Subject: [Partnerwerks TeamWisdom Tips] LEADING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES
Welcome to Partnerwerks TeamWisdom Tips!
by Christopher M. Avery, Ph.D.
April 1, 2003
Read by 2999 professionals in 50 countries.
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TeamWisdom(TM) Tips promotes individual mental skills and
behaviors that create highly responsible and productive
relationships at work.
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This week's line-up:
1. 10-Second TeamWisdom
2. Welcome Notes -- Being Powerful prices slashed!!
3. LEADING YOUR TEAM THROUGH TOUGH TIMES
4. 5-Minute TeamWisdom Stretch
5. TeamWisdom Resources -- Review of "Execution"
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1. 10-Second TeamWisdom
Don't just survive. Thrive in tough times by teaming with
clarity, optimism, realism, and resourcefulness.
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2. Welcome Notes
I have two announcements.
First, we have--no kidding--2999 subscribers. Every 500th
subscriber receives a copy of my book. Someone will win one
this week. Pass it on.
--
Second, we are SLASHING IN HALF the tuition for Being
Powerful In Any Team. That's right. Half. No April Fooling.
And we don't know for how long, so now's the time to attend.
Delay no longer.
This offer is only for TeamWisdom Tips readers and your
friends. We'll tell you how to claim your savings below.
Keep reading.
Regular tuition is $1895, but we're not just halving that.
No way. We're applying all other discounts first and then
slashing that number in half. So, instead of $1516, early
registration is just $758 for a leadership development
experience second to none! Instead of $1232, the early
registration for a team of three or more is just $616 per
person. Compare that to $1895!
Why are we doing this? Simple. We have excess inventory to
sell for the May 13-15 session and you've been telling us
that your training budgets have been cut and travel is
discouraged. It seems Partnerwerks and our customers are
experiencing different sides of the same problem. So, it's
time to address the problem together, and cutting the tuition
in half is just one way we can do our share. You get all the
same value for half the cost.
You can enroll twice as many for the same amount as before.
How's that for a budget-saving offer?
But that's not all.
We are also re-focusing the 2003 session objectives around
my most-requested speaking topic this year: Team Survival
Skills for Tough Times. You will learn how to apply
TeamWisdom to turn problems into powerful results again and
again.
And remember, the same guarantee applies as always: If you
aren't clear and confident about how to immediately create
greater wins faster for yourself and your team, then we'll
gladly make it right.
Can't attend May 13-15? That's okay, register for any 2003
session and we'll honor the tuition.
Not sure who you will want to send? That's okay too. Reserve
the space now and decide later by using our free
substitution and future credit policies.
Already registered and feeling left out of the savings? No
worries. Contact us for a free "admit one" pass you can give
to any colleague to attend the same session.
Okay, are you ready to claim your half-priced tuition?
Here's how. Using the online registration at
http://www.beingpowerful.com/authfrm.html, enter "tips" in
the Affiliate Code field. When you hit the "calculate"
button you will see that the Regular, Early, or Team tuition
amount has been slashed in half. You can proceed to a secure
server and pay by credit card, or print and fax or mail with
your PO or check.
Register now. Space is limited and we don't know how long
we'll be able to offer this incredible value.
http://www.beingpowerful.com
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3. LEADING YOUR TEAM THROUGH TOUGH TIMES
You don't need me to tell you times are tough. If you are
fortunate enough to have a team, here are four tips for
leading through tough times.
SHARED CLARITY
When direction isn't clear, people mark time. No one wants
to look foolish by asking, so they act like they know what
we are doing. Lack of clarity is the great silent killer.
Stop assuming.
Clarity leads to power. Make sure you, your boss or sponsor,
and your team are in complete alignment about the task of
the team. You may have to define the task in a lengthy
document. If so, also craft a short-hand way of referring to
it that provides rich meaning. Keep that short-hand
reference alive in all meetings, conversations and
documents. Test the clarity by saying "This is what I
understand we are doing. How do you see it?"
Clearly state your own priorities too. If you have more than
three, you don't have priorities; you're confused. If you
think the project requires joint execution, clear
documentation, and rapid escalation of issues, add these
three priorities to your mantra about the task. Then, when
faced with a tough decision, you or your teammates will have
clear guidelines for deciding.
INFORMED OPTIMISM
Pessimists seldom hold leadership posts, at least not for
long. Since we experience whatever our minds filter for,
pessimists and optimists each get what they expect.
Believe in your project, yourself and your team, not
blindly, but for good reasons. Your team takes its cues from
you. If you believe in the task, yourself, and the team, it
is likely they will too. Regardless of your position on
Operation Iraqi Freedom, take a lesson from its leadership.
The entire chain of command repeatedly chants "the outcome is
assured, regime change." This is Shared Clarity combined
with Informed Optimism.
