WIN!
A Leader's Guide to
Building a Winning Team
A Leadership Fable
By David Akers
Win! A Leader's Guide to Building a Winning Team
David Akers
Published by Akers Consulting Group LLC
Copyright 2010 by David Akers / Akers Consulting Group, LLC
ISBN: 9781452407838
ebook Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. IF you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Being a fable, the characters portrayed in the book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual living persons is coincidental. The lessons provided within are based on true-life experience in developing strong, winning teams. Only the characters are fictional.
Credit where Credit is Due!
This book would not have made it past the first outline if it wasn't for the wonderful support of my family. From my loving wife Lenore and my daughter Kristin, who both put up with me spending the large amount of time it took writing and rewriting this book to make it worthy of your reading. From my sons, Bryan and Danny, who inspire me to always be the best man I can be.
In addition, I'd like to give proper credit to the great friends that helped make this book possible. To Lisa Maggi, for her meticulous editing and for keeping me grounded at all times. To Kevin Zall, who's input I always give the highest level of respect. To Joseph Gordon, who's fresh outlook on things is always a marvel to behold. Also, to Shelley Palma, for taking time out of her busy schedule to provide valuable feedback.
I'd be remised if I didn't also recognize the numerous people I have had the opportunity to work for and with, both the good and the bad. They have given me great insight into what works well and what doesn't, as well as what leadership behaviors can inspire, and which ones can cause a mess.
Thanks must also be given to the numerous men and women who have made up my teams in the past. They were unknowingly both students and teachers in the development and perfection of my approach to building winning teams. I'm happy to say that this approach has been very successful, and I owe these team members a great deal of appreciation for their hard work. It was truly an honor to have the opportunity to lead them.
Introduction
Win-ning [win-ning] adjective: that wins; successful or victorious, as in a contest
Team [teem] - noun: a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest: a number of persons associated in some joint action
Building and maintaining a true winning team is a difficult task, especially if you have not had the rare opportunity of being mentored by someone that has accomplished this feat.
The following is an imaginary, veracious fable that describes the choice encounter of two men; One that has been placed in a leadership role and desperately needs to build a winning team environment; Another that is arguably one of the best architects of winning teams in the country.
Their choice encounter leads to entertaining conversations on a number of key topics, allowing the new leader to emerge with a newly-found sense of confidence. Can he turn those lessons into actions and lead his team to victory in the marketplace?
At the end of the book, you will find important documents that you can leverage in your quest for building a winning team, but don't peek until you've read through their incredible and entertaining discussions.
Contents
Section 1
Meeting Coach
Ch 1 Get Me Out of Here
Ch 2 An Offer Too Good To Refuse
Ch 3 Slogan of Purpose
Ch 4 S = P - E
Ch 5 Leadership Philosophy
Ch 6 Demand Professionalism
Ch 7 Developing Strengths
Section 2
Winning Teams Don't Just Happen
Ch 8 Leveraging Free Agency
Ch 9 It's a Team Sport
Ch 10 Attitudes are Contagious
Ch 11 Have Fun!
Ch 12 Chase's Homework
Section 3
A Strategy for Winning
Ch 13 Goal!
Ch 14 Weekly Game Plan
Ch 15 Know Your Opponent
Ch 16 The Power of Momentum
Ch 17 Make Adjustments
Ch 18 Sports Talk Junkies
Section 4
Let the Games Begin
Ch 19 A Plan Comes Together
Ch 20 Updating the Score
Section 5
Important Documents
Ch 21 E-mails from Coach
Ch 22 The Team Leadership Pledge
Ch 23 Strategy for Winning
Ch 24 Professionalism Manifesto
Section 1
Meeting
Coach
Get Me Out Of Here!
Chase Dunning looked down at his watch. The direction of the hands on the watch showed that it was only 2:30 in the afternoon. He let out a long sigh, and pulled the conference agenda out of his portfolio binder. Aside from a few notes he had taken during the morning session, the paper pad within the portfolio was blank. According to the agenda, this session of the conference was scheduled to last another two and a half hours.
He had long since tuned out the current speaker, who was discussing the topic of performance reviews. Not that the topic itself was not of interest to Chase, but the monotone speaker and his boring presentation was driving many of the attendants in the large room to a near state of unconsciousness. Chase had earlier spotted four different typos in the speaker's PowerPoint presentation, which also did not flow very well. Had all of the earlier speakers been better, Chase could feel some level of embarrassment for this speaker. Instead he felt a twinge of anger, not at the speaker, but at the situation he found himself in. Chase looked around the room to see if any of the people were actually engaged. He smiled as he noticed three people who were actually asleep; noted by their heads bobbing up quickly, then slowly retreating back down towards their chests. Many of the people close to Chase were holding their various handheld phones and PDAs down by their knees, busily checking e-mails, playing games, or possibly updating their blogs. Chase noted that several of the chairs that had been occupied earlier, were now empty.
