I had an interesting hut trip experience this past weekend. A group of friends and I skied into a very difficult hut near Vail Pass. The 7 mile approach took over 9 hours, as we endured steep and technical terrain to get to our destination at 11,200 feet above sea level. On Sunday, the area was socked in with almost a foot of fresh snow. With the winds picking up and the snow continuing, we made a decision to take a longer but less technical route back to the trail head.

If you have been following my last several posts and are interested in a more guided approach to creating your best year yet, check out a product we just launched - The Ultimate Goal Setting Guide.

I hope that you and your loved ones have a wonderful day filled with joy and gratitude.

Sal

The Leadership Story

It had been almost three weeks since their last one-on-one, but having returned from India and with Angela's sudden departure, Steve was anxious to get the process started again. He reflected on how easy it was for pressing matters to get in the way of focusing on important things like coaching his people.

Ben was rushed and a bit frustrated that he had to attend this one on one. Especially today, it seemed there were so many deadlines waiting on his attention.

In  my last blog post, I talked about a client I worked with in Fort Collins, Colorado and how important it is to have clarity about your senior leadership team's purpose.

But let me take a step back.

I recently worked with a team in Fort Collins, Colorado helping them build alignment and cohesion.

The CEO was a technologist. The Sales VP wanted to see a more sales-driven organization. The Engineering VP needed more engineers to meet the demands of a singificant customer contract. The CFO wanted to instill process and financial discipline. The HR VP was mostly focused on administration.

Each person came to the team with his/her own agenda and vision.

The team was a mess.

I am excited about our upcoming webinar Laser Focused: 3 Keys to Getting Senior Leadership Teams Aligned for 2011.

When: December 9, 2010; 12:00 - 12:47 mountain time

This webinar is meant to be a practical program for senior leadership teams, giving them tools to increase team effectiveness. What I have found throughout my experience over the past 17 years working with senior leadership teams is that they deal with some unique challenges that often limit their productivity and cohesion.

Performance reviews are right around the corner. This year, make them more meaningful using our Workplace Expectations Profile.

It's a simple and inexpensive tool that will help you understand your employees' work expectations, and help them understand yours.

I know that many of my clients here in Denver and Fort Collins are typically clear about expectations when it comes to salary and benefits, but other expectations often go unspoken.

You know what I am talking about.

All-staff meetings, Town Halls, Team Forums. They have many different names, and their original intent was good.

But, here's where they go wrong...

The CEO or senior leader stands in front of the group, tries to break the ice through a method in which no one responds, goes on to give an update on the business, then asks the question, "do you have any questions?"

And no one responds.

Thirty minutes of diatribe from the leader. Thirty minutes of silence from the audience.

There was a great article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal about how grateful people are happier and healthier.

The article states...