The Business & Team Performance Development Program

Overview - Business & Team Performance Development Program
Group Performance Seminar
Topics included in Group Performance Seminar
A.C.T.© Model Development with key staff
Follow-up consultation
Summary

Overview - Business & Team Performance Development Program

• Learn how you can program yourself to slip into the mental ZONE where you perform at your best.
• Learn to more effectively cope with the stress that exists in all work environments.
• Improve your concentration and focus skills.
• Improve the effectiveness of your communication.
• Improve confidence in business.
• Become more resistant to mental and physical fatigue.
• Learn how to take a more active control of your health.

Improving business performance is a process built on individual performance excellence. Our record of success in the high-performance world reinforces the fact that many of the underlying skills and abilities which contribute to performance can be evaluated and improved, and that change in these areas translates directly to increased health and effectiveness in the work environment. The relevant research, without contradiction, indicates that individuals who are both mentally and physically prepared to interact with excellence at all levels of business and life have fewer grievances, less absenteeism, and are more productive.

Sample Client Endorsements: Who do we work with?

While many programs serve to motivate individuals to bring about change, the approach utilized by Dr. Dallaire adds specific, individual evaluation and training with respect to the personal mental skills that support and sustain performance. The skills needed by high performance athletes can be evaluated, shared, and learned by individuals in the world of business. The comprehensive "corporate team" programs we offer are based on the sports team model. This model is adapted to incorporate current principles and techniques from the area of organizational psychology, as well as from the performance-science domain.

This overview outlines the general characteristics of a performance-oriented program that can be carried out at a company headquarters and that would normally include two primary components: a Group Seminar targeted to a broader number of the organization's staff members and the development of Individual Performance Models with key executive/sales/technical staff identified to participate in this component of the program.

Our business and group performance programs are designed to improve business performance by understanding the factors that contribute directly to personal performance, to stress and its management, to team cohesion, and to communication effectiveness. They also guide participants in the development of a set of personal mental 'tools' that allow each to compete more effectively in the high-performance business world, while enjoying the process of that competitive experience. In today's business environment this is not a luxury - it has become a necessity.

Group Performance Seminar

To achieve consistent success in business, a diverse group of goal-oriented individuals must work effectively as a team. Ideally, the skills of different team members - managers, sales and marketing specialists, technical specialists, researchers and support staff - combine with unique mental and physical abilities to create performances that are consistent with success. The performance of the entire team depends upon a clear understanding of the company's overall strategic direction, a focus on shared goals, and the effective integration and management of a variety of individual skills and abilities. Under the intense pressure that exists in any competitive environment, well-practiced management skills together with strong personal qualities are prerequisites to success.

Whenever human beings work together, success is dictated in part by underlying personal performance skills. The ability to stay focused and on-task, to avoid being distracted or confused by perceived pressures, the ability to communicate, and the ability to resist fatigue - even under the most grueling of circumstances, all contribute to effective personal performances.

Whether one considers administrators who must deal with a multitude of issues and pressures as they orchestrate the operation of the organization or managers who are called upon to coordinate the input of team members with different backgrounds and sometimes markedly different areas of expertise, individual mental skills play an important part in the success equation. Every manager understands that when team members communicate effectively and share a common purpose and cohesiveness, they consistently perform at a higher level.

The group seminar portion of our business program is designed to share with staff members how communication and mental skills influence both the individual's as well as the team's performance capability. It also serves to define a team environment that maximizes each member's contribution to the overall goals of corporate competitiveness and performance, while fulfilling individual needs for personal growth and achievement.

The seminar component of our Professional Development Program is designed to allow a broader group of employees to participate. Each participant completes several questionnaires in advance of the seminar that are analyzed and confidential individual feedback prepared prior to the seminar. This analysis provides participants with information pertaining to their personal profile, to make the content of the seminar component more meaningful and 'relevant' to their needs and situation.

