Kids

Developing Leaders: High Performance Teams

How do you develop the leaders around you?

Every week I meet with 3 leaders on our team and we work through a specific aspect of leadership development. I thought it might be fun to broaden the learning group and hear from some of you.

I am a firm believer in taking what I’ve learned and pouring it into someone else. I continue to benefit from the generosity of other leaders in my life and here’s one way that I pass it on.

As I’m preparing for this time each week, I keep this structure in mind:

* Study It. What can I read or what can I listen to that will help me learn?

* Gather Information. Who can I talk to so that I can benefit from the experience of others on this topic?

* Get Personal. What reflection questions can I ask that will help apply what I’m learning?

* Discuss It. What can I talk about with others to get my questions answered, share what I’m learning, & gain accountability?

* Share It. How can I pass on what I’m learning?

Here’s what our lesson looked like a few weeks ago. I would love for you to listen to the talk and jump in and share your thoughts on this topic. Like I said, I think we could broaden our circle of learning if we’re willing to share what we think.

Lesson: High Performance Teams

1. Listen to Andy’s Leadership Podcast titled: High Performance Teams.

2. What is your department’s problem to solve?

Answering this question for yourself will help you define the vision that you want to cast for your team. It will be your reason for rallying the troops. It will be your personal motivation in the face of opposition. It’s a great question to wrestle with.

3. Write out three statements that convey why you care about this problem.

If you are a leader who is learning to cast vision for others, taking the time to write out these statements will help you craft words that are rich with passion and emotion. If you don’t personally care about it, then why should I?

4. When was the last time that your team had unfiltered debate?

This is a question that you need to get honest about. Many leaders delude themselves into believing that the debate is unfiltered, when in reality the people around the table are saying what the leader wants to hear. Surround yourself with leaders who will challenge the process…who are not afraid to get into a heated discussion. Smart leaders who think for themselves, and can communicate their point of view are invaluable to you. Create a safe place for unfiltered debate.

5. What was the debate about?

If you truly have unfiltered debate, then there should easily be a discussion, disagreement, heated “passionate” exchange of words that you remember in the recent past. This would be a debate that got a little uncomfortable, a little fired up, and a little passionate. If you can’t remember an exchange like this, then you probably don’t invite unfiltered debate.

6. On a scale of 1-10 (1=poor/10=perfect listener), how do you rate yourself as a listener?

We talked about the importance of listening here. Good leaders LISTEN.

7. Why do you give yourself this rating?

I recommend that you ask a variety of people to give you honest feedback on this topic. You can not afford to be in the dark on this topic. My personal experience is that most people, who are not good listeners, do not recognize this flaw in themselves. If you need to work on it, then part of this discussion needs to be your plan. Don’t let this one go, or it will cripple you as a leader.

We had a great discussion around this topic! Would love to hear your answers to the questions above.

Would you like to continue to share leadership development outlines?

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