0. Recognizing and Leveraging Team Strengths for Peak Performance
Successful team members don’t do the same thing at the same time. They do the right thing at the right time. And while team members work together toward a common goal, individuals still must play their separate parts in the process. As organizations rely more and more on teams to innovate, problem-solve, produce, and compete at the speed of change, understanding and capitalizing on individual approaches to group processes is the bottom line on creating high performance teams. In this session Emerging leaders will identify their most natural team role. This information shared about each role will help leaders understand and appreciate individual team member’s contribution. The five roles include Creator, Advancer, Refiner, Executor, and Flexer.
Recognizing and Leveraging Team Strengths for Peak Performance
BPI Emerging Leader Series

1. Tara Powers, MS
Your Business Acceleration Expert
Powers Resource Center, LLC
Small Shifts…Fast Results
Talk about my background, - Tara Powers of Powers Resource Center. We’ve been in business since 2001 and have worked around the globe developing teams and leaders to their fullest potential. Where we focus on small shits that are going to accelerate your results as quickly as possible. Our expertise is focused on working with Emerging Leaders and High Potential Teams. We also offer coaching programs for High Potential Executives. Our process of Assess, Align and Accelerate helps to ensure that we aren’t training for training’s sake but rather focusing on your specific business issues to create a customized solution that is aligned with your vision and values to address your everyday people, team and management development opportunities.
You can visit us on the web at and as always we offer a complimentary consultation phone session to talk about what’s keeping you up at night and how we can help you sleep better.
EMERGING LEADERS HIGH POTENTIAL TEAMS HIGH POTENTIAL EXECUTIVE COACHING
To Be used only in conjunction with the Team Dimensions Profile PRC, LLC Copyright 2012

2. Why EL Success Is Important
Sustainability in business
Investment cost
Bench strength
Mentoring opportunity
Good retention tool for high performers
Cite Article: Closer Than You Think
by Herb Greenberg and Patrick Sweeney First appeared in Talent Management
What would happen if a key member of the senior executive team left a company? Would the organization be recognizable a decade later? Or would someone with an entirely new agenda wipe out any memory of what the old senior executive team accomplished?
Would those who step in after the old guard leaves be leaders who were personally selected and groomed for several years? Or would their replacements be people they had absolutely no input in selecting—from another company, perhaps another industry, maybe even another country?
If you have key leaders retiring in less than 5 years these questions should be in the forefront of their thoughts and plans. If you have leaders retiring in three to five years, these questions should already be answered.
PUT UP FIRST POLL

3. Seminar Goals Identify individual approaches to innovative teamwork
Match individual strengths with team roles
Reinforce and appreciate the contributions of others
Reduce team stress and conflict
Foster trust and build mutual support
Encourage team innovation and problem solving
Reduce project cycle time and increase productivity

4. Poll: What is most frustrating about working on a team?

5. Teams
Individuals are creative
Teams are innovative

6. Approaches to Teamwork
Conceptual
Spontaneous
Normative
Methodical

7. Conceptual Approach Likes to come up with new ideas
Is good at exploring alternatives and discussing concepts
Is good at visualizing the master plan
Prefers to focus on the future
Develops theories, principles, and ideas
Is good at recognizing alternatives

8. Spontaneous Approach Wants freedom from constraint
Tends to move from one subject to another
Focuses on many things at once
Likes to have respect and influence
Lets their feelings guide their decision-making

9. Normative Approach Prefers to put ideas into familiar context
Relies on past experiences to guide them
Likes to see consequences before acting
Prefers to let others take the lead
Tries to fit in with others

10. Methodical Approach Prefers order and rationality
Tends to follow a step-by-step process
Examines the details and thinks things through before acting
Focuses on what they can prove to be true
Likes to see things fit together

11. Team Roles
Creator
Advancer
Executor
Refiner

12. Creator Role Spontaneous Approach Conceptual Approach
Normative Approach
Methodical Approach

13. The Creator Has original ideas and fresh concepts
Loves the process of creating
Thinks outside the normal patterns and paradigms
Don’t perceive risk as risky

14. Advancer Role Spontaneous Approach Conceptual Approach
Normative Approach
Methodical Approach

15. The Advancer Takes ideas and puts into a familiar context
Proceed in a fairly safe manner as they move ideas forward
Promote ideas with determination and careful planning
Thrive on recognizing good ideas in their early stages

16. Refiner Role Spontaneous Approach Conceptual Approach
Normative Approach
Refiner
Methodical Approach

17. The Refiner Plays the role of devil’s advocate
Forces team to clarify points and face up to certain realities others overlook
Insist that people think a concept through more thoroughly
Challenges concepts and points out weak spots
Improve the process by which ideas are implemented

