Tom Davin (CEO Panda Restaurant Group, and former COO of Taco Bell Corporation) shared with me (for our Tools For Success project) some details on his leadership approach during adverse times.

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What’s your leadership style during adverse times?

One of the most profound lessons I learned way back in high school that was reinforced during my time in Special Forces, and has been effective during my business/entrepreneurial career, has been that effective coaching coupled with cheering on my team members proves to be a powerful way to gain support FROM my team members.  When we coach, cheer on and support each other, a bond of trust is created clearing the path to victory and success.  Too often I witness dysfunctional teams whose individual members are just that: selfish individuals putting their own desires above the goals and needs of the group.  I guarantee that if that attitude were accepted on Special Forces A-Teams, those “individuals” would either be peered-off the team, or it would lead to catastrophic consequences.

All She Needed Was A Little Coaching

Open your mind, get a coach, cheer on your team members, and watch the transformation towards greatness!

While the lone wolf spirit of independence drives some towards personal greatness, it rarely translates to great leadership in the real world.  Effective leaders are those who can build, develop and lead results-oriented teams.  Too often leaders falsely define a collection of ill-matched individuals as a “team,” and when dysfunction inevitably occurs, they find themselves struggling to identify ways that entice their people into enthusiastic, collaborative efforts.

The U.S. military has found ways to identify talents and traits among its elite warriors, where effective teamwork is the difference between success and failure, and life and death. In the Special Operations arena it is said, “Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds.” A sense of mission, in concert with a blending of strengths, talents, and aptitudes creates some of the most highly effective teams found anywhere.  Entrepreneurs take courageous steps when starting and running businesses.  We have chosen to accept the responsibility and obligation to grow our businesses, while providing wealth-building opportunities for our families and associates.   With this comes the necessity to build highly effective teams.

To do this, begin by looking inward and recognizing that as leaders of our organizations we have the opportunity to create the culture and environment we long for.  There are few experiences more exhilarating or rewarding than being part of a high-performing team.  Conversely, few things are more stressful or frustrating than being part of a dysfunctional group of people pretending to be a team.  For several years after leaving active duty, I found myself longing for the camaraderie and kinship I found with my Special Forces teammates.  I soon realized when I started my company that I had the opportunity to recreate that feeling of reward and the desire to excel as a team, fueled by the knowledge that we belonged to something greater than ourselves.  Understanding the mission and objectives of the organization is of the utmost importance in achieving and maintaining this goal.

So, take action.  Clearly and concisely identify your organization’s vision, mission and values, and develop a ONE page strategic plan. We have found a powerful tool in developing these building blocks of success to be the book Prioritize! by Joe Calhoon.  It’s a reader-friendly, step-by-step guide to identifying and implementing strategies to improve your business.  When you finish the book you’ll have a One Page Strategic Plan that identifies your vision, mission, values, objectives, strategies, and priorities.

The best way to build a highly effective team is to ensure that the combined talents and inherent strengths of the team are those needed to accomplish the stated goals.  Now, Discover Your Strengths, by best selling authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton (Chair of the Gallup International Research and Education Center), and the companion website StrengthsFinder.com, are two key resources to help you identify the most prevalent human strengths of your team members.    The Gallup organization has studied human nature and behavior for more than 70 years and has conducted psychological profiles with more than two million people to help readers learn how to harness the power of these key themes.       The on-line StrengthsFinder survey identifies a team member’s top five unique talents and strengths, and the insight to manage them in others.

Every manager and supervisor in our organization has taken the survey, and we’ve plotted each member’s key themes on a grid to ensure we have the appropriate balance of natural visionaries, learners, arrangers, developers, etc. on each team.  When team members work within their natural strengths, and others doing the same surround them, magic happens.

The days of the lone wolf are over.  Great leadership includes effective team building, which yields unimaginable results and makes for great business.  Stand together and thrive, or stand alone and perish.