Ann Sebert discusses one-to-one meetings with Jay Holstine

Jay Holstine chairs a Vistage CEO peer group in Dallas As a chair with Vistage Worldwide in the Dallas, Jay Holstine meets with his members once a month providing a one-to-one session to discuss issues, opportunities, and business strategy. The one-to-one drives the purpose and focus of the overall Vistage experience. As a Vistage Chair, Jay coordinates and engages with chief executive officers on various matters of corporate leadership and corporate growth, with an overriding goal of delivering long-term results through personalized executive coaching sessions and facilitating the group’s shared wisdom. Jay Holstine is particularly skilled when it comes to strategy and operations consulting, active listening, and issue facilitation. His work at Compass Advisory Consultants involved coaching business leaders on everything from effective startup processes to successful exit strategies.

How to successfully lead your organization through change: Jay Holstine workshop

CEOs at Jay Holstine’s Dallas executive peer group are coming together to discuss the more challenging organizational issues and opportunities they face each month. Sharing experiences in leading change: “This group of trusted leaders, from non-competing companies, bring perspectives from various industries, while sharing the common experience from years in organizational leadership,” Holstine said. “How do you implement changes through an organizational resistance to change?” was the question. One member shared that, often, the work of learning new techniques can lead some to sabotage important progress. “Ultimately, the group identified key factors in resistance to change, and offered their most effective strategies to moving forward to success,” Holstine said. 1. Clarity. If the new changes feel like walking into the dark, many people prefer to remain in the less-optimal scenario that the Know. So, clearly outline the benefits of the change, and inspire a sense of safety by sharing timetables, and clear steps to a better plan. 2. Emphasize the Upside. It’s not just change-for-the-sake-of-change. Highlight the new advantages of the change, and encourage and reward involvement. 3. Maintain what you can. Too many differences at one time is confusing and unsettling. If you can minimize the number of unrelated differences of a corporate-wide change, and retain some of the familiar, people will adapt better to the necessary and important changes. 4. Enable competence. If people doubt their ability to perform well in a changed workplace, they have more reasons to resist it. So, educate, train and support your workforce, provide overlap between the old and new versions, and establish a mentor system to help make the transition successful. 5. Involvement. Change disrupts one’s sense of control over their environment. Successful change involves enabling those affected to make choices in the planning process. Give them a sense of ownership and they’ll help lead the change. 6. “It’s not you, it’s just time.” Defensiveness is natural among those who built the current status. Those who pioneered the previous directives don’t want to be seen as having steered ‘Wrong.’ Help those people maintain dignity by clarifying that the business landscape is what changed. Highlight the strongest aspects of the previous plans, or emphasize the parts that are staying and evolving, to assure those who might feel threatened, that it’s smart, and safe, to move onward and upward. 7. Change is never easy. It’s work. Unanticipated snags can make change appear unsuccessful in the midst of progress. Acknowledge the extra work and the temporary disruptions. Reward those who forged through a tough transition to an important change. 8. Be open and honest. When new technologies displace old ones, positions can change, departments and investments can be cut. The best way to lead is to be honest, fast, and fair. For example, one big layoff, with strong transition assistance, is better than successive waves of cuts. “Everyone agreed that, while leaders can't make change ‘easy,’ there are a lot ways to help the workforce see the upside, acclimate more successfully, and invest in the organization’s future,” Holstine summarized.

Jay Holstine shares the importance of communicating your company Core Values

EXPERIENCED CEO, COACH, AND MENTOR, JAY HOLSTINE An accomplished business leader, Jay Holstine serves as a Vistage Chair and CEO Peer Group advisor in Dallas, Texas. As a growth-oriented CEO, Jay brings pragmatic methods and incisive analysis to help CEOs improve their work-life balance, and transition from working-in-the business ,to working-on-the-business more effectively. A deep experience in operations, along with a foundation in consulting, and years of growing companies, is what enables Jay to coach management teams on successful business scaling. Jay wanted to build a Legacy of amazing people that can positively Impact our communities. An executive peer group is high performing, not an empty seat in the room, high trust in the room, where everyone pulls together with pooled perspectives and shared wisdom to help each other become better leaders, and more successful! Previous in his career, Jay Holstine was an operations consultant for Accenture and Deloitte, plant manager for Taylor Environmental Instruments, Managing Director for Compass Advisory Consultants, President and CEO of SigmaFlow, and President and CEO of Freightflow.

