Preparing each Employee to Win

It will be very important that you work with each of your key players with hand-over-hand training to insure that they are performing their job in a standard manner. You want to model for them what you want them to do in all facets of their position. Take the time to show them what has to happen. You want to insure that they grasp the steps and see the why behind what you are doing. It is also important to observe them in action to understand where they are excelling and where they need to improve. By providing them with just-in-time feedback, you can correct mistakes quickly to help them to excel. You will need to help each player to understand where they need to improve and partner with them to make it happen. You want to document where they need to improve and follow up to insure that behavior change and performance improvement takes place going forward.

Bob Coulter

Working as a Team

The management group has to function as an aligned high energy TEAM.

• This means that everyone has to understand what they have to accomplish in their area and what it will take for the team to win.
• Each individual has to OWN their OWN lane completely and follow through on their commitments.
• There needs to be support and cohesion between people and functions so that we can support one and other.
• Proactive communication needs to be taking place across the company.
• Effective meetings need to take place that help us to work in a more productive and efficient manner.
• Take the time to celebrate and hold each other accountable for your commitments.

Think about this as a Team. Your salespeople are the forwards and have to score goals. Sales have to connect with the customers and bring in the revenue. The Field Supervisors are the defense. They need to put out the fires before they become issues that cause the customers to be unhappy. Your production leaders have to play the role of the goalie. He can’t let things get out of hand, he has to stop the complaints and communicate to others what he sees. The office plays the role of midfielder. They have to set up the other players for success and support what has to get done. The Owner or General Manager should be the Coach to each key role so that he can help you each succeed in your position. They need to help people get better and insure that people are in the right position to be successful. In the year ahead, it is imperative that you guys get this right so that you can leverage your talent and maximize your performance.

Bob Coulter

3 C's of Communication

Being able to lead comes down to our ability to communicate. People trust leaders that are able to genuinely connect. I have observed teams grow and excel when the 3 C's of Communication are present.

Courage - Be willing to have difficult conversations
Candor - Being able to be very specific in addressing the issues
Consideration - Present the message in the listener’s frame of reference

To grow our effectiveness in communication we need to understand where we need to improve our skills and work to master the concepts of courage, candor and consideration. The better we do with these three the more effective we will be in communication. To demonstrate that we care about the people that we work with we need to be consistent in our communication. Ask the people that are closest to us to give us their feedback and then work on personal improvement. Challenge the members of your team to improve themselves and work on what it will take for the time to engage more effectively. By working by intention we will be able to improve our play and increase our effectiveness with the other members of our team.



Bob Coulter

Performance Management

A key leadership responsibility is to frame clear goals for the organization. We need to start with creating a framework for how we judge our performance and then do an effective job of keeping up with how we are doing. We have to win with all stakeholder and keeping things in balance. It is very important to get the entire team to understand what your current state of performance is. By identifying where we are today and where we want to go we can gain energy and alignment. You want to communicate your specific goals throughout the company so that you move to the next level. We need to focus upon where we are in each area and what it will take to improve. Remember to make the goals SMART. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound) We should be able to grade the team against these goals. Then they should serve as the catalyst for what each individual should accomplish in their respective roles. To make this a reality we need to have specific short term goals that we are working toward. Each team member needs to understand what it will take to earn an A by the framing the criteria of the behaviors and results they need to achieve.

Bob Coulter