Jay Holstine podcast discussing the SigmaFlow liquidity event

Jay Holstine - Providing Personalized CEO Consultations for Executives Jay Holstine has brought together 16+ high-performing CEOs, from non-competing businesses who benefit greatly from the diversified and shared wisdom of this group. The group receives immediate value by Jay Holstine's experience: Start-up CEO, Seasoned growth CEO, successful Private Equity exit, management consultant specializing in operations improvement and manufacturing plant manager. The CEO Peer Advisory Group members have in common a growth mindset, a wiliness to bring vulnerabilities to the meetings, and boldness to incorporate needed improvements. In an executive peer group, there is a kind of shared wisdom (from successes as well as mis-steps,) that helps you re-think accepted practices and habits, in order to forge new paths of success. The members are on a mission to create and build the best company, environment, and mindset that they can…. To make a difference in our community.

Creating a positive work culture and employee engagement

CEOs – ondeveloping the most rewarding and inspiring work environment “Our CEO group is committed to leadership excellence. They meet regularly to share new knowledge onoptimizing their companies, enhancing the experiences of their customers, as well as their employees, and building their leadership skills,” Jay Holstine said. Holstine chairs a CEO peer group in Dallas TX. The members are selected from non-competingindustries and share advice and experiences to help optimize each member’s leadership and success. “What employees really need in order to find purpose andsatisfaction in their day to day work was a primary topic of our recent workshop,” Holstine said. “The last two years, especially, has brought dramaticchanges in the workplace: Not just Howwe work, but Where we work, and Why we work,” Holstine shared. “Today’s employees have different expectations from “work,”research shows,” Holstine said. “In someways, employees require less from the company, but in other more abstract ways, they expect more, and this was our focus,” Holstine shared. “Leaders are workingon creating the most effective workplace for their type of employees and company, as they ensure that their engagement with and contributions to their community are what they intend,” Holstine said. “CEO members the shared some of the new expectations amongtoday’s workforce. Primarily, employeesare seeking a sense of fulfillment and purpose from their daily work, and from their employment with the company as a whole,” Holstine said. “While the concept of meaningful, worthwhile work has alwaysbeen a general objective of most companies, our CEO members now realize that it is even more important to expand and highlight the ways in which their company provides an atmosphere where employees are finding fulfillment and meaning in their work,” Holstine added. “Most of today’s employees rate ‘fulfillment at work, andfrom work’ to be highly important, and would consider leaving a current role, or taking less pay for a more fulfilling role. The CEO members said that new data on the even greater importance thattoday’s employees place on this aspect of their work inspires them to reemphasize some of their programs more specific to this, and also to expand other efforts,” Holstine said. “Our group discussed new ways in which leaders can enhanceemployee experience, help employees find the right work-life balance, and a ensure the best alignment of personal goals with the mission of the company,” Holstine added. “Our members concluded that some of the most importantfactors in providing the most fulfilling workplace involved helping employees make progress toward their goals, and ensuring that they are able to be part of an important project team, with a significant mission,” Holstine said. “It’s also vital to provide your employees with the flexibility to gain newskills, experience, further education and training,” Holstine added. “One of our CEOs shared that a pivotal point in his careerwas the opportunity to work on a high-profile corporate project that was making a positive impact in the community, as well as to the company,” Holstine shared. “The members agreed that fostering a sense of workplace communityand camaraderie is critical to employee retention and even the overall success of the work,” Holstine said. “CEOs realize that employees will seek out the companieswith the best environment for a meaningful, fulfilling employee experience, while understanding that purpose and fulfillment means something different to each employee,” Holstine added. “New forms of employee assessment, personal exploration thatcan help define purpose and identify activities and training that fit with the goals in mind, were additional insights to enhance the work experience,” Holstine added. “The workshop also explored the value of mentoring programs,innovations teams and Initiative programs,” Holstine said. “Our CEO groupconcurred that company culture is more than just words, it’s how you act and relate over the long haul. Mostorganizations are evolving their cultures to be more inclusive, and purpose-led, encouraging employeeinvolvement and growth. It’s now evenmore imperative to clarify your company’s purpose and emphasize your organization’s positive culture,” Holstine added. “Communicating this corporate-wide message takes many forms: some companies encourage their internalinfluencers to spread the company culture. These influencers are engaged employees at multiple levels of seniority,in various departments and roles – who are well-known organizers with the ability to energize and include people around them,” Holstine said. “For example, gathering employees for shared experiences iswhat helps build connections, as well as an awareness of the programs that emphasize a company’s culture,” Holstine said. “It’s also important to share how the company is reachingbeyond the impact of its core work, howit is helping address larger issues in its mission, and how the company positively impacts its communities, its clients and its employees’ lives,” Holstine said. “One member shared the ways in which his company was makingcontinuing education more convenient, more interactive and fun, helping convey that they are investing in employees’ development over the long term. “Facilitating a culture in which employees find their ownsense of purpose takes continuous practice and innovation. Our CEO group concluded that the bestcompanies are providing the flexibility for employees to learn, become better connected with people who inspire them, and find the sense of meaning, purpose and value they are looking for,” Holstine said. Jay Holstine - Providing Personalized CEO Consultations for Executives Jay Holstine has brought together 16+ high-performing CEOs, from non-competing businesses who benefit greatly from the diversified and shared wisdom of this group. The group receives immediate value by Jay Holstine's experience: Start-up CEO, Seasoned growth CEO, successful Private Equity exit, management consultant specializing in operations improvement and manufacturing plant manager. The CEO Peer Advisory Group members have in common a growth mindset, a wiliness to bring vulnerabilities to the meetings, and boldness to incorporate needed improvements. In an executive peer group, there is a kind of shared wisdom (from successes as well as mis-steps,) that helps you re-think accepted practices and habits, in order to forge new paths of success. The members are on a mission to create and build the best company, environment, and mindset that they can…. To make a difference in our community.

