Ancient Wisdom for Breakthrough Results

Whether working in the business, government, military or personal arena, a major stumbling block to improved performance is inadequate attention to resolution of differences. 

By combining ancient wisdom with modern coaching and facilitation techniques, John enables clients to transcend what are commonly believed to be “good” habits in conversation and relationships.  In reality, such habits are usually the personal addictions that deceive well-intentioned minds, frustrate the resolution of differences, and inhibit personal growth and freedom.

Case Study: Team Building

Intensive Team Building Programs

The Illusion of Teamwork:  Social Teamwork - Everyone Friendly and Getting Along

High Performance Teamwork with Continuous Renewal: Resolving Conflict Through Relationship Work

Whenever two or more executives ignore unresolved differences, the people and the organization suffer.  The personal distress and resulting financial losses cannot be quantified.  Teamwork is relationship work, and relationships cannot be measured.  Nevertheless, problems in relationships are often ignored at great cost.  Interpersonal issues cause even the most successful companies to unknowingly and unnecessarily waste more time and money than any other factor.  When differences are resolved within the group, peer pressure bonds the group and supports participants in resolution of their own conflicts and in maintaining their commitments.

Many companies think they have cohesive teams, when in reality they are good at social teamwork but very weak in business teamwork.  A common and deceptive illusion is that the absence of anxiety and conflict is an indicator of good teamwork.  That is why “feel good” team building events like rope courses, beach barbeques and cruises do little or nothing to improve working relationships back at the office.  In order to permanently resolve those “unsolvable” problems that limit optimal performance, companies must go beneath the surface and address the difficult issues that never get talked about.

When business leaders have the courage and commitment to go beneath the surface and get at the real issues, the result is a team where hidden agendas are eliminated and personal disagreements are resolved in a positive, constructive manner.  Where members feel safe in pressing through the anxiety and bringing forward their best thinking and creative ideas.  Where members have greater alignment with the vision because they feel heard and appreciated.  Where members manifest team objectives in record time.  Where self-deception is challenged and courageous leadership manifests itself in the team and throughout the organization.

Case History

Company: GVG
Industry: High-tech manufacturing

Situation
A rapidly growing high technology company with an outstanding reputation for innovation, GVG was experiencing serious internal problems that threatened the future of the company.  The father and son, who served as Chairman and President, respectively, had major disagreements that were often aired in front of other staff members in a destructive manner.  These divisive displays were polarizing employees at all levels, to the point that several key members of the company were leaving or threatening to leave.  Based on outward appearances and financial growth, GVG appeared to be a highly successful company.  Yet it was decaying from within.  The culture had become toxic and self-destructive. 

Solution
Konstanturos & Associates implemented a program of personal and organizational renewal for the owners, executives and managers.  The focus was on their working relationships, especially those of the father and son. 

Results 
The differences and rivalries within the group that were crippling the company were resolved during a three-day retreat.  Although he had held the title for three years, the son committed to becoming president of the company for the first time, and agreed to allow his management team to hold him to that commitment.  The father committed to focusing only on what he did best, innovating new products, and allowing the son to become CEO and run the company as the new team leader. He appointed his most productive executive to the position of president to complement his own limitations.  Three years later, the company was sold at several times the anticipated value.

Case History

Company: GFR 
Industry: Publicly held, 114-store national restaurant chain

Situation
The board chairman wrote a letter to the company’s CEO demanding that he fire the CFO before the next board meeting. Otherwise, he would resign from the board and withdraw his investment.  The CEO did not want to lose either executive. 

Solution
John met individually with each executive and then conducted a half-day dispute resolution meeting with all three present.

Results 
The CFO was not fired.  The board chairman was pleased with the resolution and led the way in commitments made by all three to renew their working relationships and the process of conducting board meetings.  The CEO was very relieved and quite pleased with the outcome.  Three years later, all three worked together very effectively to successfully sell of the company.

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Case Study: Comfort and Anxiety

The Illusion of Comfort and Anxiety as Measurements of Good and Bad

When people on the highway of truth yield the right-of-way to the highway of comfort, profits and teamwork suffer.  Similar outcomes can be expected when anxiety results in reactions of distrust and distancing rather than an early warning signal that something needs resolution.

Case History

Company: HWB
Industry: Biotech drug research and development

Situation
Bob was the founder, chairman and CEO of HWB.  Although highly respected as a scientist, he was less respected as a leader.  Three of the five board members were expressing dissatisfaction with the way Bob was running the company, and their relationships were souring.  This resulted in some loss of confidence by a few company officers and key people. At the same time, one of the firm’s promising drugs emerging from the pipeline kept getting delayed, which further increased anxiety among team members.  The cash situation grew darker when three of the board members resigned and withdrew their investments, causing the price per share to drop by almost half.  

In response to the situation, Bob and his staff created a bold and extremely risky plan to pull the company out of its tailspin.  They decided to become a drug development company as well a research company, which meant doubling the number of scientists and support staff at the cost of cutting their cash reserves even further.  The scenario was not unlike the merger of an existing company with a start-up company that had 100 new employees. 

