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Creating Leadership Teams with Shared Vision and Purpose

Inspired by: The Advantage from Patrick Lencioni

Warren G. DietelPuff ‘n Stuff Catering & Events

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?• The ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals

• The process of providing direction, energizing others and obtaining their voluntary commitment to the vision

• A LEADER creates a vision and goals, and influences other to share the vision and work toward the goals

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OLD PUFF• Opened in 1980 as family-owned

business• Positive reputation in the community• Purchased in 2003 at operational limit• Infrastructure required improvements

to enable growth• Leadership meant something different

• Complete immersion • Relearning market and business• Strategy for future

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PUFF TODAY

•Diligent focus on effi

ciencies, people, process and products

•Building and strengthening the team•

Transitional leadership•

Right people, right seat. Keep ‘em

engaged

•Evolving num

ber of staff m

embers

•Hiring and firing for the right reasons

•O

nboarding, training and retention

•Diversifying offerings and location

•Expansion to Tam

pa w

ith New

Comm

issary

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FUTURE PUFF• Hyper-focus on internal people, process and product• Leader empowerment

– Ownership of the vision– Cascading approach to leadership

• Continue to grow, train and inspire staff members– Key external hires + promoting from within

• Growth offerings: cuisine, service and locations• Product and market expansion• Partnerships and rapid growth

A GAME CHANGER

• Discussed as a team• Worked through exercises together• Created positive conflict• Continue to revisit principles• Not an overnight fix

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“When an organization’s leaders are cohesive, when they are unambiguously aligned around a common set of

answers to a few critical questions, when they communicate those answers again and again and again,

and when they put effective processes in place to reinforce those answers, they create an environment in which success is almost impossible to prevent. Really.”

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ESTABLISHING TEAM #1 • Focus and devotion FIRST to the team that runs the organization then to

the team (department) run by the individual• Leadership must be aligned, otherwise direct reports in different

departments are left to fight battles • Come together and make decisions for the good of the entire organization,

rather than the needs of one department• Until the leaders unite and come together as one there will be dysfunction• Place higher priority on leadership team than the team they lead• TRUST IS AT THE CORE

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OUR PARADIGM SHIFT

• Strategy• Marketing• Finance• Technology

• Minimal Politics• Minimal Confusion• High Morale• High Productivity• Low Turnover

Smart

Health

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THE FOUR DISCIPLINES

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DISCIPLINE #1. BUILDING A COHESIVE TEAM• Building Trust: Team members who trust one another are

comfortable being open, even exposed, to one another about their failures, weaknesses and fears.

• Mastering Conflict: When trust is present, teams are able to engage in unfiltered ideological debate around ideas, issues and decisions that must be made.

• Achieving Commitment: The ability to engage in conflict and provide input enables team members to buy-in or commit to decisions.

• Embracing Accountability: After commitment is established, team members must be willing to hold one another accountable and remind each other when actions are counterproductive to the team.

• Focusing on Results: Collective team results must supersede any departmental or personal objectives or pursuits.

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DISCIPLINE #2. CREATING CLARITYThe leadership team must agree on the answers to six simple but critical questions1. Why do we exist?2. How do we behave?3. What do we do?4. How will we succeed?5. What is most important, right now?6. Who must do what?

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DISCIPLINE #3. OVER-COMMUNICATE CLARITY

• Employees are skeptical about what they’re told unless they hear it consistently over time

• Need to be CROs – Chief Reminding Officers• Buy in to the direction even if there is initial disagreement. Avoid the

“meeting after the meeting”• Leaders need to tell ‘true rumors’ • Cascade a consistent message through the company• End leadership meetings answering the question: What are we going

to go back and tell our people? And make sure there is agreement• It is difficult to gain credibility with your team if the message shits

frequently or is inconsistent between members of the leadership team

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DISCIPLINE #4. REINFORCE CLARITY• Every process that involves people needs to reinforce the answers

to the six questions• Institutionalize culture without bureaucratizing it• Hire for cultural fit • Orientation needs to be built around the six answers and leaders

need to take an active role in design and delivery• Performance management needs to be simple and stimulate the

right kinds of conversations on the right topics• Leaders give recognition and personal

appreciation, and be quick to take out employeeswho don’t fit the values

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OUR JOURNEY• Group of cohesive leaders, with unique

talents• Balancing act between momentum and

the growth culture of PnS• Everyone supports healthy growth• Focused on growing leadership team

and personal leadership• Genuine belief that we are doing

something good, there is a passion and it’s personal for our leaders

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WE ALL DESERVE RESPECT AND SHOULD HAVE A VOICE. THE CULTURE OF YOUR ORGANIZATION DEPENDS ON YOU.

EMBRACE THE RESPONSIBILITY!

“We all deserve respect and should have a voice.”Stay tuned for the next chapter…

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THANK YOU!Warren Dietelhttp://www.slideshare.net/warrendietelwarren@puffnstuff.com407-227-5697Puffnstuff.comChefscommissary.com