1. Unlocking Executive Team WisdomUnlocking Executive Team Wisdom

2. — 2 — Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom
Is your executive team moving
you forward or holding you back?
A high performing executive team can drive your
organization forward to exceed future industry
expectations. A dysfunctional team can cause you
to be crushed by the competition. How confident
are you that your executive team can:
• Commit to a common organizational purpose
and name the three top priorities the team
has agreed to achieve
• Work cross-functionally to ensure collabora-
tive outcomes
• Model and build the culture you need by em-
bracing mutual accountability
• Encourage self-awareness and constructive
interpersonal dynamics by leveraging each
other’s strengths
• Communicate with one voice about your
organization’s goals
Unlocking the collective wisdom of the executive
team is a major step toward competitive advan-
tage. When communication, collaboration and
creativity are given room to breathe, the impact on
both workplace behavior and strategic outcomes
produces measurable profitability.
Putting commitment on display, communicating
clearly and consistently, develops a feeling of trust
within the workforce, promotes stronger employee
engagement and accelerates progress.
Tapping into this collective wisdom remains a
challenge for many organizations. Alignment is
not automatic and needs to be cultivated. Instilling
collaboration within the executive team by driving
deep understanding of each individual team mem-
ber fosters reassurance that executives can rely
upon each to engage mutual accountability.
We are moving from knowledge-based leadership
towards wisdom-based leadership. Wisdom isn’t
so much of a skill that one develops; rather it is a
state of being that emerges from within the leader
from the experience of integrating head (intellect),
heart (courage), hunch (intuition) and hands (action).
Executives are now realizing the unintended
consequences and costs associated with a knowl-
edge based leadership approach. Competition is
so fierce today and the pressure to recruit ex-
ceptional talent for an ever-increasing number of
leadership positions has created the need for wise
leaders. The unintended consequences are asym-
metrical. For example, it may take a few seconds
to tear down an executive’s lack of knowledge
and years to renew the lost trust, if it can ever be
regained. The costs associated with this asymme-
try are enormous.
What are the costs for your company?

3. APPROACH
Unlike traditional “team building,” team coaching
does not involve games or superficial interactions
and activities. The diagnostic data we gather and
results from individual assessments tell us the key
issues that are impacting strategy execution. From
our experience interpersonal skills that focus on con-
nection, communication and collaboration are the
primary drivers to successful execution. These core
factors often sit at an unconscious level within the
executive team. Very rarely do we uncover a person
who is consciously seeking to undermine the team.
Individual outcomes that are accountable to the
team as a whole cause any hidden agendas or
relational conflicts to come to the surface. While not
always comfortable this needs to happen to ensure
that the outcomes are accomplished. Continual
learning, action and reinforcement are essential.
Creating a plan for effective team execution and
linking all of the team skills with specified outcomes
takes courage. It requires each team member to
give (and hear) input about what’s working or what
could work better. Each team member needs to
unlock his or her wisdom to see this not as criticism
but as constructive guidance.
The key to achieving strong team collaboration is
in creating clear and unambiguous alignment and
engagement: alignment of organizational intent, of
team-member goals, and of functional inter-depen-
dencies.
The final step is crafting a communication plan for
the balance of the organization. Key messages need
to be delivered many times before they are believed
and acted on. People at the operation level draw
great comfort from consistent messages delivered
from a unified executive team.
— 3 —Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom
Diagnostic Phase Development Phase Implementation Phase
Team Coaching Process
Team Leader
Engagement
Executive Team
Engagement
Individual
Executive
Coaching
Facilitate
Additional
Executive Team
Meeting(s)
Final Executive
Team Meeting
Executive Team
Offsite
(Develop Awareness
and Focus on Five
Agreements)
Assess,
Diagnose,
and Plan
Assess,
Diagnose,
and Plan
Provide
Feedback
and Ensure
Accountability
Provide
Feedback
and Ensure
Accountability
Provide
Support and
Affirm Progress
1. Commitment on
Organizational Purpose
2. Clarity and Application
of Collaborative
Outcomes
3. Embrace Mutual
Accountatbility
4. Encourage Self-
Awareness and
Constructive
Interpersonal Dynamics
5. Communicate with
One Voice
© PeopleSavvy 2015 – (310) 578-5322

