PD Strategies Blog

Developing a high performing team starts with understanding each team member’s strength. Help your team use their strengths to push their performance to new levels. Unfortunately, many of us spend time trying to correct weaknesses. This is best illustrated with a story a parent can understand: A child comes home from school with his or her report card and it shows, for example, an A in math, B’s in history and science, and a C in English. What is the parent’s response? In most cases the parent talks to the child about raising the grade in English. But what if the child might have a real talent in math? He or she might become a great math genius. But it might never be realized because time was spent dwelling on weakness rather than leveraging strengths. We fall into the same trap in our own lives as well as with our staff...

Sometimes we look for things to improve and are disappointed when we see no change. It is almost as if we are waiting for something to happen. But there are some who know that if they want something to happen, they must be the ones to make it happen. Those who are waiting for it to happen have a much different approach to going on vacation. Many of us spend a considerable amount of time and effort planning a vacation. We will figure out exactly where we want to go and what type of things we want to do while we are there. We’ll make reservations, schedule appointments, and prepare a list of all the appropriate things we need to pack. This planning is usually very detailed, somewhat tedious, and time consuming. But because we want the trip to be hassle free we will plan these occasional trips right down to...

Have you lost your way in the last few years? You can find your way back by finding your why. Find your why and make sure the why of your team why is aligned with yours. Then the way (how) will present itself. Goal planning is not about writing down a list of tasks. Instead, it starts with a why which some people call a dream. Someone said, ”you gotta have a dream if you want a dream to come true. That’s the why. Frankly, if you do not have the WHY the HOW will not matter. Motivation and goal achievement are interrelated. You can’t motivate yourself or motivate others. You need instead to reach down and find that motivation and bring it to the surface. If you know a staff member’s why or hot button just give them the job that fits their passion. You will be amazed at how...

If you lead a team your primary objective is to get results. That being said, the leader needs to develop the interpersonal skills to engage the team in achievement of those results. When I speak with my Westchester County NY business leaders about traits that make a good leader no one can agree. The only trait that is agreed upon is having empathy. All successful leaders can set goals and achieve results. The most effective way to keep the team focused is “management by objectives.” Follow these steps. Start with a clear strategic vision—a strategic plan that inspires. Then create goals that support that vision. Next, work with your team to define the desired results. Align your people and your processes and make sure that everyone understands the goals and the plan. All your operations should be linked to your plan. Then virtually everything that happens should work toward achieving that...

A key core competency in management and in sales is Relationship Management. Being able to influence people is a skill that needs to be developed. Those who are successful influencers are able to move people to action by showing them what is in it for them. All consultants (internal or external) and all managers will have great success if they learn this. Trust is vitally important, and this is built on credibility and respect. In this information age anyone can look something up. No one holds a knowledge monopoly anymore. Dan Pink, in his book, “To Sell is Human,” talks about how we are all in sales so to speak. He calls this the art of moving people and it applies to everyone from consultants to teachers. The old formula of sales no longer works. Those who remember sales from years ago remember ABC which means Always Be Closing. This is...

A collaborative team is more than likely lead by a leader who is a consensus builder. Rather than win lose they empower others and work to seek consensus. Strong leaders have courage to challenge the status quo and point out failures in the organization. They develop and coach others and build positive collaborative relationships. Teams that are high performing are collaborative. To illustrate the importance of team collaboration let’s consider a flock of geese. A flock of geese has a common goal – fly south for the winter. They can get where they’re going much easier by using the strength of the group – they fly in a V formation to add 70% greater flying range. They stay in formation – if a goose falls out of formation, it immediately feels the drag and quickly returns to the formation. They take turns doing the hard work and sharing the leadership role...

You have defined your vision, values, and mission. You know what your business objectives are and you have defined your goal categories. Now it time for goal planning and goal achievement. So let’s get to it! A goal must be worthwhile to you and must motivate you. What are your biggest dreams? Do an inventory of your dreams and put them on paper. Visualize them and verbalize them. This will build the motivation to achieve your goal. If you have made goals in the past and have not achieved them one reason may be that you did not have a burning desire and, therefore, you were not driven to achieve them. New Year’s resolutions fall into this category many times. When you think about your life, your daily journey, how well do you plan and organize it? Your life’s journey is the MOST important trip you will ever take. So why...

