Coaching helps highly functional people (teams of people) get to the next level so they can have a more meaningful and satisfying life (work environment).
Working with my own leadership team recently at FLCC and in conjunction with the insight developed from my certifications in both DiSC and The Five Behaviors didn’t just hit close to home (aka office), it was in living in my office.
Listening to Randy repeat to me:
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“Why are you questioning yourself?”
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“You are the CEO.”
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“They are delivering your vision, not theirs.”
I also listened to him tell the team “The one perceived reality becomes reality to those that perceive it” followed by “The right perspective makes the Impossible actually mean – IM POSSIBLE” Randy kept them focused on delivering my vision. My team’s input was welcome and valued, however, the final decision was not theirs to make.
My recent situation, along with the many calls I receive from executives facing similar challenges, solidified for me on a very personal level that many of us business leaders need a professional coach on call beyond a set program. When CEO’s and Executives lose confidence from the harsh realities of running a business and life in general, we need a listener, encourager, and friend. I am thankful Randy has chosen to bring his credentials and expertise to Construction Connection and the industry we love, construction.
If you are an employee or business partner reporting to a CEO you might have a viewpoint all your own. Your viewpoint is important to acknowledge from a feeling perception, but somewhat extraneous beyond that, unless immoral or illegal. You are hired to not only perform your respective tasks, you are hired to work within the mission, vision, and culture of the company, not create your own, or worse yet, sabotage theirs.
Entry-level to executive, part-time, full-time, and at any time… If you are an equal partner within a business you are not just hired to deliver the vision set forth by the CEO, but in accordance create and deliver that vision in unison.
Patrick Lencioni in the book The Advantage says “At the heart of vulnerability lies the willingness of people to abandon their pride and their fear, to sacrifice their egos for the collective good of the team. While this can be a little threatening and uncomfortable at first, ultimately it becomes liberating for people who are tired of spending time and energy overthinking their actions and managing interpersonal politics at work.”
In his book Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick states, “Ironically, for peer-to-peer accountability to become a part of a team’s culture, it has to be modeled by the leader. That’s right. Even though I said earlier that the best kind of accountability is peer-to-peer, the key to making it stick is the willingness of the team leader to do something I call “enter the danger” whenever someone needs to be called on their behavior or performance. That means being willing to step right into the middle of a difficult issue and remind individual team members of their responsibility, both in terms of behavior and results. But most leaders I know have a far easier time holding people accountable for their results than they do for behavioral issues. This is a problem because behavioral problems almost always precede results. That means team members have to be willing to call each other on behavioral issues, as uncomfortable as that might be, and if they see their leader balk at doing this, then they aren’t going to do it themselves.”
The most important part of his quote to hear is behavioral problems almost always precede results. Most leaders are 100% focused on results and achieving those results is always hindered by our inability to hold others accountable for their behaviors. Our vision is for where we are going. We are challenged by those people on our teams with their own itinerary on how they want to get there, and not following the path you want them to use.
Randy has taught me to boldly communicate my itinerary (goals, priorities, deadlines, projects, etc.) to my team and not second guess my decisions based on the reaction from my team members. The ability to professionally call your associates out on their behavior or performance is what ultimately produces results.
If you are a CEO that avoids conflict, creates conflict, second guesses yourself, or you just can’t get the results you want from your team, Randy or another coach can help you to:
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Discover why this is happening
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Coach you to effectively communicate in confidence to your team
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Overcome any self-doubt and boldly believe your leadership capabilities
If you are a professional at any level working in the construction industry who doesn’t believe in your CEO’s leadership abilities or your teams, Randy can help you:
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Discover why you feel this way
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Coach you to effectively communicate in confidence with your team and Boss
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Overcome any self-doubt and boldly believe your leadership capabilities
No matter what role you hold within an organization your leadership skills are imperative for stability and ultimate success at work. If you doubt you are a leader read this article from Thought Leaders called The Surprising Truth about Leadership – Everyone is a Leader.
It’s sometimes lonely at the top, middle and bottom of the organizational chart. If you feel that way more than not, we are here to help. You can reach me at 305-361-0094.
To Growing Together by Overcoming New Challenges,
Suzanne Breistol