Developing a successful new drug typically requires three to five years, and very few actually make it to market and reap the sought-after financial rewards.  HWB’s remaining cash allowed only 18 to 24 months for the development team to come up with a drug that the FDA would accept for testing with humans.  Any one of these challenges would be enough to tear most companies apart.  Anxiety increased to maximum levels as people issues emerged between the old and new cultures.

Solution
The CEO’s plan to reinvent the company caused tidal waves of concern and dissent among board members and senior managers.  Many rejected the notion of getting into the drug development business, while almost all doubted their ability to do it in such a short time frame.  Almost all members of the development team believed the time restraints, physical plant challenges and culture clashes made their mission impossible.

Konstanturos and Associates applied a combination of intensive team building retreats, executive coaching, and conflict resolution sessions with the full support of the CEO.  In addition, an outside expert was brought in to facilitate the strategic planning meetings.  All efforts were directed toward turning a diverse group of people with serious communication and trust issues into a high-performance team focused on the same strategic priorities. 

Results
In a little more than 18 months, the company turned itself around, to the point where an industry giant purchased the firm at nearly ten times what the stock had been trading for two years earlier.  Bob became an entirely different leader, earning the admiration and respect of everyone on his management team and their confidence in his ability to lead the company. 

HWB became a different organization, not so much in who it was or what it did, but in the way people interacted and worked together at all levels.  People learned how to deal with performance anxiety other than through anger and fear. They learned how to attack their problems and challenges in a constructive manner rather than attacking each other. They began to believe they could accomplish almost anything, and the results they achieved proved that they could.

Case History

Company: SAF
Industry: Environmental and natural disaster structural standards assessment

Situation
Husband and wife business owners, Sandra and Andrew wanted to transition out of the day-to-day operations of their $2.5 million a year business.  A Harvard MBA, Sandra wanted out immediately in order to devote her full time to their two young children. Andrew planned to run the business for five more years, at which time the family would move back to Hawaii.  

Solution
Konstanturos & Associates facilitated the process of developing and implementing the succession plan.  The plan involved an earn-out arrangement with Michael, an experienced CEO who was brought in from the outside to assume the role of president.  Based on his performance, Michael would earn a substantial part of the business over the next five years. 

Before the contract was signed, John conducted an intensive transitions workshop with the management team and Michael.  This open exchange of concerns and hopes allowed all in attendance to surface and resolve real and potential issues that ordinarily might take years to surface.  This was followed with a two-day exercise in which Sandra, Andrew and Michael were guided in discovering together the type of relationship they would have over the next five years. 

During the exercise, it became very clear that a business contract does not assure success and happiness if the relationships do not work.  Accordingly, the relationship contract became the highest priority.

Results 
Michael was hired as president, and during the next four years he led SAF to a tenfold increase in earnings.  Sandra and Andrew moved into their dream home in Hawaii one year ahead of plan.  Seven years later, SAF has over $700 million dollars in contracts with the federal government, payable over a five-year period.  The new focus is in property management of active and inactive military bases and other outsourcing work for the government.  Most recently, SAF was hired to be a major player in the cleanup after hurricane Katrina.

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Case Study: Competence

The Illusion of Competence: Is it Competence with the Whole Team or Only With Your Job?

Most organizations have at least one highly competent member who is rewarded for “outstanding” results.  They are usually recognized for their accomplishments with promotions and bonuses beyond that of their associates, yet they lack the commitment to the team as a whole.  They damage relationships and leave a trail of interpersonal debris in their wake.  As a result, these “competent tyrants” struggle to get the job done without the team’s support, unaware they could be happier and accomplish much more as team players.

Research by Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo, published in the June 2005 edition of Harvard Business Review revealed that when people need help in getting a job done, they’ll choose a congenial colleague over a much more capable “jerk”.  Competent tyrants not only infect corporate learning disabilities, they cut a double-edged swath through teamwork and the capacity of organizations to grow and renew themselves.

Konstanturos & Associates coaches team members in challenging and resolving such team dysfunctions without waiting for the president or CEO to take appropriate action.  When team members experience the surfacing of their own leadership power, they can positively and assertively challenge competent tyrants to choose to become a member of the team.  Unless the capacity for such resolution is developed, team members will blame their leaders more than the competent tyrant.  When that occurs, the president loses trust and respect, team morale plummets and the performance of the business suffers.

Case History

Company: DNE
Industry: Medical supplies manufacturing

Situation
Dan was the president of DNE, but most of the employees lovingly called him Uncle Dan, although a few used the term disparagingly.  Dan had snowy white hair, rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eyes, and was nice to everyone.  People came to him for friendly advice and resolution of their problems, both business and personal.

Ed, the Executive Vice President, was being groomed to take Dan’s place in the near future.  However, employees would frequently complain to Dan about Ed’s micromanaging.  Several times, Dan talked to Ed about his micromanaging, but never did anything about it.  Instead, he played the role of “good guy” by consoling and rescuing those who complained about Ed.

Although loved as a team member, Dan was not respected as a leader.  Because of his leadership incompetence, the chasm between cliques grew wide and hardened while business results continued to drop. 