Another way of asking about your driving forces is asking you what motivates you. Motivation comes from within and that means that you cannot motivate another person, but it certainly would be good to know what motivates that person. Knowing that you can create a spark to ignite their inner fire. That inner fire will drive motivation. That inner fire or passion is your WHY and this comes from the driving forces that motivate you. If you do not have the WHY then the HOW will not matter. Knowing what motivates you is a key to achievement and knowing how to find motivation in others is a key to leadership. Dwight Eisenhower said that leadership is getting others to do what you want because THEY want to do it. Reach down and find that motivation and bring it to the surface. What is your passion? Do you know. You could take...

Dwight Eisenhower said, “Leadership is getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” It is difficult to have sustainable success by forcing people to be accountable. It is better to create the motivation and culture so that staff and team members want to be accountable. If properly done you can discuss results, build pride, and change behaviors. Noticing failures and offering help to someone struggling can build a sense of pride in the team member. However, by avoiding we only have continued failure. Doing nothing and avoiding accountability is not an option if we want to create growth through improved results. How does a manager hold members of the staff responsible for performance? What about an employee who needs help but fears asking for help? The results can be devastating when we fail to have accountability discussions. The book, “Crucial Confrontations”, by Kerry...

I believe that motivation is the primary force behind goal achievement. Motivation comes from within and that means that you cannot motivate another person. You can, however, help create a spark to ignite their inner fire. That inner fire will drive motivation. What about you? Do you have something burning inside you? Frankly, if you do not have the WHY the HOW will not matter. Motivation and goal achievement are interrelated. Knowing what motivates you is a key to achievement and knowing how to find motivation in others is a key to leadership. Dwight Eisenhower said that leadership is getting others to do what you want because THEY want to do it. Reach down and find that motivation and bring it to the surface. What is your passion? If you are not sure why not start by doing a dream inventory. List every dream you have. How many did you list?...

This is an important time of year for you to take stock both personally and professionally to determine whether or not your life is on track. When was the last time you thought about your life goals? Are you on track to achieving those goals? Who should be working on goals and plan for 2016? The answer is everyone; entrepreneurs and business owners, managers and executives, students and other individuals. Right now I am working with businesses and executives in Westchester County New York on their annual goals review. Setting a goal is not like a New Year's resolution. That is just a wish. Just wishing and hoping for something isn't going to make it happen. Setting a goal is having a target to shoot for and a plan to get there. When planning your goals, choose which categories you would like for your goals. Establish the time frame. They could...

Westchester employers are working on plans for rebuilding business after the pandemic. This will require the best and most productive employees on their team. You then need to develop your employees so that they can produce better results. Your employees really want opportunities to grow and develop. There is so much out there written about performance reviews Most organizations do annual performance appraisals and most human resource professionals are charged with developing a performance appraisal system. This process alone is one of the most universally disliked systems. The reason is that most appraisal systems do not focus enough on two particularly important areas—Employee Development and Results. We should be focusing more on performance development rather than performance management. We start with expectations but before we measure expectations, we need to set expectations. It is not merely enough to tell an employee here is your job description and see me if you...

Lack of courage is one of the root causes of many time management issues. In fact, time management is usually not a time management problem but a behavior problem. Procrastination is something that we all must confront and deal with from time to time. It's only natural to procrastinate at times, but the way you deal with your procrastination patterns will determine what effects procrastination has on your life. Why is it that so many people start out with good intentions to achieve a goal but never achieve that goal? When you procrastinate you simply fail to act on the very things you know will bring you the rewards that you desire. You know you want the rewards and know you must act, but you hold off, make excuses and, in short, procrastinate. Procrastination can be caused by a fear—a fear of failure or the fear of stepping outside your comfort...

