Posting in the San Diego Union Tribune regarding Gregg Fasbinder
September 20, 2011
Posted in the Union Tribune: “Insights4Results in San Diego, which offers training and coaching for leadership development, has added Gregg Fasbinder as a senior consultant. His responsibilities will include improving leaders and leadership teams.”
Read the newspaper article (we are the 5th paragraph!)
Past 2011 Speaking Engagements:
September 14, 2011
1.28.11 – Eric Kaufmann presented at AGC (The Associated General Contractors of America) in Seattle, WA
3.22.11 – Eric Kaufmann presented at AGC in Las Vegas, NV
4.5.11 – Eric Kaufmann & Susan Curtin presented at the Executive Network on “Collaboration Demystified”
4.11.11 – Eric Kaufmann and Susan Curtin spoke at Tech Coast Angels on “Collaboration: How to Do More With Less”
4.12.11 – Eric Kaufman and Susan Curtin spoke on the Mentoring Panel for ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement) in Orange County, CA
5.11.11 – Eric Kaufmann presented a Leadership Workshop for SPBT (Society of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Trainers) on “DM as Coach: Lofty Vision or Pipe Dream?” in Orlando, FL
7.22.11 – Eric Kaufmann presented at ASFE in Kansas City, KS
Are you reflecting or just reacting?
September 12, 2011
My father was fond of telling me over and over, “know where you’ve come from, where you are going, and how you’re going to get there.” I was reflecting that the consulting and coaching work I’m fortunate to engage with leaders is an expression of my father’s early teaching. You and I invest great labor to delve deeper so you can reach higher and go further. I appreciate the expedition together – the opportunity to engage in work that is meaningful and fulfilling. As we work together I hold a vision for you as leaders who continue to bring your people to be grounded in their self leadership, and spend time with your people helping them recognize insights for their results (and yours).
The calendar has noticeably started pointing to year’s end. Harvest time is also the start of reflection time. Working hard is no substitute for working smart. And smart work requires perspective. I invite you to work to reflect on the three queries below – versions of my father’s direction – as part of the responsibility of leadership in general and succession in particular:
- What is your personal and professional vision? Who do you envision yourself to be as person and as a leader in 3, 5, 10 years?
- Are they articulated
- Are they aligned?
- What is your leadership point of view – your leadership philosophy?
- Have you identified your filters of perception?
- Do you know what needs you’re driven to fulfill?
- Do you know what fears you’re driven to avoid?
- Which core leadership aspects are calling to your for refinement?
- Intention: the capacity to hold a direction purposefully and stay on course.
- Courage: the ability to face the hold our anxieties lightly without denying or avoiding them.
- Perseverance: the ability to stick to the path in the face of discomfort or disheartenment.
- Reflection: the ability to learn from our mistakes, accept the unacceptable, and strive for humility.
Harvard Business Review published research that firms that “slowed down to speed up” (in other words, reflected regularly) improved their top and bottom lines, averaging 40% higher sales and 52% higher operating profits over a three-year period.
Socrates taught that the unexamined life is not worth living. I’ll add that the unexamined leadership is not worth following. Even if you have addressed the above questions in the past, we are ever changing, and our perspectives and reflections need to be refreshed.
I look forward to the labor ahead of us and love that we get to work in what we are passionate about and called to do.
What does Culture have to do with it?
September 1, 2011
Organizations today express concerns about generational leadership and succession and wonder what is required to ensure they have the talent in place to lead their organization into the future. Questions abound; is it pay, is it interesting work, is it opportunity? I believe it may include all those things and more; and the most pressing is the culture of the organization.
Having attended the International Society for Human Resource Management conference and heard from inspirational speakers and leaders that included Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and Tony Hsieh I now believe it is culture that determines who wants to work for your organization and it is the leadership who defines and implements the organization’s culture. Tony Hsieh, in particular, brought this to life as he shared his story on how he had created a “Culture of Happiness” at Zappos. He crafted organizational values that reflect the input of all the employees working at Zappos; he listened.
* Zappos’ first core value is to deliver “WOW” through service.
*Zappos gives a great deal of freedom to pursue team decisions and for people to self-organize in groups around areas of personal “passion” outside of regular duties.
*Zappos has empowered employees to make meaningful changes and decisions at all levels without a lot of supervision.
*Zappos’ creed is delivering happiness and therefore building customer loyalty at every step of the way.
*At Zappos, open and honest relationships are built with communication at all levels, at all times.
