Arnold Business Advisors

Is your team dysfunctional?  How do you know? Did you know that we offer a simply online assessment such that leaders and their teams “know” their current situation?

Yes, for a small nominal fee, we offer an online assessment and debrief.  The assessment tool we utilize is Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, online assessment which team’s all around the world are utilizing and finding great value.  Lencioni states:

“The Online Team Assessment provides a tangible, measurement tool for the Five Dysfunctions of a Team model. The Team Assessment report offers customized data outlining a team’s strengths and weaknesses, recommendations for overcoming potential dysfunction and specific instructions for debriefing the results.

Since 2004, approximately 50,000 individuals have gone through our Assessment. A variety of teams—from Fortune 500 executive teams, to NFL coaching staffs, to school principals and their teachers—have used and benefited from the Assessment. With only 38 questions, this tool provides a quick, effective snap-shot for team performance. “

Click here to see a  Sample Team Assessment Report .

For your reference, fees are dependent on the size of the team.  Typically, individual assessments, a summary report, and debrief with your organizations main contact is completed for $1499.  A small investment in your team to “know” the true health of your team. For more details, please contact us.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to read some of Ken Blanchard’s books and share time with a few leaders in one of his organizations.  One of the things which has become quite obvious through my studies is why Ken finds himself at the top of the leadership development community.  From the beginning, with The One Minute Manager and Situational Leadership to now, Ken and his teams have aided thousands of organizations on implementing the principles of what is often referred to as “servant leadership”.

Most recently, I was reading Blanchard’s book Whale Done – The Power of Positive Relationships. This is the story of a man named, Wes, who found himself visiting Sea World to “get away” from his draining corporate job.  During this “get away” Wes encountered a life changing experience.  After observing a SeaWorld show with killer whales, Wes asks the lead trainer, Dave, the question, “What’s the secret?  How do you trick these animals into performing for you?  Do you starve them?”  With much surprise, Dave shared principles the entire team of trainers learned from Shamu, one of the world’s largest killer whales.  Taking it a step further, Dave reveals that these same principles learned from Shamu are principles leaders all around the world are implementing with their teams.

So, what do killer whales have to do with training humans? More than you think!  As the story relates, and has been demonstrated by many organizations adopting principles, Blanchard outlines, “WHALE DONE” leaders and their organizations consistently outperform “GOTca” managers.  WHALE DONE leaders are focused on improving relationships by building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting energy when things get off track.  Emphasizing this “power of positive relationships”, Blanchard notes “You can’t punish a 9,000 pound Orca Whale, and then expect the trainer to get in the water with him.  Just as you can’t beat on your work team and expect them to improve their productivity at the end of the quarter.”

While the concepts discussed in this book seem quite simple, they tend to be more complex to implement.  For example:

“The WHALE DONE Response

·         Praise people immediately.

·         Be specific about what they did right or almost right.

·         Share your positive feelings about what they did.

·         Encourage them to keep up the good work.”

Simple…right?  Well, when is the last time you heard your boss, spouse, parent, coach, etc. provide you with this type of WHALE DONE response?  It may have been awhile.  This isn’t a criticism of these folks. It simply is that our culture tends to have been raised by “GOTca” managers.

These are the types of leadership principles and many more like them which we study daily and work with businesses and individuals to implement.  As a matter of fact, we encourage you to stay tuned for an upcoming announcement associated with our recent partnership with two of the world top leadership gurus.  Developing leaders and their teams is clearly our passion and we’re focused on continuing to surround ourselves with the world’s top leaders in order to best support businesses and individuals we serve.

If you would like to learn more about “servant leadership” or High Performance Leaders and their Teams, please contact us.  We would be glad to offer books, CDs, personalized coaching, and strategic consulting services to anyone sharing our passion.

In reading this past week Leaders Without Borders by Doug Dickerson, I was reminded of one of my favorite visualizations of teamwork.  It is the “V” formation used by flocks of geese in teaming up to fly.  My friends at Bright Launch have done a good job summarizing a few facts which we would like to pass along to you today.