4. — 4 — Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom
Diagnostic Phase
All of our work is custom tailored and flexible
based on the needs of the client.
We first start working with the senior team leader. Only
with a vibrant picture of both the current state and the
desired future state can executive teams comprehend
the gaps they are attempting to address through team
coaching. Additionally we complete a comprehensive
assessment of the senior team leader using a com-
prehensive and certified 360-degree assessment. We
have found that
executive team
members are
more open to
team coaching
if they know
the senior team
leader has first
completed this
process.
We then begin
the team coach-
ing process
with exploratory interviews with each executive team
member. We seek to gain understanding about each
executive’s perception of the organization’s business
purpose, strategic outcomes, major issues and con-
cerns impacting success and any interpersonal friction
that results in unhealthy conflict. Additional back-
ground data on the team and organization that helps
us understand the historical and political culture of the
organization is always welcomed.
While a team is more than just individuals function-
ing together, we start by helping the team members
understand themselves as leaders and contributors
to the team. Each team member completes a so-
phisticated 360-degree leadership assessment. This
assessment connects a well-researched battery of
leadership competencies with the underlying motiva-
tions and habits of thought, revealing the relationships
between patterns of action and the internal assump-
tions that drive behavior. The assessment provides
an overview of the level of alignment between each
members’ self perception and how they are perceived
by others.
Prior to the development phase, we individually work
with the executives to help them gain clarity and pre-
pare them to present an overview of their assessment
at the first off-site. In this process we uncover four key
criteria that impacts individual and team success:
• Decision-mak-
ing: Tough choic-
es often arise in
most executives’
careers. These
choices involve
multiple consid-
erations, with no
clear, right an-
swers.
• Dialog: On
occasion, unhealthy conflicts or significant disagree-
ments between individuals or functions in an organiza-
tion lead to serious breakdowns in strategy execution.
• Development: Every executive has strengths and
opportunities for improvement. Often, an individual’s
strengths more than compensate for the gaps, espe-
cially when other team members can help to fill the
void. Sometimes, however, the gaps present a sig-
nificant problem. This is especially true with leaders
who are technically capable beyond their years, but
still need to deepen their interpersonal awareness and
skills.
• Derailment: When executives exhibit extreme behav-
iors, they can derail themselves and the team. While
mentoring focuses on filling gaps, coaching addresses
modifying extreme behaviors, which actively under-
mine an executive’s personal effectiveness and the
effectiveness of the team.

5. Development Phase
Executive teams are usually made up of strong
individuals with varying leadership styles and this
can sometimes lead to interpersonal friction. If
each member has a greater understanding of the
strengths and improvement opportunities of other
team members, and how best to communicate
with one another, the effectiveness of the team will
improve. At the first team coaching session, each
team member provides a summary of what they
learned about themselves during the diagnostic
phase. Executives are then introduced to the Col-
laborative Dialogue process and how it applies to
executive team wisdom development.
Collaborative Dialogue is the free flow of meaning
between people. It examines and identifies the
moment-to-moment conversational practices that
engage and/or limit shared meaning. The executive
team coach works with conversational processes
that happen in the moment, coaching people to
engage in constructive and productive ways to
achieve mutually beneficial results.
Whether the issue at hand is building a strategic
plan, making an important decision, or launching
a new product, service or system, the team works
on the content of the issue, while we focus on the
team’s process and how the team gets the work
done. The end result is a self-sufficient team that
generates collaborative outcomes and mutual
accountability.
— 5 —Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom

