Executive Performance Coaching: A Case Study on Why Attitude Matters

Attitude Matters, Support Matters and Results Matter . . . but Attitude is what enables the other two . . . and our Attitude is a Choice.  

Personal Leadership is all about focusing on what we can control and attacking that rather than expending energy on those things we have no control over or influence on.  When we focus on what we can control versus what is outside of our control, we can really have a positive and transformational impact on our reality and the reality of those around.

Have you ever been put into a situation where your team members did not understand their purpose, they were not meeting expectations and the expectations and plans that were in place were unrealistic based on the current reality? 

That was the reality of one of my coaching clients recently.  They had a choice . . . they could focus on all of the things that were outside of their control and have a “can’t do” attitude or they could have a “can-do” attitude and figure out what was possible with the people, resources, and support they had.  They chose option two and I had the opportunity to work with them through the journey.    

As leaders, one of our primary responsibilities is to be objective and provide reality . . . to ourselves, to our teams, to our peers, and to our leadership.  Providing reality is the first step in driving change because then, and only then, will there be a shared consciousness of reality.  Deciding to have a can-do attitude and providing reality up, down, and sideways was the first game changer because it provided their team a greater sense of purpose and it provided their leadership a welcomed dose of understanding of unfiltered ground truth which included the good, the bad, and the ugly.  

What did that choice really do?  Three things.  

First, it provided reality to their leadership.  The organizational plan that was in place was unrealistic based on the capabilities, personnel, and resources in place.  The leadership team never had a good understanding of ground truth before so they were making uninformed decisions that were negatively impacting team performance, confidence, and productivity.  Once the leadership team really understood ground truth they were able to allocate resources and personnel to align with their organizational priorities and provide more realistic expectations to their teams. Without that leadership understanding of reality and corresponding support, the turnaround would not have happened.  

Second, at the outset, the team was working seven days a week and failing to meet production expectations.  Once they adopted a “can-do” attitude, they were able to meet and exceed expectations in a five-day work week providing time and space to do things other than just work.    

Third, it provided a new perspective and an optimistic outlook that allowed them to see possibilities rather than impossibilities.     

What were the results?  A 5 – day work week rather than a 7 – day work week.  Green metrics across the board.  $100M is revenue over the course of two quarters.  

Was the turnaround easy?  Heck no!   It required a lot of time, effort, support and attention at the team, site, and leadership team level to make it happen.  But that simple “can-do” choice at the leader level has had a positive impact on the culture of that organization because the team now really believes they can get things done.   

So, what was the process?  Revisiting the 6 P’s of Team Effectiveness for Organizational Change on a recurring basis:  

·      Team Intent (Purpose):  A clear sense of purpose provides the emotional endurance and mental toughness necessary to get the job done.  What is the mission and purpose of your team and your actions?  More simply, what is your WHY?    

·      Roles and Responsibilities (People):  Proper alignment of people and resources is a key component in organizational efficiency.  Do all of your team members understand their own role and responsibilities and the roles and responsibilities of the other team members? Are the roles and responsibilities aligned with the skills, strengths, and mindset of the individual team members?  If not, what conversations need to happen to get the right people in the right place doing the right things?  

·      A Shared Consciousness of Reality (Perspective):  One of the primary responsibilities of a leader is to provide reality and realism up to their bosses, down to their team members, and sideways to their peers.  Does your team have the same sense of reality up, down, and sideways?  If not, what conversations need to occur?  

·      Strategic and Tactical Alignment (Priorities):  Focused effort aligned with defined expectations is a key component to operational success. Are your organizational priorities communicated to your team members in a timely and effective manner to ensure your team can adapt to the external rate of change?  If not, when and how often do you need to have conversations to ensure organizational alignment?    

·     Structured Planning (Plan):  In military planning, an operational planner must validate planning assumptions as true or false to continue the planning process.  What assumptions have you made about your team, your reality and the path forward?

Finally, what are the other questions you need to ask about the plan moving forward?  

• Is it Adequate: Does it accomplish the objective? Does it meet the intent? Does it accomplish all of your needs? Does it meet your criteria for success?   
• Is it Feasible: Can you and your team accomplish the plan within the established time, space, and resource constraints?  
• Is it Acceptable: Does it balance cost and risk with the advantage gained? Does it contain unacceptable risks? Organizational? Safety? Financial? Does it consider the current and future constraints and restraints?    
• Is it Complete: Does the plan answer the questions who, what, where, when, how, and why? 

·      Structured Re-Assessment (Process):  Feedback and our ability to objectively examine our purpose, our people, our perspective, our priorities and our plan is a key contributor, if not the most important factor, to organizational effectiveness.  Does your team have a structured and disciplined after-action report process to ensure continuous improvement?  If not, what process needs to be put in place to ensure your lessons are learned and not just observed?    

Dennis Volpe is a Principal Executive Performance Coach and Leadership Consultant with the Leadership Research Institute.  He specializes in Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Team Effectiveness, and Decision-Making.  He focuses his efforts on Performance and Transition Coaching for Emerging Leaders, proven mid-level Executives and Military Veterans.