Don't accept the assignment if you believe the task isn't
possible. If you have trouble believing in yourself or the
team, ask yourself what you must do to regain optimism. If
it's the task you don't believe in then consult your
leadership and engage in the planning required to restore
your faith. If it is the team you don't believe in, call a
re-orientation meeting with them and work through the five
steps of Partnerwerks Team Orientation Process. If you still
don't believe in the team, give your manager or sponsor your
honest appraisal. It is better they know now.
UNCENSORED REALITY
Continuously test your plan against a dynamic reality. To do
so you must open your eyes and ears wide. You must also open
your mind to alternate points of view. Remember that no
matter how smart or experienced you are, you are always
stuck in your own perspective. Include large doses of
diverse opinion in your meetings. Seek out the truth. Invite
team members to slay all the taboo dragons and fight off
denial. Let them know up front that if you appear to be
wearing blinders, they are welcome to hit you between the
eyes with a two-by-four of reality. And tell them you'll
treat them the same way.
To pursue uncensored reality means being willing to confront
the truth about a situation and about yourself, and that can
be difficult. You can develop this ability little-by-little
by confronting things you normally would not. If you shy
from conflict, facing it will help you learn how to turn
conflict into resolute agreement.
AGILE RESOURCEFULNESS
Anticipate unplanned set-backs and surprising opportunities.
Regardless of how well you plan, your entire operating
environment has a vote in what actually happens. Set-backs
and opportunities are exactly why you need a clear,
optimistic, reality-based team in tough times. True teams
excel at improvising in the face of adversity. Trust the
team to help you take advantage of unplanned opportunities
and respond to set-backs.
I can think of no more-respected individual than a leader
who consistently demonstrates clear optimism and
resourcefulness in the face of difficult truths.
Get started with this week's 5-Minute Practice Tip.
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FREE! Introduce me to meeting planners and leadership
development managers. When they invite me to send them a
marketing kit full of testimonial letters that will make you
proud, I'll send you my book ($18.95) or the print version
of The Leader's Guide ($22.95). Just direct folks to the url
below and cc us at teamwisdom@partnerwerks.com.
http://www.partnerwerks.com/services_and_products/speaking.html
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4. 5-Minute Practice Tip
From 1=minimum to 10=maximum, how much do you demonstrate:
- Shared Clarity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Informed Optimism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Uncensored Reality 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Agile Resourcefulness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
What can you do to move up one or more level in each area?
I wish you a world of responsible and productive
relationships at work.
Faithfully,
Christopher
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"'Teamwork Is an Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done
When Sharing Responsibility' contains more practical
information and advice about the conditions under which we
humans optimize our work together than any other book you
are likely to have read"
~Terry O'Keefe, Executive Bookshelf
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576751554/partnerofficeont
For 35% off orders of 50+ books contact info@partnerwerks.com
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I will be traveling to and speaking...
- May 5, PMI/NJ Chapter Regional Symposium, Edison, NJ
http://www.pminj.org/03-smp/035smpp.htm
- May 13-15, Being Powerful In Any Team, San Antonio, TX
http://www.beingpowerful.com
- May 18-20, Knowledge Team Effectiveness Profile (KTEP)
Certification Workshop, San Antonio, TX
http://www.partnerwerks.com/ktep
- May 22-23, 3rd. Conference on Work Teams, Centro de
Productividad, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico
http://www.cpmty.com/main.htm
Want me to speak at your company or association? See
http://www.partnerwerks.com/services_and_products/speaking.html
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5. TeamWisdom Resources
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (Crown,
June 2002) by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609610570/partnerofficeont/
I haven't reviewed a book in a long time (and I haven't
heard you complaining). However, I recently ordered the
unabridged audio recording (7 CDs) of "Execution" because a
prospective client CEO was reading it. This book is clearly
aimed at CEO's, or at least at business unit leaders, and it
is flying off the shelves. It's currently ranked #44 on
Amazon. That's hot.
Larry is a Jack Welch (GE) protégé and former two-time
high-performing CEO of Allied Signal. Ram is an established
leadership researcher and consultant. I suspect Charles is
a writer. I could probably look it up if I had the book
instead of audio CDs.
This book provides great hope and fodder for anyone in
project or program management who hopes to one day be a CEO.
You have the perfect skills as long as you can also craft a
vision and strategize. Let me clarify--the book doesn't
actually claim so, I'm extrapolating.
Their message: CEO's can no longer succeed by being
excellent visionaries and strategists. The authors claim
execution as the newest great undiscovered leadership
discipline. In today's quarterly-results world, a CEO must
lead and manage with a discipline for execution. To keep
from getting sacked at the end of four miserable quarters,
she must descend the heady intellectual world and talk the
talk of doers.
Bottom line. This book outpaces many new books about
accountability (six in the last few years) because execution
is the reason for accountability. "Execution" also bogs down
in old terrain, such as pay for performance, and fails to
explain execution as more than really great big project
management.
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Copyright 1998-2003, all rights reserved. TeamWisdom,
TeamWisdom Tips, Being Powerful In Any Team, and
Partnerwerks are trademarks of Partnerwerks, Inc. Please
contact us for permission to republish TeamWisdom Tips.
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