Turning Point Consulting

We have a number of high performing executives who seem to function more as individual contributors than as an executive team. Can you help?

We can help with this typical challenge for executive teams. We begin by initiating a process to build collaboration. The process starts with one-hour, one-on-one interviews with each VP and the CEO, asking them to identify their current strengths and challenges. Simultaneously, we begin building rapport and credibility with the group. We then prepare a brief summary that identifies current strengths, general observations, and challenges. Upon reviewing the summary, executives begin proposing solutions, creating agreements, and building cross-functional commitments. We ensure that these agreements support each functional area and are tied to the corporate objectives. These agreements can also become part of the executive performance management system.

We are growing rapidly and our executive team needs to begin to focus more strategically and less tactically. Can you help?

In rapidly growing organizations, executives find it challenging to find the balance between what decisions they need to be involved in and which ones to delegate. When a company is smaller, executives do it all. As the organization grows, delegation is required. To begin, we build a relationship with the executive team and work with team members to identify the decisions they (and the CEO) believe need to be made at the executive level. They also identify those decisions that should be made at the director and manager level. We then work with the team and in individual coaching sessions to achieve goals and objectives. This work involves a strategic role playing exercise as well as a clarifying mutual expectations exercise with each executives' direct reports.

We have some dominating personalities and ongoing conflict on our executive team. Is this normal? What can we do about it?

People at the top of organizations often have strong personalities. The challenge is to synchronize those individuals with those who are less dominating so that everyone can participate fully in decision-making processes. This also fulfills the need for all team members to feel fully listened to. We frequently use behavioral style inventories to provide insight to individual team members' behavioral styles and how they impact day-to-day interactions. These inventories are simple and quick to take, score and interpret. Completing these together allows groups to look at their collective styles and draw conclusions about more effective ways to communicate both internally and externally. The goal is to help participants flex their style to best suit the needs of the situation they are in, be it with the CEO/Board of Directors, a peer, a direct report, or a customer. (See Tools for further information.)

Our investors are worried about the cohesiveness of our executive team and our failure to meet deliverable dates. How can you help?

Cohesive teams are not born, they develop (see the Team Performance Model). Our goal is to help teams build cohesion without losing focus or time on the job. By assessing the team's development stage we can overlay team processes with exercises that will allow the team to evolve to the operational level that is appropriate for its needs. Deliverables are frequently missed due to a lack of clear objectives, regular communication, shared information, and commitment to cross-functional needs. We understand and share the sense of urgency, help identify what is missing, and put those pieces in place.

We have many managers that have been promoted to their position but don't have any formal management training. How can you help us?

Talented people usually get promoted. The challenge is that they often don't have the formal business management training in their background to support their new role. We develop customized management/leadership courses that are offered exclusively for your management team. These courses can be held onsite or off-site, with the frequency and content that best suits their specific needs (see Previously Designed Courses for Consulting Assignments). The design of the course not only helps managers build competence but also helps them to develop as a cohesive management team. These sessions allow for the optimal sharing of experience, information and practice that strengthens the overall organization. We also offer individual coaching as needed and desired.

We are merging with another company and are worried about our employees and the integration. Can you help?

We have supported the integration efforts of numerous small to large organizations, and proactively identify the challenges your employees and organization will face. We help you understand the difference between Change and Transition and how to address the concerns of your employees early on. We support senior management in refining and delivering cohesive key messages. We also help resolve common conflicts that occur (i.e. turf issues, etc.). This process takes place over time and we can direct our efforts to whatever best suits the needs of the organization. We can share valuable lessons learned from our work with former clients, as we bring the best integration and best practices for your specific needs.

I believe in OD but my executive staff wonders if the time and effort is worth it. What can I say to convince them?

Many people feel this way due to a previous ineffective experience. Others are concerned that this type of an effort will create expectations for them to behave in a way that they may not be comfortable with. We like to speak to both concerns. When these concerns arise, we attend a staff meeting to present the concepts of Organizational Development, talk about the work that we do, answer questions and address people's concerns. It is easy for us to speak to each of these topics and also highlight the synergy, performance enhancements, and bottom line business results that can be achieved through these efforts. We can also talk about developing integrated organizational goals and targets, clarifying mutual expectations, creating cross-functional collaboration, and building high-performing teams. This opportunity always proves to be a stimulating and insightful discussion. If we move forward, we often begin with an exercise where the executive team has the opportunity to meet with a few of our consultants to determine if our content and style are a match for the team's current needs.

One of my Senior VP's needs coaching. How do I make that happen without singling him/her out to everyone else?

We frequently encounter this situation. While we always encourage our clients to be direct with their staff, as in asking an individual to work with us (privately/or off-site), we realize that this approach does not work in all situations. We also know that while you may have an individual who requires immediate attention and support, all staff can benefit from individual coaching and all teams can benefit from team development and coaching. In fact, the executive team itself is most likely impacted by this individual's behavior. Therefore, it is easy for us to initiate a team development program that includes one-on-one work with each team member to begin addressing individual, team and cross-functional development goals. The process then naturally evolves into focusing on those who are most in need of coaching without anyone feeling singled out. We find that this initiative derives significant results for the organization - even though it began with "we only have one issue" thinking.