6. While every engagement is unique, your
executive team focuses on expressing clear,
common values and pursues effective shared
vision. You can expect they will surface,
discuss and resolve issues faster and more
collaboratively. The end result is both execu-
tive team and organizational alignment.
Typical outcomes include:
• Improved mutual accountability
resulting in greater trust between team
members
• Difficult conversations that result in
collaborative outcomes
• Full engagement within the team and
throughout the organization
• Improved decision making and greater
strategic results
— 6 — Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom
Implementation Phase
It is important that executive team coaching is regularly revisited
over a six to twelve month period. In all learning and change cy-
cles, executives need to be prepared to discover more about their
team culture and the systemic and interpersonal dynamics as the
team transforms. Once they are back in the ever-changing world
of their day-to-day duties, there may be unavoidable detours and
frustrations when the actions they planed as a team do not work
out as expected. We review progress against the team selected
success criteria.
The initial follow-up session is scheduled four weeks from the
completion of the developmental off-site. We review:
• Commitment to Organizational Purpose
• Clarity and Application of Collaborative Outcomes
• Embrace of Mutual Accountability
• Encourage Self-Awareness and Constructive Interpersonal
Dynamics
• Communicate with One Voice
Approximately four weeks after the initial workshop, all team mem-
bers review their performance regarding team operating principles
and present any new issues that may have emerged.
Follow-up sessions are conducted at three months, six months,
and nine months after the initial workshop. They can range from two
hours to one day in duration, depending on the team’s progress.
Two to three targeted individual coaching sessions occur between
sessions to help individuals learn more about themselves and how
they can be more effective with other team members.

7. “Dr. Stebbins has an exceptional ability to communicate
with highly educated and tough executives. He brings with
him considerable insights into both running a business and
interpersonal dynamics. I continue to engage him for similar
types of work with other groups. I consider Greg and his
firm a trusted partner for us.”
~ Jay Massirman
President
Rivergate Companies
“The information Dr. Stebbins was able to assemble from
each executive was deep and extraordinarily candid. Each
executive had a chance to get to know him, which gener-
ated assurance for the upcoming session. Greg’s approach
in the session enabled the team to identify and address
core issues, even when interpersonal friction was present.
The collaborative dialogue process led to action items that
were quantifiable and value-added. The team development
process changed many of the key leaders’ approach to
teaming and leadership. These changes were reinforced
through the six-month program of follow-up and individual
coaching he provided. I appreciate the work Greg has done
and I refer him without reservation.”
~ Glen Esnard
President, Capital Markets
Grubb & Ellis
— 7 —Unlocking Executive Team Wisdom
Senior Facilitator – Executive Team Coaching
Leaders who master PeopleSavvy® (knowing self, others, and team) lever-
age the Human Side of Success, resulting in higher levels of employee
engagement, lower rates of career derailment and increased organizational
productivity.
Dr. Stebbins has over three decades of experience coaching emerging and
senior leaders in being more people savvy. A leader’s awareness, commit-
ment, integrity and authenticity are directly shaped by their internal land-
scape (the habits of thought, emotion, imagination and action).
Through a process of dialogue and reflection using individually tailored
questions, the leader takes ownership of moment-to-moment beliefs, fears,
hopes, desires, and impulses, developing greater awareness, which leads to
deeper understanding of self, others and teams. Leaders learn to integrate
their knowledge and experience, transforming both into leadership wisdom
that can be applied to guide an organization’s success.
Skill development is very important for leader effectiveness. Seminars or
workshops are effective for the initial layer of development. Personalized
coaching provides time for participants to deeply reflect on the personal or
organizational meaning toward being a more PeopleSavvy® leader.
Greg’s senior business leadership experience is combined with his in-depth
understanding of the complex human dynamics found in a working environ-
ment. Dr. Stebbins is a member of the Consulting Psychologist division of
the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Gregory Stebbins
His former clients include many Fortune 1000 and Mid Cap companies, including: Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, CBRE,
Dole Food Company, Fluor Corporation, IBM, RCA, 3M, and Sodexho.
Dr. Stebbins has an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and an Ed.D. from Pep-
perdine University’s school of education and psychology. He has lectured at University of Southern California, and the
MBA program at University of California at Los Angeles. Greg has been listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World for
more than two decades. Greg has an active and ongoing meditation practice stretching over more than four decades.

8. PEOPLESAVVY
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Marina del Rey, CA 90292
310.578.5322
www.PeopleSavvy.com