This was not what Chase had expected. He had been eagerly awaiting this conference. The marketing materials had promised an exciting and engaging workshop atmosphere where you would learn "hands on" how to be a great leader. The topics that were to be covered were of great interest to him, and he had hoped to learn a good deal of professional tips and information that he could use in his new leadership position. After less than one full day of the three-day seminar, he was doubting if he would learn anything that would be useful. He had left his wife back in Philadelphia for an entire week, missed an entire week of working at his new job, and perhaps worst of all, he had paid for this seminar with his own money. He clearly had higher expectations than what the speakers were delivering.
Chase had left his blackberry in his hotel room with the thought of not wanting to be distracted. Now how he wished he had brought it with him. He was glad that he had chosen not to sit in one of the front rows. Instead he had selected a chair in the middle of the room, about eleven rows back. There were another five or six rows behind him, but only a dozen or so of those chairs were currently occupied.
The thought of getting up and walking out had crossed Chase's mind several times in the last hour. He mentally wrestled with the idea, trying, yet failing to develop a logical justification to himself for doing so. His mind kept providing him with reasons to stay. He had spent good money to be there, so missing part of it would be like throwing money away. It would be rude to leave, as he wouldn't want anyone to walk out on his meetings. Perhaps it was going to get better in a few moments. The next speaker will be much better.
At 2:45, the un-engaging speaker called for a short break, asking everyone to be back in fifteen minutes to start back up. The relieved audience quickly headed for the exit doors. Chase scooped up his seminar binder and portfolio and joined the group as they anxiously left the meeting room. Chase followed several of the men into the restroom, where the group was very candidly expressing their disappointment in the day's sessions. Two of the men stated that they weren't heading back in, and that they would rather head to the beach than suffer through two more hours of the mind-numbing sessions.
Chase had natural leadership skills, and was not considered to be much of a follower, but in this case he decided to join in the two men's idea of skipping the remaining two hours. Chase wasn't too keen on heading to the beach at the moment; heading over to the lounge was more of his style. He exited the restroom and headed off to his hotel room. As he walked towards the elevator, he recalled opening the door to his room after checking in the night before. The flight in had been smooth and non-eventful; his luggage had arrived; and his hotel room was spacious and offered great views of the ocean and the large pool. He had been sure that these were all signs that the week was going to be fantastic. The day's sessions had quickly brought him back to reality.
Chase decided not to change clothes, and eagerly brushed his teeth - still having the garlic taste of the lunch salad dressing in his mouth. He hadn't had the opportunity to explore the resort the night before, and had gone straight to the conference center first thing this morning, so he wasn't sure where a good bar was located on the property. He could see the building that served as the poolside cabana and restaurant from his window, so he decided to head there first to check it out. He left his seminar materials behind, grabbed his blackberry and hotel key card, then headed down the hallway towards the elevators. As the elevator door opened for him, he stepped in and joined a gentleman whom he recognized from the seminar audience. Chase noticed that the man was still carrying his seminar binder.
"Heading back in for more?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, hasn't been too great yet, but I'm hoping it's going to get better," the man answered. "What about you?"
"Nah, I've had enough for one day," Chase replied honestly. "Think I'll head down by the pool and enjoy the sunshine and great weather."
"I don't blame you. My company sends me to sessions like this every year. I look at them as a vacation. They're usually held in nice locations, and I don't mind suffering through some boring speakers. Though sometimes they are really good. "
The elevator opened on the main floor and both men stepped out.
"Have fun," Chase told the man as they exited and headed in opposite directions down the hallway. Chase heard the man reply "Thanks, you too."
As Chase walked down the interior hallway towards the pool area, he thought about what the man in the elevator had just said. He just couldn't see himself coming to sessions like this every year. He would feel like a failure if he needed to come every single year in order to gain the leadership skills necessary for his current position, or any other. In reality, if he couldn't get things under control and heading in the right direction soon, he most likely wouldn't have his current job much longer. This thought soured his mood even more. He needed to figure things out quickly, and he had no faith that the seminar he was here to attend was going to provide him the information he was desperately seeking.
Stepping out of the building into the bright sun, he was mad at himself for not grabbing his sunglasses. He squinted his eyes, and placed his right hand across his forehead as a visor. He walked past the pool and the good number of people that were occupying the lounge chairs, baking themselves to a nice rosy shade of red while sipping on their large tropical drinks. He stepped inside the building that served as the poolside bar. It was designed and decorated to give you the illusion of being in a remote tropical setting, with a long wooden bar, support columns that were shaped like oversized tiki-idols, thatched grass covering the inside of the ceiling, and reggae music playing through the speakers. As a more modern and urban comfort to the clientele, two flat screen televisions were mounted behind the bar, tuned to the all-day sports channels.
