Building a High Performance Team - Part 1 of 2

         Lesson 9

When my boss announced that the search for my replacement was on, I did what any sane and logical manager would have done.  I went to the beach.  My salespeople needed some breathing space, as much as I needed to be alone with my thoughts, the waves, the sand, and a legal pad of paper.  That's where I realized that there was a barrier or fence in my organization.  My people were on one side of the fence and I was on the other.  And the fence looked different, depending on which side you were on.  With this revelation came my first major team-building technique.

There was only one uniting factor in all of the people on the other side of the fence.  They all hated me.  It wasn’t a healthy bond, but it was strong.  I needed to end our segregation.  I could have invoked the power of my position and ordered my people to join me on my side of the fence.  But, I knew that yelling at people doesn't produce real cooperation.  Another option available to me was to crawl over to their side of the fence and try to recreate the wonderful camaraderie we had when I first came on board as the new sales person and they took me under their collective wing.  But, that wouldn’t be leadership either.

Then I realized that I was not going to reunite with all of my people at one time.  At best, I was only going to earn their trust on an individual-by-individual basis.  My first thought was to go after the highest producer in the office.  But, something told me that could foster professional jealousy among the other team members.  The situation could become even more divisive.  I needed to get someone over on my side of the fence that the others would listen to.

It dawned on me that the most influential member of the team was the person whom the others respected the most--not necessarily the superstar--but the person most respected by his or her peers.  Using this new criteria, I rated my team members starting with the most respected, the next most respected and so on.  I was incorporating the values of my people into my thinking.  The ratings I used were their ratings, not mine. 

So, I went to work on the number one most respected person on my list.  Before long, that person was actually saying some decent things about me.  Why?  Because that person was beginning to truly feel as if I was open and receptive to the team’s way of thinking.  Soon, number two on my list headed for my side of the fence, then numbers three, four, and so on.  Once I won about a third of the people over, the most respected third, others started heading my way from the far side of the fence.  Your people vote every day to decide which side of the fence to be on.

Here's how to get started on the Fence Technique: 

• Determine who is the most respected among my team members.
• Identify which qualities make this person so trusted.
• Rank your team members in order of peer respect, but keep the list for your eyes only.

“Determination makes failure impossible.”

Leadership When the Heat Is On: 24 lessons in high-performance leadership

                                                      

Lesson One
Leadership When the Heat's On

Only a few feet separate the lead pilot's tailpipe from the nose of my supersonic fighter as we rip through the sky at speeds in excess of 500 miles per hour. I feel the blast from his engine vibrating through my feet on the rudder pedals and through my right hand on the control stick. There are seven more jets behind me packed just as tight in our nine-ship formation.

Almost with one motion, the nose of each fighter gently drops below the horizon. The airspeed builds until the lead pilot pulls back on the stick. The nose of every fighter rises in perfect symmetry as the G forces build. I feel the blood being forced into my legs and feet. All nine of us are now experiencing the same 5 G force ––5 times our body weight. We tighten our leg and abdominal muscles to keep blood in our upper extremities to avoid blacking out.

I concentrate on keeping my hand on the throttle. If it slips off, the G force will push it down between the side panel and my ejection seat. I will lose my ability to make minor throttle adjustments and hold precise position. As we curve over the top of our perfect loop, the world switches places with the sky. The G forces diminish down the backside. I steal a millisecond glance at the two rear view mirrors. Everyone is still tucked in tight. The G pressure builds again as our lead pilot pulls the nose back up to level flight and eight pilots follow in perfect unison.

The lead pilot takes us through a series of horizon tumbling rolls followed by a formation shift to a nine-ship diamond. It's my turn to fly center position as we make a high-speed, low-level pass over the airfield. The noise of eight other jets in front and back, and on both sides, flying two to three yards from wingtip to wingtip is deafening. It's high performance flying right to the edge. There is only one word to describe it: exhilarating. WOW! How I love it!

It's the ultimate team experience. The difference between life and death can be how well we learn from our successes and failures. Our synergy comes from courage, creativity, and being there for each other, no matter what. After leaving the Air Force and entering the corporate world, I had to transfer the principles of individual and team high performance to new challenges.

I had to make some tremendous adjustments, but my drive to again be a part of a high performance team was strong. I sought out advice and counsel from the most successful people I could find in various industries. What they taught me, along with some innovations of my own, put my new team into a supersonic climb. In five years, we increased production 800 percent, morale soared and turnover dropped to nearly zero.

Consider this your supersonic flight plan as you discover how my team broke the old records and continued to break the new ones. You're going to find out how to become the lead pilot for your team and a barrier-breaking leader.   

"The managerial moment of truth comes when you realize that, as the leader, you are the trigger for change in your organization."

Leadership When the Heat Is On: 24 lessons in high performance leadership by Danny Cox
http://www.dannycox.com