Geil Browning, one of the founders of Emergenetics, announced on August 20 that Emergenetics had "officially made the Inc. 500/5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies…for the 4th straight year!" 

Speaking to her worldwide team she remarked, "This is an amazing accomplishment and one that has been made possible only by a true global WEteam effort and by the brilliance that each of you possess. I am amazed by the collective intellect, drive and brilliance of our Associate community. Emergenetics International is propelled by our core values of family, integrity, quality, and sustainability and these values are what keeps us strong and allows us to grow.

Inc. Magazine has compiled the 500/5000 List for 33 years, and making it on four years in a row is a very rare accomplishment. Emergenetics International holds the honored distinction of representing less than 2% of companies who’ve made the Inc. 500/5000 list as a multiyear winner!"

WindRiver Strategies, located in the Atlanta, Georgia area delivers Emergenetics across the country with full solution to companies looking to apply effective coaching strategies and Emergenetics insight to their day-to-day operations. Added available disciplines and tools include leadership training, teamwork and communication seminars, performance appraisal and development processes, strategic planning, sales, trust building exercises, feedback tools, employee orientation presentations, and one-on-one coaching. And because no one knows a company’s needs like the company itself, all of these are completely customizable to meet each organization’s unique challenges and opportunities.

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Different Kinds Of Meetings (Find "Situation Analysis" Meeting in post 9 of this series)

Below is list of different kinds of meetings. In some cases different kinds of meetings can be combined. Conversely, leaders sometimes discover, after reading through this list, that they are trying to do too much in a single meeting with a given group of participants.


Progress Evaluation
Purpose: To evaluate progress against goals and identify obstacles.
Participants: Any leader or individual who has a direct impact on the goals being evaluated.
Frequency: As needed.

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Different Kinds Of Meetings

Below is list of different kinds of meetings. In some cases different kinds of meetings can be combined. Conversely, leaders sometimes discover, after reading through this list, that they are trying to do too much in a single meeting with a given group of participants.

Situation Analysis Meetings

Purpose: to gather information and separate larger topics into actionable sub-issues and set/recommend priorities. This kind of meeting is commonly held as part of the preparation required to determine the topics on the agenda for a larger meeting.

Participants: A smaller group with the implicit authority to set overall priorities and assign topics and sub-issues to others.

Frequency: As needed.

Topic Sequence:
1. Gather input on topics prior and during the meeting.  
2. List, group and separate topics.
3. Prioritize.
4. Assign and inform owners.

(Thanks again to Richard Hawkes, Change Leader & CEO of Growth River and his article “How Do You Know You Had A Great Meeting?” This post is taken directly from his paper.)

What is VOICE based coaching?  First, at WindRiver Strategies we believe that every person exists because they bring inherent, natural Value (V) to the world.  We assume given the overwhelming amount of scientific data that supports us that everyone is here because they have Value.  Everyone delivers on that value in ways that “only they can” which are integral to a high learning, high functioning, enjoyable, low stress community.   When we show up in the world connected to our Value without obstruction we have our best chance of living fulfilled.

Second, there are two and only two psychologies in the world.  They are Choice and Control.  Now, we grant that there are many “psychopathies” and psychological disorders but hold as conviction that there are only two psychologies.  Our functioning world is dominated by control.  When we are able to enter our functioning life because we “choose” to do so versus being compelled or manipulated by some external influence or internal narrative then we notice shifts upward in our morale and enjoyment of life.    

VOICE Based Coaching works because it is transformational and is supported by proven theoretical foundations.  For brevity’s sake, here are three influential steps in the transformative process:

1. Experience
   
2. Critical Reflection
   
3. Rational Discourse in the process of meaning
   

Experience
In a recent paper by Kristina Summat, St Xavier University, entitled, “Transformative learning theory and coaching” the necessary experience is described.  Experience begins with a disorienting dilemma that provides “grist for critical reflection”. Coaching clients who participated in Sammut’s study “were in agreement that a catalyst must exist in order to produce transformation” and “confirmed that coachees come to coaching for a host of reasons – being stuck in their lives with a problem or issue, a life changing event, professional development, etc.”  In other words, when someone decides to engage the services of a coach they have identified a felt need in some area of their personal or professional life.  Can you identify a need like that?