• “Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of each other.
• Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
• Fact 3: When the lead bird tires, it rotates back into the formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it. Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other’s skills, capabilities, and unique arrangements of gifts, talents, or resources.
• Fact 4: The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Lesson: We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one’s heart or core values and to encourage the heart and core values of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
• Fact 5: When a goose gets sick, wounded, or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock. Lesson: If we have as much sense of geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we’re strong.”

Source:  http://brightlaunch.com/resources/blogging/team-work

How’s your team doing with these fundamental principles?  We’d love to aid in your assessment and future development!!

Have a FANTASIC day!

When you go to McDonalds, why do you go there?  Is it for the great hamburgers?  Maybe the great icy coke, thick shakes, sundae’s, or apple pies?  Or, maybe, it’s none of these and it’s really about the “experience”.  The “experience” of convenience, kids playing on the playground, consistency of how the food tastes, clean bathrooms, and more.  So, when it comes to the “experience”, how do you describe this to someone?  Simply put…you don’t! Really, you have to “experience” it for yourself firsthand in order to “get it”.

Well, the same holds true with High Performance Coaching.  You don’t “get it” until you “experience” it. Whether you’re looking to grow profits, create a culture of excellence, learn how to influence people, be a better husband/wife, or improve other aspects of your life, the process is very similar.  And, a key part of that process is having a catalyst, change agent, coach, or non-biased third party to act as a sounding board, maintain a focus on vision, push you for commitment, provide accountability, as well as many other aspects of support.

As an example, we recently had a conversation with an owner who was of the typical, “I don’t need someone to tell me how to run my business” mindset.  After several months of coaching with their Team, this individual admitted that they were initially of this mindset; however, believe our contribution was one of the best things that has ever happened to their business.  We hear this same story over and over once people get past the initial resistance and choose to start to engage in the “experience” of High Performance Coaching.

By the way, we should mention that we also pay for and value this type of “experience”.  While we are continually learning more and more about coaching, success, leadership, and other aspects of personal and team development, we too still need someone or, in our case, teams of individuals coaching and mentoring us as leaders.  We pay as much, and in many times more than, our clients for these types of services which has aided us in seeing revenues increase 31% and profits increase 57% this year.

Arnold Business Advisors LLC provides a wide range of coaching experiences for businesses and individuals. Our client portfolio is diverse and includes international coaching clients. We don’t claim to be the least expensive option for coaching services; however, we do focus on “success” and exceeding expectations.  What this looks like is normally a significant multiple of our fees.

Are you ready to test the waters on this “experience”?  Your one click or phone call away and we guarantee satisfaction.

Have a FANTASTIC day!

Best regards,
Chris

Yes, it takes a lot to admit it; however, it’s true.  Mom always told me if I couldn’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  Well, I have since learned that words spoken with the intent of building others up is a good thing and these words are offered with this intent.

We haven’t come across a leader or team who isn’t dysfunctional.  What we do see in a lot of situations is that leaders, and their teams, are not “conscious” of these dysfunctions.

A great book in aiding in the identification of some dysfunctions is Patrick Lencioni’s, The Five Dysfuctions of a Team.  “This gripping fable centers on Kathryn Petersen, an old-school CEO who comes out of retirement to accept the monumental task of transforming a dysfunctional group of high profile, egocentric executives into a cohesive and effective team. With an amazing gift for building teams, Kathryn forces her colleagues to confront the behavioral pitfalls that destroy most teams and adopt the five characteristics of a truly cohesive one.” You may view a summary of the five dysfunctions by clicking here.

Foundational to Lencioni’s “five dysfunctions” is the “absence of trust”.  We typically see “trust” issues in every organization which is why our role as an independent, non-biased coach is important. Some say trust is built over time.  Our experience is that this process can be greatly accelerated with the right assistance.