Jason Williford will be speaking with Jay Holstine's CEO peer group on November 17th

In this highly interactive presentation, Jason Williford utilizes information taken from each member and key employees to will provide practical feedback and rigorous analytics connecting people to performance. Key issues covered include: What, and who, is holding you back from hitting your top and bottom line goals Gloves-off truth on your top performers, the people currently struggling and what to do about it Maximize impact, leverage and engagement with the people on your team Members will leave with an overview of their entire executive team, the knowledge of who is in the right seat and who is not, and the ability to move forward with data to identify how to make more objective human decisions. Members are also given a list of key points that can be used as a daily reference of the techniques covered during the presentation. Each CE also has the opportunity for a complimentary, one-hour one-on-one review of the results after the presentation. VISTAGE WORLDWIDE CHAIR, CEO PEER GROUP ADVISOR JAY HOLSTINE Building and empowering a high-achieving CEO Peer group that produces more effective leaders is Jay Holstine’s passion. Jay manages the CEO Peer group issue resolution sessions that surface root causes, pooled perspectives and shared wisdom. Jay Holstine currently serves as chair and CEO peer group advisor at Vistage Worldwide in Dallas, Texas. The CEO Peer group contains approximately 18 members from non-competing businesses that support each other to become better leaders. In addition to chairing the group’s monthly meetings, Jay provides each member with one-to-one sessions to discuss issues, opportunities and business strategy.

How to build effective teams in a disparate workplace: Jay Holstine workshop

Running a software company internationally, and employing experts in various countries, Jay Holstine became very familiar with scheduling conferences in coordination with various time zones. “Our learning curve was gradual, as our team grew steadily over 12 years, but we realized it was critical to communicate effectively and work well together,” he said. Today Jay Holstine is moderating a Dallas CEO peer group discussion on how best to keep their internationally dispersed teams on the same page, and working together successfully. “While our geographically flexible work environment enables teams to span continents, and deliver faster results, it requires even more effective collaboration and better communication to keep a team working together really well. Here are some of the concerns and strategies we discussed,” Holstine shared. 1. CLEAR OBJECTIVES: The project should have a compelling purpose, with an organized timeline and set of roles, responsibilities, and deliverables. There should be clear rewards, as well as an understanding of how the potential lack of this team’s success could affect the company. This emphasizes the value of the team’s success and its importance to the company. In today’s geographically diverse locations, team members from dissimilar backgrounds could have different understandings of the group’s goals. If they are too vague, one location could interpret the priority as: High quality, regardless of cost,’ while another location could interpret speed of delivery over quality and cost. 2. CLEAR LINES: “Eyes on the Prize” Along with defined guidelines and processes, teams need a focus that is kept on the objective, and rules that promote positive collaboration, and reduce destructive tendencies. A balanced mixture of technical skills and cultural understanding is in the diversity in knowledge, languages, and perspectives, that help teams succeed in various markets, and countries with different infrastructures and economies from the home headquarters. You can guard against the potential downside of a large, diverse team becoming fragmented by carefully considering the necessity when adding members and assignments. Reinforce the communication of the team’s goals, and closely monitor performance feedback to maintain alignment. Remember what really motivates people, inclusion in something important, engagement. For example, overseas teams that only receive feedback when something doesn’t work, are not going to feel as involved in a well-functioning team. If you can organize the work to integrate this part of the team more fully in the overall work, it can increase their sense of involvement and the quality of their efforts. Leadership that sets clear expectations – such as, being at meetings on time, actively listening to feedback, and basic rules for respect and fairness, are critical when team members operate across different national, or organizational cultures. In teams whose membership changes, it’s even more important to emphasize these expectations. 3. PART OF AN IMPORTANT TEAM Variations in culture and time-zone can be reduced if team members get to know each other and appreciate the things they have in common with their distantly-located team members. Without being in the same room, some of the non-verbal communication and contextual cues are lost, making it even harder for team members to feel understood. If teams are not able to meet together for a shared meal or meeting, they can organize meetings that enable them to understand each other better. For example, highlighting several things about each team member that the group can relate to, on a positive, human basis. Emphasizing commonalities, (shared sports, types of pets, background skills, similar places visited,) can bridge enormous distances. What makes us human is more important than the cultural idiosyncrasies or current events that can divide us. Being part of a team that needs a successful outcome is an important step in fostering a supportive team culture. Ensure that each group of the team feels known and valued for its contributions toward the goals. 4. GOOD SUPPORT – In addition to a fair and attainable reward system that reinforces good performance, team members need the data to support their work, as well as training, and technical assistance. For teams that are geographically distributed, it is even more important to ensure resources that enable success. 5. TEAM SUCCESS Measure and monitor your team’s effectiveness based on: Results, output, the quality and timeliness of your team’s results, and on your team’s success in working well together. Ask your team members to help identify opportunities for improvement. Help ensure that, regardless of distance, individual team members are able to grow their skills and abilities. Across the distance, always ensure that your project maintains emphasis on its clear goals and rewards. Maintain the strength of accountability, professional conduct and clear expectations. Reinforce the availability of reliable Support and Training. Emphasize the shared Team mindset and common goals of success. “After a lot of shared lessons-learned, the group agreed that these strategies are critical in keeping a team on the same page and working smart,” Holstine noted. “This kinds of concerns are one of the areas of leadership that this group regularly confers on,” Holstine said. The Vistage CEO peer group enables a shared wisdom based on experience so that trusted leaders, from non-competing industries, can continue to grow their teams’ skills and capabilities,” Holstine said.

