I’m Stumped: Why Are So Many Systems Filled with High-Performing Leaders Leading Underperforming Teams?

October 10, 2023

I am routinely asked this question:


“Joe, in your work with campus leaders, what are the general issues of concern popping up right now?"


In the past six months, there’s been much dialogue on how AI will change the workplace, what the “right” campus hybrid/remote schedule looks like, and how to manage post-COVID budget/staffing realities. 


It’s always tempting to dive in on these hot topics, but I typically don’t. Not because they aren’t legit struggles…


Because they aren’t the ones my most successful TEAMS are talking about.

man bored in classroom

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that those things don’t come up (they do) or that they aren’t relevant to the work (they are).


It’s just that they pale compared to what I hear from the TEAMS most concerned about moving their system’s performance forward each day. 


The heartburn of my most successful teams sounds more like:


  • I’m trying to get my direct reports to take more ownership of their work.
  • I know I need to manage up better, but I’m concerned about getting the politics right.
  • I’m trying to gain alignment with my colleagues, but they see things differently than I do.
  • Given the daily firefighting, I know what to do, but focusing on the right priorities is almost impossible.
  • I keep trying to get stuff off my plate, but it ends up right back with me.
  • I know I need to develop my team, but I don’t have a plan, and I never seem to get traction with coaching and feedback.


Again and again, I hear these two realities echoed back to me from my most successful teams:


   1. The people stuff is the most challenging part of my day.

   And…

   2. I’m not spending as much time building the capacity of my teams as I know I should.


I’ve heard Chris McChesney speak on the 4 Disciplines of Execution and the dreaded “whirlwind” of work. The whirlwind is the 80% of our days consumed by the reactive, operational things needed to lead our organizations.

Yes, leaders must occupy the whirlwind, but you can’t get consumed by it to the extent that your competitive edge begins to dull. 


That’s why HPG Executive Team Coaching is uniquely built around making two things a reality:

  1. Focus
  2. Movement


I’m inviting you to sharpen your advantage in both. Introducing my newest workshop for campus leadership teams, Helping YOUR High-Performing Leaders BUILD Higher-Performance Teams. 


The details are HERE.

Introducing my NEW workshop for campus leadership teams:


Equipping YOUR Executive Leaders to BUILD Higher Performance Teams


Book the Workshop Today!

Many leaders struggle to decide what’s most important in developing their people, but more, sticking to THAT PLAN when the whirlwind picks up.


I’ve also noticed something very interesting in three decades of leading leaders.


When teams collectively commit to working on the Lead Measures of Culture, they begin to develop what Nassim Nicholas Taleb defines in his book, ANTIFRAGILE. 


These are the teams who learn to habitually push against the effects of the whirlwind as they draw a tighter focus on the measures of: 


  • Team Communication
  • Team Connection
  • Team Alignment
  • Team Capacity
  • Team Execution


When that heightened focus begins to occur, I observe our Lead Team Institute partners drastically accelerate improvement in both Team Health and the Reliability of their Systems. 


That’s why we typically begin our executive team engagement with the Leadership Team 360™ baseline assessment to determine your team’s fitness in the Lead Measures of Irresistible Performance Culture.


Baselining helps inform us where to sharpen team focus.


But focus isn’t sufficient without movement.


Think about it. Just as your odds of showing up at the gym increase when you know that a friend (or a trainer) is meeting you there, you’ll become more intentional at growing your leadership influence when others are working on building Higher Performance Teams with you.


This is how our Lead Team Institute partners working with our Executive Team Coaches accelerate overall performance. 


Once we know what’s most pressing, we turn our attention to supporting and challenging new actions and celebrating the wins that emerge as we start moving toward (not just admiring) an improved and preferred future. 


The truth is that none of our Institute partners have loads of discretionary time to spend on leadership team development that fails to deliver results. That’s why we focus on YOUR most potent wins and the habits to sustain this level of performance within each monthly workshop module. 


It’s really about becoming less busy and more brilliant. 


If that kind of movement is important for you right now, I invite you to take the next simple step. 


Applications have opened for our newest workshop, Equipping YOUR Executive Leaders to BUILD Higher Performance Teams. This is the first workshop in the Lead Team Institute series of workshops.


Consider this new workshop an appetizer to sharpen awareness and impact for the overall success of your leadership team. 


The workshop details are here. 

Applications Open!

Applications are open for our new workshop –Equipping YOUR Executive Leaders to BUILD Higher Performance Teams. — But don’t delay! We are generally able to honor better schedule preferences for earlier applicants.


Through a proven framework, this highly engaging team workshop is focused on the immediate, practical ways to build Healthy Teams and Highly Reliable Systems. 


If that kind of movement is essential for you and your system’s performance, I invite you to consider this limited-time offer to accelerate your leadership team development.


If you are serious about differentiating yourself from the noise of average teams, I want to hear from you. Click the button on this page that says, “Book the Workshop.” We will follow up with you to answer your questions and pencil in your preferred team workshop date. 


Booking this workshop might be your wisest decision of the year. New campus teams are enrolling each month, and we look forward to having you join us! 


Lock in your preferred team retreat date, and we look forward to following up with you soon!


For you!


Joe


P.S. If the timing is not right at the moment, no problem. Consider joining THE GROUP. It’s a FREE newsletter filled with fascinating and practical articles, books, and podcasts curated by Higher Performance Leaders nationwide. HERE is a recent sample of THE GROUP. 


Sign up for THE GROUP HERE.


Interested in becoming an Influencer to THE GROUP? Check it out HERE and become a regular contributor to THE GROUP!

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