Build Your Bench Strength

The best teams have:

• Members with diverse and complementary skills and competencies
• Who can work together productively to deliver results against an effective strategic plan.

We believe that if you have a great team, they can build and execute a great plan. And if you start with a great plan, you can find talented people who can either make your plan even better, or get aligned and excited about the plan you have. The issue is -- you already have a team. If they are not already a great team – how do you figure out who has the potential to take your business to the next level and get them there!? There are several indicators you can look at:

1. Competency assessments will provide a clear picture of potential across a range of different critical skill areas.
2. Style indicators tell you how people prefer to interact with each other and who has natural tendencies to lead, follow and rebel. You can then decide what mix you need and where in the organization you need them.
3. Measurable results will tell you who can really get things done.
4. Motivation and initiative will tell you who will push the organization (and maybe you) to higher standards and expectations or leave if they cannot make a big enough impact.

Who do you need to look at in your organization? Who meets or exceeds your criteria? Nurture those strong performers and give them opportunities to learn and grow and you will see the impact in your results.

I’m Stuck! Six Ways To Release The Glue

We feel stuck for many different reasons, but when you boil it all down, most ‘stuckness’ comes down to some form of fear. It might look like overwhelm or denial or uncertainty, but at the root, it’s a form of fear. We are afraid. We don’t like to talk about being afraid, so we make excuses to externalize our fear. It’s not the right time to act. We haven’t figured out our plan yet. We need to gather more data. The economy is weak. Blah blah blah. These excuses serve to keep us even more ‘stuck’ because they allow us to justify why we are not acting. The problem… we are still stuck. If you are stuck, try one of the following actions and see if it helps you take even a baby step forward. Three baby steps give you one full step, so let’s get started:

1. Remind yourself of what the compelling opportunity is if you were to move forward. What have you got to gain?
2. Evaluate the real consequences of taking action now. It might not be as risky as you think.
3. Brainstorm alternatives that reduce the risk – even crazy ones can show you a path forward, or can demonstrate that your current situation isn’t really that risky.
4. Talk to someone who has taken this risk or a similar one and find out how they did it. Maybe you can apply some of their lessons learned to your situation, or maybe you can increase your confidence in yourself.
5. Ground yourself in the wisdom and experience you bring and remind yourself that you have overcome many challenges before. Tap into the strengths that enabled you to do those and you may find they apply here too.
6. Go away. Really! Get out of your current environment and get some fresh perspective. Stop thinking about where you are stuck and immerse yourself somewhere new and different. Even for an afternoon. Get a cup of coffee downtown if you work in the burbs. Get a cup of coffee in the burbs if you work downtown.

Why Most Succession Plans and Exit Strategies Fail - June 12 &13, 2013

Vistage provides professionally facilitated peer advisory groups that help CEOs, business owners and senior executives become better leaders, make better decisions and ultimately achieve better results. Join Abby Donnelly of the Leadership & Legacy Group for a presentation on Why Most Succession Plans and Exit Strategies Fail. This presentation will be held on June 12, 2013 at Greensboro Country Club and June 13, 2013 at Industries of the Blind in Greensboro. For more information on this thought provoking program, download The Flyer.

To discuss a custom program for your organization, call for more information: (336) 458-9939.