Chase blinked his eyes as he walked towards the bar. The bright sun was still playing havoc on his sight, with large spots jumping around in front of him. At this time of day, the tropical retreat was not very busy. There were three ladies seated together at one of the tables. They were heavily engaged in a conversation amongst themselves. A waitress, dressed in a bright blue tropical shirt had just delivered a fresh round of large tropical drinks to the women. The other tables were currently empty. At the bar, there were only two single men seated. There were three empty stools between the two men. Chase walked up to the bar and sat in the middle of the three empty stools, allowing one empty stool between himself and each of the other men. The bartender was a large Polynesian male, dressed in a bright orange Hawaiian shirt. He quickly came over to Chase and welcomed him in a very friendly voice, "Hey man, welcome to The Oasis. What can I get for you?"
"I'll start with whatever light beer you have on tap," Chase answered, noticing that the man's nametag identified him as "Big Joe".
"Coming right up," Big Joe replied as he grabbed an empty glass and started pouring the requested beverage. "You want to start a tab?"
"Sounds like a good plan." Chase's attitude was already getting better. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or it was the feeling of not having to listen to another boring speaker today.
"What brings you here, business or pleasure?" Big Joe asked as he placed Chase's drink in front of him.
"Work, but so far it hasn't been very pleasurable."
"Oh man, that's not cool. This is a relaxing and peaceful place. People come here to wind down. Sounds like you aren't off to a good start."
"Don't get me wrong, the place is nice. It's just that I came here for a leadership conference hoping to learn some great new ways of leading my team, but so far the meetings have been terrible. I dropped a good amount of cash, and I'm worried that I'm not going to get anything from it. But hey, I'm venting. Sorry about that," Chase commented.
"No worries. Here's some free pretzels to help turn your day around," Big Joe offered as he slid a bowl in front of Chase.
"Thanks Joe"
"It's Big Joe!", he replied with a smile on his face as he pointed towards the nametag on his bright shirt.
"Sorry, thanks Big Joe," Chase corrected. Big Joe's positive attitude seemed to wear off on him a little. He felt better, but not sure exactly why.
Chase turned to his right and raised his glass in a welcoming gesture as he made eye contact with the man. "How you doin'?" Chase offered as an icebreaker. The man did the same with his glass and replied, "Can't complain." This man looked quite a few years older than Chase, but the man seemed to have a presence about him. Chase noticed that he had a good, strong voice, and a very clean and professional image about him, right down to the clothes he was wearing. While the sunspots in his eyes had not completely cleared up, he thought that the man looked somewhat familiar. Chase turned his head back towards the bar.
Chase watched the two televisions, quickly getting the top headlines in the sports world. He glanced at the gentleman sitting to his left, who was currently speaking to Big Joe. The man was easily in his seventies, and Chase picked up from the conversation between the bartender and the man that he was here with his wife, who was currently out shopping for clothes that she really didn't need, but felt that she had to have.
"You've got to be kidding me," Chase heard the gentleman to his right mumble. Chase turned to see the man staring at the flat screen mounted to their right. Chase focused on the screen, which showed the familiar layout of the announcer with a photo of the person they were speaking about in the upper right corner of the screen. The volume on the television was turned off, so the announcer's words were visible via the closed captioning. The announcer was in the middle of a story regarding a particular professional sports team, who had won the championship the month prior.
Chase immediately understood why the man had made the comment, as the face in the photo was identical to the man sitting right next to him. Chase knew he had looked familiar, but couldn't believe that he was sitting next to the coach that had just recently led the Philadelphia team to its first championship in over two decades. He had won his third championship overall, the first person to ever lead two different teams to that level. Chase decided to continue reading the words of the sports news reporter and understand why his neighbor at the bar was being discussed.
The reporter continued, "Coach Billings exceeded everyone's expectations by leading the underdog Philadelphia team to their first championship. The question is now, what will Coach Billings do next? Will he stay on as the coach, or will he leave the sport while he's on top? If he did, Coach Billings' legacy would continue, as four other coaches in the league came out of his program. According to sources close to Billings, the coach will announce his decision later this month." The station broke for a commercial.
Chase wasn't sure what the proper etiquette was in these situations. He had never been so close to a person of such fame. Should he not say anything and let the man drink in peace, or would it be ok for him to start a conversation with the man? Chase's fears were swept away when Coach Billings turned to him and said, "Can you believe that? Where do they get this stuff, and where to they get off spreading it all over the news?
