FIVE MINUTE LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP™
An Investment in Higher Achievement

PREPARATION

•  Prepare and take action to be uninterrupted for just five minutes

•  Close your eyes. Pause. Take three, deep, slow breathes, while you clear your mind of everything else. (Really…it makes a difference!)

•  Ask yourself: “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM) if I improve my leadership? List at least two answers.

ACTIVITY

Read the following slowly, really thinking about what it could mean to you.  It’s less important that you agree, than that you understand and explore the concept FULLY.

We were leading a three-day leadership retreat for an organization involved in environmental stewardship issues who listed “reducing waste” as one of their important values.  Without announcing our plans or why we were doing it, we weighed and totaled the food waste put by participants into the dining room refuse containers after each meal.  We posted the total weight on the bulletin board with only a caption explaining what had been weighed.  By the third meal, the participants had cut in half the amount of food waste—without anyone asking them to. And the number kept dropping.

What gets measured and shared gets improved.  Whether you mean to or not.

Many organizations spend enormous resources measuring things that don’t help them, and still miss the crucial metrics. Others quantify important metrics, yet the people who need the data don’t get it. In Ken Blanchard’s famous “One Minute Manager,” he paints a powerful mental picture: Imagine a game of bowling where every time you released the ball, a curtain came down in front of you, obscuring the results of your throw. 

How can your team improve unless they know how they’re doing?  This doesn’t mean appointing a committee and waiting six months for an in-depth report.  It means immediate, quantitative, constructive feedback.  In our programs, we teach quick and efficient ways to “check in,” acquire data, and use it to immediately improve performance.

Metrics matter.  Ask the right questions, share the answers, and don’t waste resources on information that doesn’t improve performance.

REFLECTION

What is my initial, knee-jerk reaction to this concept?

Am I measuring the right things?  Does everyone know how they and the team are doing?

Is the drive to improve numbers extrinsic and “top down,” or driven by a close correlation between the metrics and values?

SELF-ASSESSMENT

How do I choose what to measure and report to the team?  Are they related to my values—is what I say important?

Who has input into what metrics I use to measure and improve my and my team’s success?

ACTION PLAN

Identify one action I can take today (preferably right now!) to move toward measuring “the right stuff.”

1)      

List two things I can do this week to bring the power of ACTION to the words and concept!

1)         

2)     

Who else might I enlist to help me?

Who can I tell about my action plan, to help insure accountability?

For a free, no-obligation assessment of your teams strengths & vulnerabilities AND a free report with recommendations for improvement, email: info@peaktraining.com, or visit www.peaktraining.com

The Five Minute Leadership Workshop™ is a free service of Peak Performance!™. We encourage you to share this with your colleagues and teams, as long as you leave intact and include the identifying and attribution information below.

“I hear and I forget…I see and I remember…I do and I understand.”

© Peak Performance Training Systems, Inc., rights reserved.
1.888.875.7325 (PEAK)
phone: 719.276.2125 ▪ fax: 719.276.2103 ▪ e-mail: info@peaktraining.com  http://www.peaktraining.com/corp/Leadership-Training.html

PREPARATION

•  Prepare and take action to be uninterrupted for just five minutes

•  Close your eyes. Pause. Take three, deep, slow breathes, while you clear your mind of everything else. (Really…it makes a difference!)

•  Ask yourself: “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM) if I improve my leadership? List at least two answers.

ACTIVITY

Read the following slowly, really thinking about what it could mean to you. It’s less important that you agree, than that you understand and explore the concept FULLY.

A leader without a team is a lone wolf.  Leadership is a team sport.  Synergy requires community.  Leadership is one part leader and nine parts team.

World-class leaders are less rock stars and much more conductors of a fine orchestra playing in exquisite harmony.  Less big, dramatic actions than constant small “tweaks.” 

If there ever was a time for the model of leadership where one individual gives orders to a bunch of mute, blind “followers,” it is not THIS time!  Current conditions necessitate that we focus the leadership capacities of EVERYONE on the team toward a common vision of success about which they’re all passionate.

Indeed, we can’t afford not to.  As Peter Senge says ”The fundamental characteristic of the relatively unaligned team is wasted energy.[1]“

Organizational excellence virtually always involves collaboration and synergy. Intrinsic motivation trumps extrinsic orders, incentives, and direction.  Arguably, the prime function of leadership is to create synergy from the disparate interests of individuals. 

Do you have a team?  Or a bunch of talented individuals?

REFLECTION

What is my initial, knee-jerk reaction to this concept?

Now, dig deeper.  To what extent are leadership and team development connected? 

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Honestly, how do I rate myself in developing the capacities and synergy of my team?

PREPARING FOR ACTION

What can I do today to:

• Support my weaker players in learning more?
• Encourage the timid ones to speak up and become leaders?
• Urge my stars to share “best practices” with the team?
• Push for my veterans to help teach the rookies?
• Increase communication and collaboration throughout the team?
• Help the entire team become enthusiastic advocates for the same shared vision of success?