Upcoming Posts: Critical Reflection & Rational Discourse

How decisions are made on your team makes a big difference in how they are “owned” and even how they are “worn” between meetings.  A “Fly by the Seat of Your Pants” style loses its impact quickly as people most likely choose how they will engage the meeting based on what they want to do versus what is most critical to delivering on the mission.  In fact, if action items are assigned meeting attendees may “forget” what is on their list shortly after the meeting ends.  Why? Because they know they will likely not be held accountable.  An Autocratic Meeting style has a list of priorities predominantly designed by the top leader (possibly an executive group).  Assignments are made and deadlines are assigned.  A Consensus style allows for topics to be surfaced and prioritized through discussion and maybe even a vote.  Take a look at article 1 in this series because this meeting can be run by certain thinking and behavioral preferences if your team is not diverse in its core approach to finding solutions.  In other words, strong personality can drive this meeting over VitalTalks (critical discussion) on critical issues. 

Lastly, there is a Consultative style.  This style leans more on fundamentals of coaching and leveraging diverse thinking and behavioral inclinations.  Here is how it works: Topics are surfaced and prioritized by vote. The person(s) responsible for each item is determined (typically by the senior leader in agreement with the one who will be held accountable), these leaders gather critical information from others for the completion of the project, they lead the effort to provide solutions. Decisions are, therefore, more mature when made, responsibilities for actions are determined, timelines are established and agreed upon, actions are taken and future intermediate meetings review progress.  This approach to meetings though more involved than the autocratic approach (or perhaps a little slower on the front end) leads to higher quality decisions in complex fast paced environments. 

Note that in this approach individuals who will be held accountable for reaching the goals are assigned before gathering points of view, information and details.


Thanks to Richard Hawkes of Growth River and his article, "How Do you Know That Was A Great Meeting?"


Coming: Why lead through Consultative Style?

How to Achieve It
by Geil Browning, Emergenetics

Chances are, you're not going to just stumble across a cognitively diverse team in the wild. You need to be deliberate. If you have a tool like Emergenetics to uncover preferences, that's great, but if not, you can apply these tactics.

Ask for volunteers to fulfill roles. If you're a team leader, you can see inklings of how team members think. Ask the team for volunteers who can naturally bring a perspective of analytical, structural, social, and conceptual thinking to the table. Make sure they're responsible for the perspective. Do the same for expressiveness, assertiveness, and flexibility--you need representation from across each spectrum.

Put tasks and projects into a diverse approach. Any initiative the team works on can be seen through the lens of cognitive diversity. If you're having a meeting, ensure that you approach it from all seven attributes. As you come up with solutions, put each into a framework and test it against the full thinking and behavioral spectrum--does the solution speak to analytical concerns, for example? Is it resonant for structural thinkers? Ask this question for each attribute.

The potential for cognitive diversity exists for all groups and teams whether they are naturally diverse or not. In reality, unbalanced teams exist. What's important is that you as a leader are in touch with the team dynamic and take a deliberate approach to assigning work and creating teams. With conscious effort, balance can be achieved, and potential unlocked and channeled into results.

It Takes All Kinds of Brains to Make a Perfect Team (1): Cognitive Diversity Is The Golden Ring

Building Team Performance
Using Emergenetics to Build Team Performance (1)
Using Emergenetics to Build Team Performance (2)
Using Emergenetics to Build Team Performance (3)

By Geil Browining, Emergenetics

Have you ever wondered why a team of smart, experienced people aren't performing well? It's not owing to a lack of skills. More likely there's a breakdown in something deeper that precludes the group's ability to generate ideas, get things done, or perform at high levels.

This can happen as a result of many things, but in my mind, it really breaks down to two factors.


1. Does the team have the diversity of thought to come at things from different perspectives or is it a one-note band?

2. Even if there are multiple perspectives, does the team have the requisite openness, trust, and communication to allow divergent thinking and ideas to flourish?

From our research into psychology and human behavior, we know that thinking is manifested in four distinct areas--conceptual, social, analytical, and structural. We also know that every person's behavior falls somewhere along a spectrum in each of three arenas--expressiveness, assertiveness, and flexibility.