In addition to trust, we have experienced the fruits of team’s getting “conscious” of all these dysfunctions and developing strategies to minimize these dysfunctions on countless occasions. Our core competency is in accelerating the “getting conscious” process and bringing practical solutions for minimizing these dysfunctions resulting in the manifestation of High Performance results.

In their book, Lead Like Jesus, Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges provide “lessons for everyone from the greatest leadership role model of all time”.  One of these lessons centers around “EGO”.

Yes, we all have one and we all likely could use “The Twelve Steps of EGO Anonymous” discussed in this book.

Whether in a biblical setting or aiding businesses and individuals in a secular setting, our High Performance Coaching process is fundamentally rooted in the characteristic of servant leadership.  In order to be a servant leader, one of the first steps we need help in is the acknowledgement that we have an EGO problem.

So you say, what’s an EGO problem?  My experience is that it primarily involves my pride, wants, needs, and drive for “success” negatively impacting those whom I have been given the opportunity to influence. I will also note that as much as I value being a servant leader, my EGO gets in the way routinely which is why I surround myself with other servant leaders and coaches who provide insight and accountability.

Is it time for you to enroll in a twelve step process?  We’d love to discuss further.

We often get the question, “what’s a team alignment?”  Differentiating from to typical team building exercises, here are a few words to describe what an alignment “is” and “is not”.

Is:                                                            Is Not:

Data based                                           Generic
Real issues/real-time                             Training
Beginning/continuation                           Quick fix
Participant dependent                            Facilitator dependent
License to engage                                 Spectator Sport
Opportunity                                           Guarantee

This transformational process accelerates breakthroughs for your businesses most difficult challenges, introduces a context for high-performance, and elevates teamwork and communication.  It consists of an upfront assessment, an off-site meeting, and follow-up coaching.

The Goals of Alignment are:

• Assess Current Situation
• Identify/Address Key Issues
• Create Structure Process to Engage
• Align toward High Performance Protocols

Do you have an interest in further discussing your biggest challenges and how a Team Alignment will facilitate breakthroughs to these challenges?   Please contact us to learn more.

What are your biggest challenges in 2011?
What’s keeping you up an night?
What’s that “elephant in the room” you’re avoiding?

In speaking with a client this past week, we were discussing the challenges around sharing “pain” within businesses.  While most experience some type of pain within their business daily, the natural tendency is not to readily admit it.  Whether it’s a matter of pride, a sign of weakness, or some other pay-off, it’s simply not in our human nature to admit our struggles.

High performance teams and individuals readily admit their “pain” and actively seek possibilities to move beyond.  We’re interested in better understanding your pain and connecting you with the “right” resources to help.  Please contact us to further discuss.

Are you looking to take your team’s performance to the next level?

Our High Performance Team Alignment is a transformational process which accelerates breakthroughs for your businesses most difficult challenges, introduces a context for high-performance, and elevates teamwork and communication.   The fundamentals of our process center around the following key characteristics:

Responsibility – Own you and your team’s results

Authenticity – Open, honest, revealing, committed to “candor”

Trust – Agreements are kept, no hidden agendas

Contribution – 100% participation, bring what’s wanted and needed

Commitment – Whatever it takes, willingness to pay all the necessary prices

This process consists of an upfront assessment, an off-site meeting, and follow-up coaching.  We break down barriers within the team, insure commitment to performance, and focus the team on clear visions and goals.  This is an alignment and NOT a team building exercise for which we aid in facilitating every step of the way.  If you have a business, sports, non-profit, or any other type of team which is aspiring for greatness, we would love to be a part of your success story.

Please contact us to hear more of an overview of our process.

How are you doing at asking for feedback?
Are you truly getting authentic feedback?
How do you know?
Have you ever received feedback which surprises you?
Is feedback the truth?
What are you doing with the feedback?

Feedback is critically important in relationships.  Unfortunately, many are poor at giving and receiving feedback.  Even worse, are the situations where we believe we are getting authentic feedback and truly are experiencing a facade.

When we ask for feedback from our clients, one of the top areas they tell us we have aided their organization is in area of authenticity and “not holding back”.