Team Turnarounds

About the Author

Joe Frontiera and Dan Leidl are co-managers of Meno Consulting, a firm specializing in culture turnarounds, team development, and leadership development. They have a rich background in transforming underperforming teams, drawing insights from their extensive research in professional sports and business. Their collaborative work in Team Turnarounds: A Playbook for Transforming Underperforming Teams offers a comprehensive guide for leaders seeking to inspire and achieve remarkable transformations in their organizations.

Main Idea

In Team Turnarounds, Frontiera and Leidl explore the intricacies of turning around underperforming teams by detailing a six-stage process. The book emphasizes the importance of leadership in driving change, creating a vision, building resilience, and nurturing a culture of excellence. Through interviews with leaders in sports and business, the authors illustrate how successful turnarounds are achieved, offering practical tools and strategies for leaders to apply in their own contexts.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Stage I: Leading Past Losing
• Stage II: Committing to Growth
• Stage III: Changing Behaviors
• Stage IV: Embracing Adversity
• Stage V: Achieving Success
• Stage VI: Nurturing a Culture of Excellence

Introduction

In 2009, Michigan faced a severe economic downturn with job losses and high unemployment rates. Governor Jennifer Granholm's experience with Electrolux, where the company decided to relocate despite generous offers, highlighted the need for a cultural shift in the state. This incident underscores the broader challenge of leading turnarounds: changing ingrained mindsets to foster collaboration, innovation, and productivity.

Stage I: Leading Past Losing

Organizations at this stage are often defined by failure. The key is to understand why the team is losing, which involves observation, reflection, and accepting harsh realities. Leaders must face reality and gather evidence on where the organization is missing the mark. For example, Frank Esposito’s approach at Kendon Industries involved validating opinions and understanding the company's decline, which helped redefine roles and responsibilities to initiate change.

"I'm a validator. I don't just grab my own opinion and run with it. I go validate things pretty thoroughly." - Frank Esposito

In leading past losing, it is crucial to:

• Face Reality: Confront issues and embrace uncomfortable truths.
• Define Roles and Responsibilities: Clarify roles to reduce ambiguity and improve focus.

Leading a team past a losing streak requires a deep dive into the organization's shortcomings. It's about understanding what went wrong without placing blame prematurely. Instead, it's an opportunity to gather information and build a case for change. This process often involves honest conversations and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. For instance, at Kendon Industries, Esposito's approach of thorough validation helped dispel rationalizations and denials, paving the way for a factual basis for future decisions.

Furthermore, defining clear roles and responsibilities is vital in this stage. Teams stuck in a losing cycle often suffer from role ambiguity, which can lead to decreased motivation and performance. Clarifying roles ensures that every team member knows what is expected of them and how they can contribute to the turnaround. This clarity helps to focus efforts and reduce anxiety, making it easier to initiate positive changes.