Cognitive Diversity: The Golden Ring

Teams that exhibit a full spectrum of these seven attributes are the goal. We call it a Whole Emergenetics, or WE, approach to team building, and it is incredibly powerful in practice.

It's easy to see how this approach works--diverse teams have all the tools at their disposal. They're critical thinkers, innovators, and organized and empathic all at once. They can be accommodating or firm, process internally or be gregarious, and be peacekeepers or drivers, whatever the task requires.

Diverse teams have the ability to see every perspective and put the strength of each individual team member to work toward the common goal. Teams that lack that diversity are unbalanced in one way or another, and that imbalance erodes effectiveness over time.

A group leaning heavily toward one thinking preference may excel in the formation of ideas but lack the ability to formulate a clear plan and see the project through to the end. Or be great at planning and follow-through but short on ideas.

Another group may have the potential to embrace diverse speaking but not actually value or elicit all perspectives. A team led by a few driving, gregarious people may never let others speak, especially those on the quiet end of the expressiveness spectrum. Valuable thinking and ideas are lost.

by Geil Browning, Emergenetics

This time of year, graduates everywhere are making the move from the institution of education to the great wide world. They're starting businesses, joining existing ones, and embarking on careers in public service. It's an exciting time when we all have the opportunity to inspire and be inspired.

I've had the honor of working with thousands of people through the years, specifically helping them find their place in the world. Each and every one of those people has imparted wisdom about life, leadership, and success to me that I could not have attained on my own.

Here are the best insights I've gathered over the years that I now share with the next generation of leaders--and everyone else seeking to find a place in life and business.

Take a good look at your selfie.

It's the selfie generation, right? But who is that in the goofy picture you just posted? The most important question anybody can ask him- or herself is, "Who am I?" What's important to you? At what do you excel? The more you're able to focus on and work within your strengths and on what gives you energy, the happier and more successful you are likely to be.

(Stay Tuned for the Series)

VitalTalks are how persuasion occurs.    For example, I spent a few years in sales.  A good sales call was not defined by the ease and comfort that was created in the interaction with the prospective client.  A good sales call meant that the prospective client made a clear decision to move forward and declared it.  Of course, we want that to happen within a friendly environment but the atmosphere is not the critical communication in and of itself. 

A manager is able to get her staff to say “yes” to most anything but does not give them room to refuse a request or to reshape the request in a way that allows for appropriate prioritization. Critical direction occurred at the manager’s level (to the staff) but did not occur at all levels.  The staff leaves feeling disrespected, frequently discouraged and feeling over worked.  This may get a task checked off a list but it is not effective.

Highly effective meetings and VitalTalks are filled with critical interaction.  These discussions cause issues to be raised, roles to be reaffirmed and clarified, responsibilities to be designed & assigned, solutions to be engaged and decisions to be made.  Plus, when everyone is involved, when everyone is a stakeholder in the creation of the plan or resolution of the problem, then trust is deepened.  Here…the members of a team may realize “I didn’t get all I wanted” but they also leave knowing the decisions were genuine and collaboratively considered.

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First, what is persuasion? 

Some might say that it is simply “the act of persuading someone to do something.” Wikipedia says, “In business, persuasion is a process aimed at changing a person's (or a group's) attitude or behavior toward some event, idea, object, or other person(s), by using written or spoken words to convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof.”  When we persuade someone we would like to think that they are not only going to complete the task we want but are doing so because they are “on board” with the whole idea.  If so and they are persuaded then we might reasonably assume that they have made a decision that not only serves the moment but the long-term mission. 

Most would say and accurately that persuasive people do three things well.

1. Clarity: They are clear about the outcomes they want to achieve and are relentless in measuring activity towards the goal.
2. Vital Behaviors: They focus on a small number of critical behaviors that deliver the most amounts of result and change.
3. Influence: Most apply their favorite tactical influence tool repeatedly and usually out of a control psychology or authoritative style.  But this will undermine their team members’ personal motivation long-term as it gets in the way of someone choosing to be the best version of themselves on a daily basis.  They will act, perhaps, to keep their job over passionately engaging the mission. But those who apply VitalTalks to their dynamic also leverage a person’s “motivational” diversity.  They learn to read a person and engage them through what moves and inspires them.  This person works '"with you" and "for you" versus "against you" and just "for the money".