ACTION PLAN

Identify one action I can take today (preferably right now!) to move toward implementation.

1)     

List two things I can do within the next week to bring the power of ACTION to the words and concept.

1)         

2)       

Who else might I enlist to help me? 

Who can I tell about my action plan to help insure accountability? 

What potential roadblocks to implementation might pop up?  How can I circumvent them?

For a free, no-obligation assessment of your teams strengths & vulnerabilities AND a free report with recommendations for improvement, email: info@peaktraining.com, or visit www.peaktraining.com

The Five Minute Leadership Workshop™ is a free service of Peak Performance!™. We encourage you to share this with your colleagues and teams, as long as you leave intact and include the identifying and attribution information below.

“I hear and I forget…I see and I remember…I do and I understand.”

© Peak Performance Training Systems, Inc., rights reserved.
1.888.875.7325 (PEAK)
phone: 719.276.2125 ▪ fax: 719.276.2103 ▪ e-mail: info@peaktraining.com  http://www.peaktraining.com/corp/Leadership-Training.html

PREPARATION

•  Prepare and take action to be uninterrupted for just five minutes

•  Close your eyes. Pause. Take three, deep, slow breathes, while you clear your mind of everything else. (Really…it makes a difference!)

•  Ask yourself: “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM) if I improve my leadership? List at least two answers.

ACTIVITY

Read the following slowly, really thinking about what it could mean to you. It’s less important that you agree, than that you understand and explore the concept FULLY.

Wise leaders know they are solely responsible for surprisingly little of their personal and professional success, and that much of the credit belongs to teachers, mentors, colleagues, and team members. Sir Isaac Newton said, “If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants. ” He attributed much of his remarkable success to work done by others.

Inspirational leaders invest energy in cultivating a habit of identifying those whose contributions are important and thanking them…sincerely offering genuine appreciation, not “technique-ing” them for the leader’s gain. And they do it with great specificity, so that the person knows exactly what “earned” the gratitude. They model appreciation of the contributions of vendors, service people, and those in positions subordinate to their own.
Extraordinary leaders help their teams develop a culture where authentic expressions of gratitude are everyday occurrences, not surprises (and, therefore, suspicious!). When saying “Thank You” becomes both habit and an inseparable part of the history and culture of the group, an amazing freedom occurs which opens up other avenues of connection and communication, producing additional synergy.

Many outstanding leaders actually give themselves a daily quota (remember the much quoted technique of starting the day with ten coins in your left pocket and moving one to the right each time you express thanks, the goal being to have all the coins on the right side before you head home?).

REFLECTION

Who helped you in the distant past that it’s still possible to thank?

Which chances to express gratitude have you missed and are no longer available (i.e. you’ve lost track of them or they died)? Can you use that recollection to prevent it from happening with someone else?

Whom do you consider a teacher or mentor who may not view themselves as one or may not know that you see them that way?

What team members or direct reports deserve thanks (not just praise or an “atta boy,” but gratitude for something)?

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Honestly, how do I rate in applying this concept with the folks I interact with?

How well do we incorporate expressing genuine gratitude into the culture of our organization?

ACTION PLAN

Identify one action you can take today (preferably right now!) to move toward implementation.
1)

List two things you can do this week to bring the power of ACTION to the words and concept!
1)

2)

Who else might you enlist to help you?

Who can you tell about your action plan, to help insure accountability?

What positive outcome can you envision (in full-color, high-resolution detail!) coming from this improvement?

For a free, no-obligation assessment of your teams strengths & vulnerabilities AND a free report with recommendations for improvement, email: info@peaktraining.com, or visit www.peaktraining.com

The Five Minute Leadership Workshop™ is a free service of Peak Performance!™. We encourage you to share this with your colleagues and teams, as long as you leave intact and include the identifying and attribution information below.

“I hear and I forget…I see and I remember…I do and I understand.”

© Peak Performance Training Systems, Inc., rights reserved.
1.888.875.7325 (PEAK)
phone: 719.276.2125 ▪ fax: 719.276.2103 ▪ e-mail: info@peaktraining.com ▪ http://www.peaktraining.com/corp/Leadership-Training.html

An Investment in Higher Achievement

 PREPARATION

•  Prepare and take action to be uninterrupted for at least five minutes

•  Close your eyes. Pause. Take three, deep, slow breathes, while you clear your mind of everything else. (Really…it makes a difference!)

•  Ask yourself: “What’s in it for me? (WIFM) if I improve my leadership?” List three answers.

ACTIVITY

Read the following slowly, really thinking about what it could mean to you. It’s less important that you agree, than that you understand and explore the concept FULLY.

LEADERS ARE FARMERS!