Frankly, I am not one for New Year’s Resolutions. Why? Because these are usually halfhearted resolutions at the spur of the evening, and they have no thought behind them. Unfortunately, many of these resolutions fade very quickly because the will or resolve in the resolution is not there. After the fizz from the New Year’s Eve will the commitment remain? In most cases, the answer is no. My favorite example is at my Gym. Next week I will need to get there early to account for the increased number of people who have just signed up. But like every year, by the end of February there will be plenty of room. Why do people fail to keep New Year’s resolutions?   Perhaps they really did not want to do what they had resolved to do. The first step toward making that resolution is to really know what you want to do in...

Do you have some dreams that you would like to become realities? Are you willing to create a plan to get there? Your plan will consist of several goals. Although some people have dreams many never get past the dream stage because they have no goals. A goal is really a dream with a timetable. First, let’s build the dream and then create the goals to get there. Do an inventory of your dreams and write them down. Can you visualize them and verbalize them? Visualizing and verbalizing your dream will create the motivation to achieve. In fact, a burning desire to make your dream a reality will create the urgency to make your dreams come true. If you have made goals in the past and have not achieved them, you probably did not have the burning desire to achieve them. New Year’s resolutions fall into this category many times. When...

There is a condition out there called the paralysis of analysis. This condition destroys what could be many successful outcomes. What is worse is deciding but then failing to take action –failing to start. The reason that many great ideas never become reality is lack of commitment to get started. It is a law of physics. It takes more energy to start a car or turn on a light than to continue operating them. This is also true with starting a project or starting a business. It takes more effort to get started. For that reason, people over analyze and tell themselves the don’t want do it until it is perfect. A coach colleague of mine has coined this habit “Getting ready to go to work”. I cannot start until I get my brochures, business cards, website, 2 number 2 pencils—you get the idea! I have heard that 80% of people...

There is no time like now to start achieving your goals. It is as simple as ready, set, go. Yes, it is that simple although it is not easy. Let’s take it from the beginning and create our action plan. A goal must be worthwhile to you and must motivate you. What are your biggest dreams? Do an inventory of your dreams and put them on paper. Visualize them and verbalize them. This will build the motivation to achieve your goal. If you have made goals in the past and have not achieved them one reason may be that you did not have a burning desire and, therefore, you were not driven to achieve them. New Year’s resolutions fall into this category many times. When you think about your life, your daily journey, how well do you plan and organize it? Your life’s journey is the MOST important trip you will...

Are you having trouble with getting rid of some of those bad habits? You have tried but you have not succeeded.  You would like to create some positive habits.    A person who has positive work habits, for example, will be much more likely to succeed than a person with negative work habits. In fact, habits have everything to do with our success or failure. That bad habit can cause us to continue to do things that are non-productive or destructive.  For example, you might have a habit of laying back and taking it easy.  This could place you in panic mode when you are up against a deadline.  This could cause you to fail to meet the deadline or fail to achieve good results.  All of this is the result of living in a comfort zone.  That comfort zone exists for us because we are deriving satisfaction for our current habits. ...

How do you create a culture of accountability and create a high performing team? The best way to accomplish this is by motivating staff and team members to be proud to be accountable. Dwight Eisenhower said, “Leadership is getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”   Many times, we fear discussing results and performance because we feel we will not change behavior and we might create alienation. However, by avoiding we only have continued failure. Doing nothing and avoiding accountability is not an option if we want to create growth through improved results. How does a manager hold members of the staff responsible for performance? What about an employee who needs help but fears asking for help? The results can be devastating when we fail to have accountability discussions. The book, “Crucial Confrontations”, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzer...

Many Westchester County business owners have told me that they feel like a hamster on a wheel. They are overworked and overwhelmed. Many blame the rapid pace of business or the economic fact that business must do more with less. Technology has made our lives easier, right? Yes, but it has also created more pressure. Instant communication on handheld devices gives us the sense of urgency and feeling that we must always be working. Everything seems to go faster, leaving everyone feeling overworked, overloaded, and overwhelmed.   Some people may suggest that this is an issue of time management. The real issue is not time management but understanding your goals and your purpose. Here are some tips on surviving being overwhelmed. 1. Know Your Purpose. Do you have a roadmap and purpose? That would be your vision, your goals, and your plans. Each day identify the tasks you must accomplish and prioritize...