consider myself privileged to meet you and learn from you. I hope that the principles in this workshop can assist the people in our organization in looking at themselves, identifying the changes that need to made, and then looking outward in becoming more effective both individually and as a team member. Shannon Newell changed my perceptions permanently and will aid me significantly... Knowledge Team Leadership changed my perceptions permanently and will aid me significantly in my personal and business development as well as my ability to deliver to my clients. Karen Bard |
Christopher Avery
Partnerwerks Inc.
P.O. Box 1046
Comfort, TX 78013
+1 830.995.4853
ca [at] christopheravery [dot] com
©2008 and beyond - Partnerwerks Inc.