Do you despise Motivational Speakers?

Despite being in the profession for almost two decades and receiving a designation earned by less than 10% of professional speakers[i] I am uncomfortable introducing myself as a “motivational speaker”.  Last week when asked to introduce myself to a class on the value of internal social networks I said; “Most people describe me as a ‘Motivational Speaker’ which simply means I get people excited to hear about things they will forget within the week”.  Sounds kind of pessimistic for someone who is supposed to be a professional motivator but I know from experience the description is accurate.  There are people who remember lessons I have taught for years but the people I think about most are those who are so close to rediscovering their own greatness if only we could continue the conversation.  Instead most will go back to the same jobs, same habits, and same discontent.  Inspiration is great it can be uplifting to hear amazing stories of people confronting overwhelming odds to achieve incredible accomplishments. However illustrations of what is attainable are of little benefit if there is no system to ensure the benefits are sustainable.

Change takes time, tenacity and teams. Of these three it seems that teams are the least understood, most idolized and least utilized. We admire great teams, recruit the best players then manage them as individuals. We have individual performance reviews, provide individualized training, personal goals and pay-for-performance compensation often without consideration for all the connections that make us who we are. It is these connections that either lift us up, pull us down or hold us in place. To significantly impact behavior whether it is for ourselves or our teams we must address both people and process.

The people who inspired this system are admired the world over for creating cultures not driven from above but Powered by Peers. Steve Jobs believed so strongly in the importance of connecting disparate functionalities that he officed engineers with illustrators and put the only bathrooms on the Pixar campus right in the center where people and ideas would converge. Vineet Nayar a member of Fortune magazines 2011 global “Executive Dream Team” turned a 30,000 employee company growing at 30% upside down growing his customer base fivefold and cutting attrition in half in just four years. Each of these people applied a simple idea that is long overdue in many businesses.

We may be inspired by leaders, trained by coaches but we are Powered by our Peers. Outsiders can energize us, but we are shaped by our insiders.

It is the people who experience our same challenges, live with our same frustrations, are confined by the same limitations that show us what is really possible. We can ignore the advice of experts, mock our leaders, but we cannot escape the truth of seeing people just like us, who with the same resources just do better. These are our real leaders. They are not those empowered by their positions but in-powered by their accomplishments. They lead by example, thrive where they are appreciated and raise the level of performance for everyone they touch.

If you are looking for quick fix peak performance in a pill, this is not it. Ineffective behaviors cannot be educated out, nor can good ones be trained in. Trying to change individual behaviors without addressing the systems that support them is like watering a single tree in a firestorm.

Habits are far too engrained to be changed from the top down or outside in. Whether it is changing exercise habits, service standards or leadership qualities sustainable transformation must come from groups “wanting to” find the solutions for themselves. This is the essence of Peer Powered Performance™. It is a systemic approach combining education, collaboration and illustration to change the energy of an organization by changing the contents of the conversations.

Peer Powered Performance™ is not intended as a dialogue about the content of our training but a design that can be used to implement any sustainable change. The essence of the process is one of mutual discovery by providing a system for “value-adding” employees within any organization the opportunity to find the solutions to their most relevant challenges. The system is not intended to replace or disrupt established hierarchy but to provide a parallel system for encouraging innovation through collaboration.

Peer Powered Performance™ is a practical system for engaging energy, creativity and resilience from every level of the organization. It is a process that brings out the best in value-adding team members while simultaneously disempowering those who, in the absence of transparent accountability, are allowed to bully and manipulate draining invaluable energy and resources. The Red Shoe Solutions role for our clients is to act as catalysts for stimulating help-full conversations. Using a collaborative tool called Chatter we provide weekly articles, video clips, audio podcasts and insightful illustrations. Team members are encouraged to share resources, challenge preconceptions and practice new behaviors in a community that is transparent, supportive and above all doing it all together.

The Peer Powered Performance™ system provides a single resource where members from all levels of an organization can find encouragement, education and inspiration from world recognized leaders in Business, Neuropsychology and Spirit.

Each game changing idea is illustrated in personal cards and posters designed to stimulate the conversations that inspire lasting transformations.