Southam Consulting, LLC http://www.southamconsulting.net

Our Approach

One of our senior consultants meets with the CEO and the key executives one-on-one to determine the needs, barriers, opportunities, etc. about the company in general and the executive team in more detail.

Often we conduct a culture audit. We define culture as what people do in the absence of supervision. In other words, effective leadership is what your people do when you are not there.

We meet with the CEO and exective team to review our findings and jointly design the most effective way to address the issues. This is where our experience with many difficult or complex situations and diverse organizations comes into play. We are able to introduce best practices of other top-drawer teams we have worked with. After we jointly design the team building and development process, we are then able to begin to work "on" the team and team processes, etc.

These plans often include the following elements:

• Team performance contracts
• Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities
• Skill building on team process and results skills
• We space the skill learning and team development over time to apply the skills and follow up
• We work on the two elements of teamwork: team (process) & work (outcomes).
• The team evaluates their own effectiveness in mastering vital skills, and takes responsibility to go to the next level with team accountability.
• We create a safe environment where the most difficult issues can be put on the table. These Crucial Conversations are defined as those with High Stakes, Opposing Opinions and Strong Emotions (read more about how we can help you with your Crucial Conversations).
• We have seen great value in obtaining benchmark measures of the key outcomes we are seeking to improve before we begin the process. With spaced action learning, we are able to stay focused and not get side-tracked off these key goals. Spaced action learning is working with the team on important business and leadership issues that are getting in the way of the team moving forward. Usual formats include meeting with the executive team 2-3 hours once a week or every other week. This allows the team to develop valuable skills to help them get “unstuck.”

Please review the following comments from others who have participated in executive team development.

• How is your team doing? Take our free Team Effectiveness Survey.
• Overview of Executive Team Development
• Testimonials about Our Executive Team Development
• 22% ROI for Executive Team Development

� Southam Consulting, LLC, 2004