Jay Holstine CEO workshop on operations and communications

Executives at Jay Holstine’s CEO peer group discussed new technologies in operations as well as in communications, with the focus on growth and revenue growth. Holstine chairs a Dallas, TX group of CEOs committed to leading their organizations to new levels of productivity. “Sharing strategies in increasing efficiency is part of the ways in which the group inspires each other to become the best leaders possible,” Holstine explained. “These executives are analyzing the return-on-investment, and comparing their experiences in operational technologies and in communications. From tracking inventory with robots and drones, to communicating more widely and effectively, there are important new ways to optimize productivity,” Holstine said. “Beyond the new technology in touch-screen kiosks, from self-check-in at airports, to self-check-out at stores, the goal is to help customers buy more, and then make that transaction process quicker and easier,” Holstine shared. “Some of our members are looking at Artificial Intelligence’s ‘real-time’ understanding of the product pipeline. By combining data, factory statuses, and statistics, AI can enhance large production-assembly processes. The more data that is fed into it, the more effective it becomes, helping departments to be more profitable.” Holstine added. “In a changing workplace, leaders are optimizing communications, streamlining email, and honing their team’s focus. Our group shared new technologies and work trends, and discussed the extent to which they were boosting efficiency,” Jay Holstine said. “Traditional email isn’t always the best way for teams to collaborate and communicate: Task management software like Trello helps everyone track progress more efficiently by keeping communication and work progress in one place. “A lot of teams are using Calendy to manage email traffic, scheduling meetings without the repeated emails to narrow in on availability. Some are using Streak to manage multiple email threads. Most feel that changes in workplace location, and expectations require updated ways to manage the increasing onslaught of communications,” Holstine offered. “Sometimes the best intelligence is from within. Leaders are encouraging ideas-for-improvement, and better communication between departments. Employees working with customers, and working within the system, often see what’s working well, and what might be a bottle-neck, a redundancy, or a problem. They can see efficiency gaps that management can’t see. Supporting and encouraging coworkers to offer advice where they see gaps be a big part of the efficiency process. “Some ideas and efforts work better than others. That’s why sharing experiences, and asking questions is important. This group of trusted members from non-competing industries enables breakthrough progress, and ultimately, these CEOs are increasing operational efficiencies, and optimizing company communications, to increase revenues,” Holstine shared.