*Zappos strives to encourage learning across functions and across the company by sending employees to visit their different facilities and inviting other companies to tour their facility to learn together.
*Zappos has its own web TV channel for employees and every year creates a yearbook with employee input and photos.
According to Denning’s new book, The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management: Reinventing the Workplace for the 21st Century, he likes Zappos, which he described models the changing workforce of tomorrow. Statistics show that companies who are value-centric and focused on creating a great culture, are highly innovative and grow at 4 times the rate of companies with low employee engagement.
Aside from leaders having a clear vision for the future that inspires others to follow, it is critical to recognize how employees feel about working for the organization. Yes, I did say “feel” not “think” about the organization since feeling is where our passion resides. We know employee engagement is the result of doing work that we are passionate about and being recognized and valued for our contribution. It is the day-to-day experience of how employees are treated and valued that will determine their commitment to the organization short-term and long-term. According to research done by Manpower, 84% of employees are looking for another job this year. What is this figure saying about the work cultures of the organizations where these employees are currently employed?
So if culture determines who wants to work for your organization, and in turn your talent pool to ensure the future success of the organization, what are you doing as a leader that triggers the passion of the employees who work for you? How are you defining the culture of your organization?
Google CEO on executive coaching
August 24, 2011
Less than a minute, but more than worth the wisdom about developing leaders!
What EXACTLY is coaching?
August 21, 2011
While executive and leadership coaching share many features with the coaching that managers provide for their employees, there is at least one critical difference. As a manager, you are responsible and accountable for the outcome of what your employee does or does not do. As an executive coach, I’m responsible and accountable for the improvement of the executive, but not for their total work output.
While responsibility for the outcomes might be different, the coaching process that we engage is fundamentally the same. For this purpose, clients and managers alike have found great value in understanding our unique, dynamic, and applied definition of coaching.
Coaching is a collaborative relationship that accelerates results and learning through trust and curiosity.
- “Collaborative relationship,” as it implies, indicates that the relationship flows both ways. Coach and coachee are equally investing effort, attention, and energy into the process. My most telling sign that coaching is not happening is that I’m exhausted. Fatigue indicates that I’m either pushing or pulling too hard, but in either case it means that I am expending all my energy and the coachee is, at best, absorbing, if not downright wasting it.
- ”Accelerates results” literally means that things happen faster. Coaching is intended to speed up the outcomes for which the coachee is responsible. Coaching results vary from task and job competency, to relationship mastery, to political acumen, to emotional intelligence, to strategic thinking.
- “Accelerates learning” holds a very special place in the coaching process. While results and outcomes might speed up, it is not sufficient for a person to do things faster, unless they also learn how to think more creatively, more independently, more strategically, and more globally. Effective coaching enables the coachee to develop their capacity for judgment and for decision-making, as well as their ability to get things done. More than one client has commented that coaching increases trial with fewer errors.
- Trust is a fundamental issue to an effective coaching relationship. In the absence of trust you and I will be defended, guarded, careful and selective around one another. Trust in this environment is specific. This is not a question of whether or not I trust you to watch my children for the weekend. If you’re my coach, I’m asking myself, “do I believe you have my best interest at heart.” When I believe that you know my best interest and that you are making efforts to promote it, I will then be open, honest, and collaborative with you.
- Curiosity is a multipurpose tool in the coaching relationship. As a pick it allows us to chip away at the surface of problems and develop a deeper understanding of the situation, the person, and the desired outcomes. As a magnifying glass, it allows us to focus the mind – questions direct our thinking, inquiry, and creative problem-solving.
Equipped with this definition, even with little or no training in coaching skills, you can now affect more coaching in you management role. By simply posting this definition on your desk, when you find yourself in a coaching moment, ask yourself, “am I collaborating with this person to help them accelerate results and learning through trust and curiosity?”
And, should you like to engage with a coach or bring in training on effective coaching, please contact us. Good luck!
Do Managers Who Coach Improve Profitability?
August 8, 2011
I recently asked a CEO how many people work in his company and he replied, “About half of them.” The Gallup Management Journal’s semi-annual Employee Engagement Index survey of 4.51 million employees in 332 organizations shows that he is (unfortunately) right on. The majority of employees are disengaged – they are doing the minimum to get by.
Gallup put the current percentage of truly “engaged” employees at 29%. A concerning 54% fall into the “not engaged” category. And an even scarier 17% of employees are “actively disengaged.” Flat organizations have eroded the time and attention that managers and team members share; in fact, it has given rise to negative workplace relationships. Negative workplace relationships are a big part of why so many American employees are not engaged with their jobs, and why so much time, energy and resources are wasted. Coaching and mentoring is an attempt to put back into organizations what years of downsizing, reengineering, and flattening have taken out – the care and feeding of people.
