An example of a company, specifically, a senior leadership team implementing the best practices, is a midsize accounting firm that felt stagnated. They knew they had a growth opportunity with some new rules and regulations, and they had some trouble getting organized around making the most out of this opportunity. They decided to apply the best practices. One of the first things they did was really learn from their past experiences. They were fabulous at what they did, so they decided to take the time to study what they had done that was similar to the kind of challenge that was in front of them. They got a very good shared understanding of what their goals were, where they were aiming, what they thought was possible, and then they were able to apply learning from all their good years of experience. With that kind of confidence, they were more willing to take some risks and do some things differently. They were somewhat bolstered by the rich discussion they had about what had gone well in the past. They were courageous, and they took risks in both the actual work they were taking on and in the communications that they were implementing around the office.

Morale was up as they set their track. They were talking about what was really important. They were talking about why their goals and new initiatives were important, what difference they would make, and what people’s personal connections to them would look like. People understood very clearly what was in it for the firm and what was in it for them personally, and you could see the momentum building. They recognized the plan’s milestones, clearly monitored progress and celebrated when things went well. When things did not go so well, there was an organized effort to get back to the table and learn what was next.

The most obvious benefit of the good team building was concrete outcomes. This firm tripled their growth in three years because they fully leveraged the opportunity that was presented in a way that kept people unified, enthusiastic and motivated to accomplish their goals