Topics often discussed in Group Performance Seminar component include:

1. Characteristics of Effective and Ineffective Teams.
2. A model of Team Effectiveness.
3. Barriers to Effective Communication; Schema or Scripts; How to Listen; The Ladder of Inference.
4. Reducing the Negative Effects of Stress on Health and Performance.
5. The use of Imagery and Performance.
6. Factors that Affect Concentration; How to Develop Concentration Skills.
7. Negative Thought Stopping.
8. The "Seven Key Rules of the Mental Road".
9. Ideal Performance State - The A.C.T.© Mental Performance Model.
10. The Components of Physical Fitness and their Effect on Personal Performance.

The format for this seminar program is adapted to the time-constraints and needs of each group as appropriate. The structure and content of the program is normally defined through discussion with the client organization's management group.

A.C.T.© (Performance) Model development with key management, sales & technical staff

Personal Performance Models: The second element of our Business and Team Professional Development Program comprises one-on-one interactions with key management/sales/technical staff selected to participate in a process to develop and refine personal 'performance models'. This individualized, performance-centered approach emphasizes important management and communication elements and teaches self-directed mental programming techniques that are consistent with success in the business environment and beyond.

The A.C.T.© mental skills development process we've created over the past 15 years can effectively help individuals shape their own personal behaviors in a manner that is consistent with excellence and success. Regardless of the challenges that exist in the job environment, the approach we have developed can be learned and applied to influence performance in a positive way. The program relies on the use of Imagery, a structured approach to pre-setting performance behavior, and the use of a personal 'log book' that allows individuals to simply and systematically analyze their performance on a daily basis during the early part of the skill building process.

Following the group seminar, identified staff members undertake a one-on-one consultation process over a period of approximately 2 hours each. During this meeting, the analysis of an expanded set of confidential questionnaire materials is reviewed and Dr. Dallaire assists each participant to "build" a personal A.C.T.© Performance Model.

Following the completion of the personal A.C.T.© process undertaken by each of the participants, a final meeting of the entire group is normally scheduled (approximately two hours in duration) to discuss and define an A.C.T.© Model for the organization. Whereas each personal A.C.T.© Model focuses on the qualities that define excellence for the individual, a company A.C.T.© Model defines the interpersonal and group qualities that define excellence for the company. This process yields a corporate Model of Excellence that can serve as a touchstone for company employees into the future.

Follow-up consultation

Our experience with the A.C.T.© process in high-performance sport and occupational domains strongly reinforces the fact that clients benefit from follow-up consultation with Dr. Dallaire, once they have begun the implementation of their personal A.C.T.© model.

Such consultation allows participants to receive timely feedback regarding the difficulties and successes of the Model's implementation on a day-to-day basis, and provides a structured opportunity to review their personal A.C.T.© Log Book and re-establish/revise their personal Model of Excellence accordingly. The degree to which participants follow through on the personal "homework" required by the program also reflects their level of commitment to a Professional Development Program that is designed to improve their personal performance as well as the overall performance of the organization.

As such, we normally integrate one defined/structured follow-up consultation opportunity into the Performance Enhancement Program for our business clients. This follow-up consultation normally takes place over the telephone approximately 4-6 weeks following the initial program seminar and A.C.T.© Model development. Participants are responsible to complete the A.C.T.© process over the intervening period and send a copy of their personal logbook to Dr. Dallaire for review and feedback. Dr. Dallaire then communicates by telephone with each participant to discuss their logbook observations and personal performance model. Normally, this process can be accomplished within a one-hour window of time. Following this structured follow-up interaction, Dr. Dallaire remains available to clients over the balance of a year to help them refine their personal A.C.T.© Model and implementation strategy. These interactions normally occur over the telephone or via email and are generally defined by the needs and personal style of interaction of the client.

Summary

The Business and Team Professional Development Program outlined above is designed to provide senior management/executive/sales staff from any organization with information and practical 'tools' to help them deal effectively with the pressures that exist in the competitive business world, and to develop the mental skills necessary for success in this environment. Moreover, the A.C.T.© Performance Model process that each participant learns yields a valuable 'life tool' that they can use to modify their behavior to be consistent with excellence in every aspect of their personal and work experiences.

Take advantage of this proven, high-level business performance enhancement program and dramatically improve business performance. Contact us today for more information.