Managers who coach and mentor offer a path toward engaging and keeping employees engaged. The Gallup Survey asked employees what they want and what is important in order to be effective in their roles. Here, in short, is what workers said they want from their managers:
- Focus me
- Know me
- Care about me
- Hear me
- Help me feel proud
- Help me review my contributions
- Equip me
- Help me see my value
- Help me grow
- Help me see my importance
- Help me build mutual trust
- Challenge me
And how, Gallup asked employees, do managers do that?
- Provide feedback and guidance
- Make real time to discuss problems
- Seek ideas and input from everyone
- Provide the resources to solve problems or to do a job well
- Give real recognition and/or reward
- Provide opportunities for people to develop their potential
- Stay realistic about the pressure to perform and achieve more with less
- Provide opportunities for social interaction
- Train people how to resolve interpersonal conflicts
- Promote joy and appropriate humor within the office
- Be flexible; help people to actively balance work and home responsibilities
Coaching and mentoring is all but spelled out in these responses, and is well documented as a path to achievement, success, and engagement. Yet, many coaching/mentoring initiatives fall short or falter. Why? Because the underlying organizational obsession with expedience, impatience, and efficiency lies in opposition to what mentoring/coaching relationships require: time and attention.
Per Gallup, engaged workers are more productive, more profitable, engender customer
loyalty, stay longer, and focus more on quality. Employees claim to be engaged when
they receive what they want:
- A strong relationship with their manager
- Clear communication from their manager
- A clear path set for focusing on what they do best
- Strong relationships with their coworkers
Managers who coach and mentor are invested in developing positive relationships – the kind of relationships that engender full engagement. Engaging managers know when to coach and when to mentor. Engaging organizations provide managers with necessary skills and training, combined with genuine and demonstrable commitment to relationship from senior leaders.
Coaching and mentoring programs should keep, grow, and sustain top performance; keep the current performers engaged, grow rising performers, and sustain performance over time.
The ABC of Change
July 25, 2011
I was interviewed about helping leaders make positive changes through executive coaching. One of the questions really captured my attention, “What do you believe causes change?”
Through 12 years of coaching intelligent and mature executives, and over my own lifetime of effort, I know that behavior change is difficult. As a facilitator, coach, and trainer I’ve observed a pattern among those who deliberately and successfully alter their behavior; a pattern I refer to as ABC – Awareness, Belief, Collaboration.
Awareness: positive change starts with personal recognition and acceptance that something can – and should – be better. In the absence of awareness, we have no choice. If we elect to do something differently, then we must have options from which to choose. Gordon’s manager, for example, complained vociferously that Gordon was enabling his team members. He claimed Gordon was allowing them to behave in subpar ways as he excused and covered their “bad” behavior. He demanded that Gordon change. Gordon was at a loss about what to change; he was lost because he couldn’t recognize what he was doing.
I sat through a couple of meetings with Gordon and recorded portions of conversations (a controversial tactic, to be sure). Upon review, we listened intently for enabling dialogues (at the end of which we deleted the recordings). With distance came objectivity and clarity, this helped Gordon grasp the nature of his behavior, and its impact on his team. Gordon was mad and embarrassed; but he was also aware – conscious of what had to change.
Belief: with increased awareness comes frustration. Every time one of my blind spots is made visible, I feel a little sickened. Seeing what to change is step one, becoming determined to make the change is step two. Belief is a critical step to determination. Belief comprises of vision and faith. Vision is not some mystical power assigned to geniuses and madmen. Vision is a defining human characteristic. Vision is the ability to project the mind into an imagined future and form a detailed description of that future. Faith, then, is a conviction in that imagined future and a devotion to fulfilling it.
In Gordon’s case, he envisioned himself as a manager who “takes no prisoners.” I felt that was a little radical and overcorrecting, but Gordon believed he needed a stern and far reaching vision. Because Gordon was a fierce sports competitor, he had faith that he could transfer his sports audacity to his management role. We discussed and defined what “take no prisoners” looks and feels like an actual day-to-day management behavior, and set clear goals.
Collaboration: I am goal directed and self initiating, and while awareness and belief initiate and direct positive change, I haven’t pulled off significant behavior change on my own. Working in partnership provides encouragement, ideas, and energy when needed. There are several collaborators to enroll – coaches and mentors, team members, friends and family, peers, and supervisors.