Solution
John conducted personal interviews with team members and an off-site retreat that focused on building facilitative leadership skills among all executives, thus allowing the team to participate actively in resolving its own dysfunctions.

Results
During the retreat, Dan realized that his well-intended rescuing was tearing the company apart.  He made commitments to Ed and to the team to stop treating the complaining employees as victims.  Dan also joined Ed in raising the bar on everyone learning to hold themselves and each other more accountable. 

In subsequent follow-up meetings, chosen accountability became much more prevalent than imposed accountability.  Ed soon became President and Dan continued in semi-retirement as a friendly yet firm member of the Board.  Performance and results soon followed the upturn in attitudes, commitments and profits.

Case History

Company: GFL
Industry: Manufacturing and sales of equipment and services to the gaming industry  

Situation
Michael was COO of a large Las Vegas business that had received national awards for their growth.  More than anyone else in the company, he was responsible for several successful acquisitions and the expansive growth of the business.  Although he was respected as one of the best in the industry, he was not respected as a member of the team. 

Managers who worked for Michael dreaded his angry outbursts and capacity to always know what was right.  This carried over to his toxic relationships with the company President, CEO and Board Chair.  They were reluctant to let him go because the executive committee considered Michael an “A” player and essential to the future growth of the company.  However, most of the managers avoided him as much as possible.

A highly competent tyrant, Michael’s toxic behavior was met with denial in the interests of the bottom line.  The company came dangerously close to imploding because the senior executives were not attentive to the interpersonal dimensions of teamwork.

Solution
John conducted an off-site retreat that focused on team players learning to confront the real issues and holding each other more accountable through development of interpersonal skills such as straight talk and generous listening.  During the retreat, executives confronted Michael about his attitude and negative impact on others.  Michael committed to correcting his behavior and apologized to all in attendance.  However, follow-up meetings demonstrated little or no improvement. 

Members of the executive committee were shocked to hear the reactions from the managers and executives who had become more skilled at straight talk and generous listening.  Several key players expressed anger and disappointment with the president and CEO for not resolving the issues with Michael much earlier.  Some were planning to leave, while others had already contacted placement agencies.  The firm’s chief engineer, a true superstar, was already planning to move back to Australia. 

Results
The team continued to demonstrate exciting new abilities in holding each other accountable as team players.  Realizing he no longer enjoyed his former “star” status, Michael left the company and was soon replaced.  The company continues to thrive in their industry, in large part because the team continues to deal straightforwardly with their interpersonal issues. 

Case History

Company: CBA
Industry: Consulting firm with offices throughout Canada.

Situation
A family owned business, CBA became sharply divided when Fred, the son of the owner, was appointed President.  The three regional managers, all 10 to 20 years older than Fred and more experienced in the business, strongly resented his appointment.  They did not see him as competent, a belief supported by the fact that Fred failed at every position his father had put him in.  They also did not see Fred as a leader.  As a result, Fred did not enjoy the trust and respect so essential to his success and that of the company.  As numerous cliques formed and competed for their favorite candidate to succeed the owner, it began to drain the lifeblood from the company.

Solution
Konstanturos & Associates implemented an intensive team building and facilitative leadership program involving executives from all CBA’s many offices.  Issues were surfaced involving allegiance to the father, who had hired all the regional managers, and their subsequent expectations to be selected as his replacement.  

Results
The group worked hard on resolving their issues and raising the spirit of the new CBA.  Fred recognized his need to improve and worked hard at developing his leadership skills.  He surprised everyone by emerging as a fair, firm and friendly leader who was capable of steering the company into the future.  He set such an outstanding example that CBA increased profits by more than 20% during the next three years and outperformed all their competitors in spite of a steadily declining market.

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Case Study: Success

The Illusion of Success

Numbers are up, morale is high and you enjoy widespread loyalty in your company.  Business is doing great and you are very successful.  But, can you be absolutely certain that is true?

Case History

Company: DJB
Industry: Steel manufacturing and installing

Situation
Company morale constantly vacillated over time -- higher when there were no significant changes and improvements, and lower when changes were made to improve performance.  Loyalty to the company also improved when there were few pressures for increased responsibility and accountability. 

For years, the owner/CEO and the president had a challenging relationship at best.  The CEO was brusque and demanding, yet a strong and effective businessman.  The president was a gentle and considerate leader, and tended to be lenient as a manager.  Their differences did not go unnoticed by the staff.  At times, the differences were a costly distraction to the performance of the team and the business.

Solution
From the late ‘80s through 2003, Konstanturos & Associates periodically conducted leadership development, conflict resolution and team building programs for DJB executives.  In addition, the CEO invested heavily in personal development training workshops for all key people, and the CEO and president attended all of them.  Through their ongoing work with Konstanturos & Associates and the additional training, management team members learned how to resolve their differences within the team.  Plus, after several coaching sessions with John, the CEO and president learned how to use their differences as an asset rather than an obstacle to success.

Results
When the company encountered adversity, it strengthened rather than weakened the team.  During a severe recession in the early ‘90s, the local building industry was devastated.  More than half of the companies in the steel industry went out of business.  DJB not only survived, it actually thrived and increased market share.  In the midst of the recession, DJB had their best year ever. 

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