Is leading and managing
a constant struggle?

• Are your people locked in conflict with one another—or with you?
• Do they resist change?
• Are they pulling in different directions?
• Is individual and group performance suffering?
• Is trust low? Are there "elephants in the room" everyone's ignoring?
• Do you doubt that some of your people have the right technical or interpersonal skills?
• Are you facing a significant challenge and wondering if you or your people are up to the task?
• Or, do you just want to improve the performance of your team?

We specialize in creating alignment.

We help you and your people step-up to challenges and move forward. When you are stuck, performance is subpar, and trust is low, it's time to focus on alignment. Whether you run a small team or a large company, success comes only when everyone pulls in the same direction.

For high performance, you need alignment on:

• Strategy, vision and mission
• Standards and performance expectations
• What behavior is appropriate (what is not)
• Values vis-à-vis actions
• Priorities and next steps
• Purpose, goals and methods of new initiatives and change

Alignment depends on first-class communication.

Creating and maintaining alignment requires for first-class communication. Information, ideas and feedback flow freely so that people can make sound decisions and take the right actions. When people disagree, it’s about ideas—not personalities. People trust one another. They pull together and focus on producing business results.

How to get back on track

1. Focus first on results. Step back and identify the business results you want. What must you, your people, the whole enterprise achieve?
2. Identify what people need to do. What specific actions do people need to start doing and stop doing to get those business results?
3. Analyze what’s happening now. What are underlying issues or patterns that are producing the behaviors you see? Identify the behaviors to change and underlying causes. And, remember to look at your own behavior. Chances are you have changes to make, too.
4. Set new expectations for performance. Clearly state and reinforce what behavior and performance you need.
5. Provide tools. Take action to target and change gaps between what you need people to do and what they are doing now. Do you need to provide coaching to certain people, arrange for a frank conversation to clear the air, or help build people's technical or interpersonal skills?
6. Monitor and troubleshoot. Continuously track progress toward your business objectives and adjust your strategy as needed.

A pragmatic approach

Eric Svaren draws on years of experience and the latest research into best practices —not "touchy-feely" exercises—to help you get traction. He is founder and principal of Groupsmith, a Seattle-based firm specializing in helping managers and employees who are stuck— by facilitating change, clarifying strategy, strengthening trust, and improving communication. He works with teams, workgroups, and enterprises of all types and sizes.

If you're ready for more traction, call Eric at 206-352-2400. He'll be happy to discuss your situation on the phone at no charge.