Chase replied, "I don't know. Are you saying that the story isn't true?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. I have no thoughts of leaving my job. I worked hard to build a winning team, and why would I walk away from that now? By the way, my name is Don, Don Billings, but everyone calls me Coach." he said as he extended his hand towards Chase.
Chase grasped the coach's hand firmly and replied, "I'm Chase Dunning. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been to a few games and am a big fan of yours."
"Nice to meet you Chase. What brings you here?"
"I'm here for a leadership seminar. Today was the first day,
and I ducked out early because, quite frankly, it wasn't what I was expecting. It runs for two more days, so I'm really hoping it gets better soon," Chase explained.
"I overheard you telling our big friend over there," pointing over at Big Joe. "What's the problem with the seminar? I saw their posters up all around the resort. Looks like a professional gig."
"Yeah, well that's what I was expecting, but it hasn't turned out to be very good so far," Chase replied.
"Expectations can get in the way of success," Coach Billings offered. "Why don't you scoot down a chair here so that we can talk without having to raise our voices."
"Thanks Coach, but I don't want to intrude," Chase explained, sheepishly hoping that Billings would want to continue talking.
"It's no intrusion, after all I'm the one that offered. I've often wondered what goes on in those leadership seminar meetings. I've been asked to speak at them, but it's never worked out with my schedule. I don't get much down time from my job, in fact this is one of the few weeks that I don't spend time at the office, on the phone, or in meetings. My wife demands that I take a week each year, to go somewhere like this, and just unwind."
Chase slid his glass down the bar as he moved one stool over and was now sitting next to one of the most respected sports figures in the country.
"Ok Chase, now tell me why you think you need to attend this meeting, and what you were expecting from it."
2
Chase started explaining to Coach Billings the recent events that led to Chase attending the leadership conference.
"I've held several different management positions in my career. I've done pretty well in those positions, and have made a good name for myself, but I realize that in those situations, I had it pretty easy. The team culture was already in existence, and I was following someone else's lead. Someone else had set the vision and put the policies in place. All I needed to do was to execute their plan. I also inherited some pretty good teams, and I know now how good I had it walking into a situation like that. I only needed to keep everyone happy and the numbers were good."
"That's definitely not the case in my new position," Chase continued. " I attended a great university, have a solid resume, and thought I was ready to take the next step and really lead a company. I interviewed and landed a great position with this promising organization. They hired me to build and lead their organization. I quickly realized that I was in over my head in regards to developing a strategy to build a team environment. I think I have some great ideas, but there is so much to do, and I'm worried that it will been tough getting everyone on board. I don't really have anyone to go for help, and I came here hoping to learn some great tricks to use."
"You realize that true leadership is not about tricks, right?" Coach Billings asked.
"Maybe tricks isn't the right word, but I really need some help figuring out how to lead this organization. I've never failed in anything, and I don't intend to start now," Chase responded.
"Perhaps I could give you a few pointers," Billings offered.
"Thanks for the offer, and I surely don't mean any disrespect, but I'm not sure that your background aligns with my situation. You coach teams, and you are obviously very good at it, but I'm not sure if that translates to the struggles I'm facing in leading and turning around a business organization."
"Hmmm, interesting. Chase, let me give you a little background on what I've had to do in Philadelphia over the last three years since I took over as head coach. You know that we won the championship this year, but when I first walked into the organization, it was a mess. I needed to set the tone for what the organizational goals were, and share my vision on how we were going to get there. I needed to build a strong and winning team. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it."
Billings continued, "My first task was to evaluate the current situation and develop my game plan for achieving my objective, which was always to build a winning team. I had to understand where I was going, and where I currently was, before I could map out a strategy. Once I developed my strategy, it was as simple as making sure that every day I moved the organization closer to the goal. I don't see your situation as being any different, do you?"
Chase thought about it for a second before responding, "No, I guess the situation is the same in the big picture, and I fully understand the need for developing a strategy, but the problem is I just am not sure how to go about doing it, and then getting everyone to buy in."
"Isn't that what your seminar is for?" asked Coach Billings.
"I thought so, but I'm afraid that if the remaining two days are anything like today, I'll be heading home with no new ideas, and feeling like I wasted an entire week, not to mention the monetary investment," Chase replied. "I really want to lead this company to success, just like you have been able to do with your teams."
The two men didn't say anything to each other for a few moments. They both took drinks from their mugs, and read the words that scrolled across the bottom of the TV screen, several of which were misspelled. When another commercial came on, Coach Billings turned to Chase and said, "Tell you what Chase, I'm here for the rest of the week. I don't do anything while I'm here except sit in here or on the beach. While it might be relaxing, it's not the most enjoyable thing for me. I'd be more than happy to meet with you for the next few days and see if we can come up with a strategy to help you lead your team. What do you say? You up for it?"