What mental pictures do you associate with farming and gardening? Selecting seeds, preparing the soil, planting seeds, watering, fertilizing, gathering the best fruits of their labor, and enjoying the bountiful harvest?

These tasks are analogous to identifying the next leaders from our team, mentoring and providing resources for growth, coaching performance, providing expectations of success, and watching leadership take off. Clear vision, unambiguous expectations, and explicit objectives prepare the soil. Knowing they all have leadership capacities to contribute picks the best seed. Praise and appreciation are like fertilizer—catalysts for explosive growth. Coaching and skill building remove weeds and promote optimum growth. Modeling the growth we expect provides a lattice for the vine to grow upon. Evaluation and celebration harvest the yield.

Leaders prepare, nurture, and cultivate their teams to harvest the best leadership capacities from each individual, just like farmers grow their best crops. Let’s put on our overalls, paint our thumbs green, and go out into the fields for four minutes!

REFLECTION

What harvest do you expect from the “crop” which is your team?

What is the current yield? That is, how close to expectations are they?

Where might they be short of their potential?

What are the aspects of leadership “farming” that are the biggest opportunities for improvement with your team?

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Do you have an actual plan for your “garden?”

What are (or should be!) it’s components? Fertilizer without water won’t work too well.

What might be missing or would work better?

What’s been helping that you might do more of?

Are all team members getting watered, nurtured, and cultivated, or just those identified as “stars?”

Which seeds seem to need a little extra water or fertilizer?

Do they know you expect them to demonstrate leadership and really BELIEVE they are capable of it?

ACTION PLAN

Identify one action you can take today (preferably right now!) to move toward implementation.

List two things you can do this week to bring the power of ACTION to increase the yield from your field! 

Who else might you enlist to help you?

Who can you tell about your action plan, to help insure accountability?

What’s the biggest “roadblock” you anticipate to implementing these action steps?

How can you be proactive in minimizing this roadblock before it materializes?

For a free, no-obligation assessment of your teams strengths & vulnerabilities AND a free report with recommendations for improvement, email: info@peaktraining.com, or visit http://www.peaktraining.com/corp/Corporate-Retreats.html

The Five Minute Leadership Workshop™ is a free service of Peak Performance!™. We encourage you to share this with your colleagues and teams, as long as you leave intact and include the identifying and attribution information below. “I hear and I forget…I see and I remember…I do and I understand.” © Peak Performance Training Systems, Inc., rights reserved. 1.888.875.7325 (PEAK) ▪ phone: 719.276.2125 ▪ fax: 719.276.2103 ▪ e-mail: info@peaktraining.com ▪ http://www.peaktraining.com/corp/Leadership-Training.html

The group met and began working. At one point, the receptionist asked the proverbial “dumb question” to which the engineers in the group rolled their eyes, probably thinking both 1) “We told you so, “and 2) “We’re wasting time trying to educate her.”

Turned out that the 15 minutes it took to answer her question precipitated a process improvement that saved the company over $50,ooo in the first six months of its implementation.

We have a bias that individuals and groups make the best decisions AND get the best buy-in to action plans when they have input from multiple styles, approaches, and “intelligences.” That doesn’t mean you have to have a person who is comfortable with each style, merely that someone is willing to approach or view the topic from that perspective and help represent that style in the discussion.

Take a minute to reflect on the following:
1) What process do you use to make decisions in your organization?
2) How much involvement do you get from widely divergent styles, approaches, and perspectives?
3) What do you do to maximize participation and input from a variety of sources?

Do you know the learning, communications, and leadership styles of the members of your team and how to get optimum participation from them?

Would a free consultation on the “decision-making situation” in your organization be helpful to you?

As always, let us know, if we can help.

When I think of the work we’ve accomplished together, every day is a little like Christmas for me.

• After all, I get to enjoy the results that come from designing ways of bringing people together.
• Every day I get to think up ways to inspire people to connect each other?
• Every day I get to think up ways to get teams to enjoy working together.
• And I’m privileged to receive the gift of watching teams reach goals that require extraordinary effort.

I’m thrilled to play a part in helping others open up to new ideas, and enjoy a unified workplace, as they bring what they’ve learned into their everyday lives.

And, ultimately, I recognize that whether you are spending time with family or with your team at work, the power of being together is what makes life rewarding and meaningful.

This is why the team at Peak Performance! wish you and your team a “Happy Holidays!” today and, well, every day. May each day of 2009 exceed your hopes and dreams for you and yours.

To your health, happiness, and success,

Mark Rowland
And all the team at

Peak Performance!
www.peaktraining.com

Visit us at www.peaktraining.com for hundreds of proven ways to boost the effectiveness of your team, or ask for your free, customized report on how you can help your team achieve dramatically more!

Mark H. Rowland, and the entire Peak Performance! team

www.peaktraining.com