18. Executor Role Spontaneous Approach Conceptual Approach
Normative Approach
Executor
Methodical Approach

19. The Executor Turn concepts into reality
Pay attention to details and focus on ensuring implementation proceeds in an orderly manner
Love to finish the job
Excel at completing the job as smoothly as possible

20. Flexer Role Spontaneous Approach Conceptual Approach
Creator
Advancer
Conceptual Approach
Normative Approach
Executor
Refiner
Methodical Approach

21. POLL
What role do you play on your team?

22. Distribution of Patterns
Other Combos
Creators
27%
33%
Advancers 5%
2 Patterns
Executors
Refiners 5%
11%
18%

23. P.E.P. Cycle Elation Panic Panic “What a good idea!”
“I really look stupid with this idea.”
“I’ll never have a good idea.”
Panic
Panic

24. Creator P.E.P. Cycle Panic Elation Panic Short-lived stage.
Gets an idea.
Panic
“What if they don’t like it?”

25. Advancer P.E.P. Cycle Panic Elation Panic Doesn’t have any ideas.
“I hear one I like. I have some experience with a similar idea.”
Panic
People poke holes in the ideas and raise objections to them.

26. Refiner P.E.P. Cycle Panic Elation Panic
No ideas. Advancer brings ideas.
Elation
Clarifies objections, pokes new holes in ideas, makes them better.
Panic
“What if they can’t handle the requirements?”

27. Executor P.E.P. Cycle Panic Elation Panic
“Oh, you’re going to change?”
Elation
“Now I have the information I need and can implement the plan/idea.”
Panic
Afraid it won’t work.

28. Flexer P.E.P. Cycle Panic Elation Panic “We have nothing.”
Plays role of dealmaker — providing team balance
Panic
“What if they don’t buy it?”

29. The Z-Process
Possibilities
Analysis
Interaction
Realities

30. The Z-Process WHAT IS THE Z-PROCESS?
The Z-process describes the stages through which projects or ideas often progress in an organization
Stage 1: Creating
Stage 2: Advancing
Stage 3: Refining
Stage 4: Executing
Each individual has areas within this Z-process that are more natural for him or her than others
The goal is to identify these natural strengths and help co-workers develop a dialogue around them

31. Z The Creating Stage Generate as many new ideas as possible.
See things from a new angle and perhaps break some traditional rules.
Should start with an open brainstorming
No ideas are rejected as unrealistic or impossible.
Possibilities
Creating Z
Analysis
Interaction
Realities

32. The Advancing Stage
The team moves the idea forward and starts to give it some shape.
They consider the practical issues and begin to
Put together a broad plan to turn this idea into reality.
Communication is key as the team attends to the "human" part of the project.
Team members need to know
What's going on
What role they might play
Why it's important
The team needs to maintain energy and optimism around the idea.
Possibilities Z
Analysis
Interaction
Advancing
Realities

33. The Refining Stage
The team evaluates the idea to see what's realistic.
They examine project ideas for holes or flaws.
They scrutinize and analyze plans to determine if they will work in the real world.
The team puts together a more specific plan for implementation.
This plan considers what could go wrong.
What could be more efficient
How communication will flow.
Possibilities Z
Analysis
Interaction
Refining
Realities

34. Z The Executing Stage The team sets its plan into full swing.
This stage requires considerable dedication, organization, and scheduling.
Team members need to have the patience to follow through on routine or repetitive tasks.
Possibilities Z
Analysis
Interaction
Executing
Realities

35. The P.E.P. Cycle Executor Performance Refiner Flexer Advancer Creator
Time

36. World Record for the
Outdoor 400 Meter Dash:
43.18 Seconds
World Record for the
400 Meter Relay:
37.4 Seconds

37. Understand, respect, appreciate, and value the contributions of each member on the work team.

38. A Balanced Team Advancers move things forward.
Creators develop new concepts.
Advancers move things forward.
Flexers can monitor the process and step in to fill gaps on the team.
Refiners examine details.
Executors follow through on implementation.

39. Together, We’re Better!

40. Seminar Highlights
We all have natural strengths that enable us to perform certain roles comfortably.
Our individual tendencies toward change make us less effective alone than when we are part of a team.
We need to balance our strengths as team members.
Being aware of the P.E.P. Cycle can help us understand the team process better.

41. Seminar Highlights
The Z process identifies a model of role interactions that demonstrate how each team member’s strengths can be used most effectively.
We need to understand, respect, appreciate, and value the contributions of all team members.

42. Call Us To Discuss Your Emerging Leaders. Accelerate Their Success!
Visit: EmergingLeaderProgram.com
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