Last month John called on our group to help him kick off the annual department planning and budgeting process. John is an Executive well-known to me and my colleagues. I placed him in a C-level position about 10 years ago, and my colleagues have worked with him since. He recently landed an important job with a well-established brand, which represents an excellent career opportunity. Achieving success will be a difficult slough, however. The Brand has suffered from a succession of owners, leaders, and strategies. Now under new direction, John and his team are responsible for critical strategies to rebuild the brand. My colleague Stan got the lead on the project with me in support.
John envisioned a full department off-site meeting, so Stan built the appropriate agenda. Stan’s goal was to help John build alignment and ownership around the department’s four key objectives. The agenda included a heavy dose of fun to encourage participation and creativity by the attendees. By the end of the off-site John wanted to ensure that there was enthusiasm for the plan; that the team took ownership; and that the stage was set for an effective change-management effort.
The first exercise Stan facilitated, after the appropriate set-up, was what he calls “deep dive introductions”. It was an ice-breaker, ‘getting to know you’ exercise. Everyone had the opportunity to introduce themselves, speak to their job function, indicate their expectations from the meeting, and to tell something personal the group may not have known. This included John, Stan, and me. They also provided their tenure with the company and within the industry segment. The whole point of the exercise was to begin building trust in a non-threatening environment. John and Stan distributed prizes for the best idea, the most interesting disclosure, and the lamest personal disclosure. This was a great way to begin the meeting.
It was interesting to learn that the average tenure with the company was 6.5 years, with 15 years in the segment. 15 people had less than one year tenure with the company. On balance, the average team member had not seen a stable, consistent direction from this employer. Clearly, the culture had been battered.
The next exercise was a mini-assimilation. Whereas the first exercise as entirely personal, this was a group exercise. Each group was defined by table, six team members per table. The exercise included some administrative functions like appointing a scribe and a spokesman. Their task was to determine 1) what they wanted to know about John, and 2) what they wanted John to know about their team. After that task, John told his team what he thought they should know about him. It was another good exchange that reinforced the team’s desire for leadership and direction. They told John that they were ready and eager to execute but craved a champion to lead them.
After lunch, the final exercise of the day, another small group task, was to begin the process of establishing an identity for the Department. The goal was to establish a name, a tag-line, and a logo for John’s team. The small groups put a lot of energy into this activity, developing some very creative ideas. It was a good start, but more work was required. The evening was a planned event for the team which Stan and I respectfully declined to attend.
The first day was a big success. The Department took a measure of John’s commitment to them and their needs. John began to identify his leaders and problem children. Stan and I found some points where John needed some coaching. We were very optimistic about the prospects for the next day. To be continued…
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Jim Weber, President
New Century Dynamics Executive Search
www.newcenturydynamics.com