Gordon formed a “development Council” for his positive change effort. After identifying the specific behaviors in coaching, he calibrated with his manager specific behavioral objectives. Once all three were clear about how to measure success, Gordon shared with his team why he was changing, and what he will do differently. Gordon’s manager supported him more constructively, and, to his surprise, his team stepped up to carry more work load. Turns out they wanted more for their own professional journey 0f growth, development, and fulfillment.
I don’t believe that the preceding 500 words will suffice in your own professional development efforts. While Gordon’s goal was assisted with awareness, belief, and collaboration, it was a bumpy ride. Achieving his goals took fortitude, support, humility, and reflection. As will yours.
Don’t be lulled into the mythology of the lone ranger; as a lone ranger you are far more likely to squander your potential than to conquer your demons. Reach out and find your own “development council.” Then set your jaw and open your mind to the process of deliberate positive change.
Who in the world is Gregg Fasbinder?
July 20, 2011
My passion for leadership development and inspiring others is nothing new. No one thought I could beat cancer at age 13 when I was diagnosed with leukemia. During my
recovery, I recognized the importance of support, inspiration and never, ever
giving up. This led to my strong desire to guide others personally and
professionally. The hair on the back of my neck stands when I witness or hear
about someone connecting the dots as a result of our work together. It’s that
AHA moment when they try something new and tests their own boundaries with
courage and meaning. Clients and peers would describe me as someone who listens
carefully, partners closely and delivers practical, efficient, and lasting solutions.
Who am I? I believe in family, hard work, living my dreams, taking risks when others won’t, never surrendering, and having the courage to persist. I continue to inspire
myself and those around me – everyday! I dream and think BIG and focus on the
positive even when times are tough. I remember my humble roots and advice from
mom and dad, “You are always a beginner and this will open endless
possibilities”. At a young age I internalized the philosophy that leadership is
a form of synergy and creative cooperation and nobody does anything great
alone.
My background: I attended Penn State University and the University of Texas graduating with a BA in nutritional biochemistry. Upon graduation, I was offered a medical sales position where I excelled and won several notable awards. I quickly expressed interest in training, development and management and realized I relished in the opportunity to lead others to achieve similar results. I thrived in sales management at several pharmaceutical companies and, as a result of my passion and drive, I won 9
Presidents Clubs, the first ever Outstanding Achievement in Excellence Award
and manager of the year.
My vision: I would like to be known as one of the top executive coaches in leadership
development and impress upon people that leadership does make a difference and
that everyone can learn to lead! I have a strong desire to teach the necessary
skills for guiding people, teams and organizations to greatness. Great leaders
make a great difference and I would like to be remembered as one of them.
I am committed to guiding organization effectiveness and promote changes in mindsets, behavior, commitment, and culture. I am excited about partnering with Insights4Results and leveraging our combined talents with leaders everywhere.
Personally: Away from the office my interests include exploring countries and cultures, cycling, tennis, running and the study of alternative investments. My wife and I have
two beautiful children and live in San Diego.
Announcement: New Senior Consultant joins our team
July 20, 2011
San Diego, CA – July, 22, 2011 – Insights4Results, LLC, an innovator in shaping customer centered training and coaching for leadership development, is delighted to announce today it has added award winning leader Gregg Fasbinder as a Senior Consultant.
“This is an important step for Insights4Results, as we continue to add new client projects and innovative research based leadership programs,” said Eric Kaufmann, President and co-founder of Insights4Results, LLC. “Gregg is an accomplished senior manager with the skills and characteristics that we need right now. He’s experienced at leading teams, he’s oriented towards continuous talent development, and he is experienced with helping organizations develop dedicated managers into insightful leaders.”
Fasbinder’s participation is a critical part of Insights4Results’ continued efforts to ensure client success and forward thinking content, and to set the stage for future growth. His responsibilities will include assessing and improving leaders and leadership teams.
“We are honored to have Gregg join our growing team and serve our clients,” said Susan Curtin, Partner and co-founder of Insights4Results, LLC. “Gregg’s extensive experience will help our current and future clients to feel confident in our abilities to provide them the quality and quantity of work that results in positive changes within their organizations.”
“Having been a client and recipient of their work, I have an enormous amount of respect for Insights4Results, and I find its mission deeply inspirational,” Gregg Fasbinder said. “Launching Insighs4Results was brilliant and gutsy. And now it has grown into a sustained and undeniable success. I admire what Eric and Susan have managed to create in just a few years, and I want to help them to achieve even more.”