You walk into your staff meeting thrilled and excited with the new direction of the business.  You describe the direction with conviction and passion. You expect your team to be on their feet when you're done, as excited and ready-to-go as you are.

Instead, you're faced with 14 unimpressed, unmoved and unexcited faces.

Don was the CEO of an electrical design and contracting company. The business was already profitable.  It had gained market share rapidly during its five year existence.

Last year, Don realized that he could offer an entirely new service using existing resources. He launched a computer cabling service by adding only a manager and a cabling system technical team. The rest of the resources were already in place within the company.

When he introduced the concept, he expected excitement and more ideas on how to expand the new service.  Instead, he got skepticism, irritation, even boredom from his managers.

The team had always come through for him before. Would they again?

In this case, no.

Over a six month period, the company gross margin declined 25% (from 20% down to 16%). The team no longer held together to finish jobs on time, and for the first time, quality was sporadic and their turnover rate rose above the industry average. Even absenteeism increased.

Who changed?

Don has achieved success because he takes ownership of his results. When he doesn't get the results he wants, he always looks at himself first, to see what he might have done differently.

This time, what was different was his own approach.

He didn't take the time to talk over the new service with his leadership team.

When he did take the time to speak to them individually, he learned quickly what he had done wrong:

• They didn't "see" his vision
• They weren't asked for input until there was a problem
• The original team and the new Cable team were focused on meeting their own goals with as little interaction as possible.

Don was surprised by his level of disconnect from his team. He took action quickly.

He envisioned a two-step solution.

1. Strategic Planning. The Leadership Team participating in three strategic planning sessions over a 4-week period. As a team, they redefined the vision, values and strategic focus of the new service, and then redeveloped the business plan.
2. Leadership Development. Don and his team participating in a 12-week process focused on developing a participatory leadership culture for the company.

With a new culture based on a common vision, a rejuvenated team and better communication skills, Don's team returned to its former excellence.

Members focused on their responsibilities but were more willing to give and receive assistance and advice from others.  Line workers - who had been viewed as the problem because quality was down - offered inventive and practical solutions. For the first time, the entire team was committed to the success of the cabling service.

Within 3 months, the gross margin level had returned to previous levels. The cross-functional team implementing the cable service division set a course for achieving 25% gross margin within 12 months. 

For Don, the key learning was that a talent and engaged team is an essential component of success.  As a leader, his most critical responsibility is to maintain the engagement of the team through communication, participation and personal development.

Start with a PowerStep: Own Your Results