Leadership Best Practices - Jay Holstine CEO peer group discussion

Leadership Excellence – is the objective of Jay Holstine’s CEO peer group workshop Becoming a more effective leader was the emphasis of the Dallas CEO group chaired by Jay Holstine. “New research, insights and expert analyses of success factors were the center of discussion at our CEO workshop. Turnover is costly. You don’t want your company to be the 1 out of 3 companies having to replace a leader, and suffer shareholder market loss. It’s imperative to know the leader traits that create success and lead to the best performance in the CEO role,” said Jay Holstine. “Leading business and economic schools’ research reveal that the stereotype of the strong, confident, out-going, white, male candidate is not the best target, despite the historic trends of these inclinations. For one example, introverts are actually more likely to surpass hiring expectations. Education pedigree was another surprise: there was no correlation of an education from an elite school resulting in a superior performance: few of the actual top performers had ivy-league-educations, and some of the high-level performers did not even graduate from college,” Holstine mentioned. “The best news is that there are some valuable essential traits and success factors that boards can target in selecting the best leader,” Holstine added. Decisive - providing timely, concise decisions “You don’t always have all the information you need, in typical business decision-making scenarios, but high-performing CEOs still make decisions earlier, quicker, and with conviction,” Holstine shared. “One of our members said that the pursuit of the perfection often gets in the way of important action,” Holstine said. “The question to ask is if this waiting for new or remaining information outweighs the potential damage of delay. Basically, not making a decision is simply decision-by-default,” Holstine added. “While most decisions can be undone if necessary, lack of direction, and lack of confidence can weigh a company down,” Holstine said. “Interestingly, among leaders who were let go because of decision making, the vast majority of reason was for indecisiveness, rather than for making a bad call,” Holstine added. Managing conflict with adept confidence “Successful CEOs are not averse to conflict. They garner internal support by instilling confidence that they will lead the team to success, even if that entails contention. The avid leader understands that business is not without some disagreements, and they are comfortable dealing with conflict. They listen, and give those involved a voice, but not necessarily a vote. While consensus can good, it can turn into the lowest common denominator. Strong CEOs are not spending their time counting votes and worrying about being popular. Getting everyone on board: Skilled and Intuitive communicators are able to engage stakeholders. “One of the most critical skills is getting everyone on board. Our CEO group agreed that strong performers have an intuition for the priorities and needs of their stakeholders, as well as the needs of potential detractors,” Holstine said. “They address those concerns, and illustrate the value of the program, so that they can bring potential detractors back into the project. The best leaders are able to win over detractors by highlighting their importance to the process,” Holstine shared. Non-verbal Communication: “The best leaders monitor and finetune their demeanor and body language. They are aware of the unintended communication of expressions, posture, or gestures that might contradict their intentions. They understand that calm composure is essential in good leadership,” Holstine said. Open and adaptable “Pragmatism is critical to success. Our CEO membership knows that business environments can change on a dime,” Holstine said. “Everyone agreed that looking out for the unforeseen challenges, is critical to success,” Holstine said. “Adapting quickly to new challenges is also important. We found that the best CEOs are always seeking out fresh information from a variety of networks and different sources. They are looking for trends and signs of potential change, in order to take advantage of new opportunities,” Holstine shared. Always Learning and Growing “Our group acknowledges that temporary setbacks are a part of changing course. High performers see missteps as opportunities to learn and grow. It’s not failure if you realize a setback as part of growth and learning, and adjust your approach to accomplish it next time,” Holstine said. Consistent Delivery of Results “Adaptability and growth are key factors of success, but research and our members agree that boards want a CEO who knows how to run a business well. The proven, predictable performer, delivering steady results, with reliable follow-through, is more valuable to the company’s long term viability than a rockstar leader with some exciting ideas and erratic actions,” Holstine said. Organizational Excellence “Great leaders also thrive on organization, strategic planning, and team building. Successful new CEOs set realistic expectations by digesting plans, budgets, and understanding markets and customers and employees. Upgrading talent and getting the right team in place quickly is critical to a new CEO’s success,” Holstine added. “Our workshop concluded with the concept that leadership success is not based on inborn traits or high pedigrees of education. The most successful CEOs are those who are more versatile, diverse, open-minded, growth oriented, and confident. They are smart communicators, and very adept at engaging stakeholders and winning over detractors. They know how to handle conflict. They’re decisive, they know how to run a company, and they enjoy leading,” Holstine said.

August 24th, Steve Heroux is speaking with Jay Holstine's CEO peer group

Steve Heroux will be speaking with our CEO peer group in an engaging workshop that will provide actionable items, solid takeaways, and effective strategies to start implementing in their business right away. They’ll learn: Three specific motivation styles that inspire salespeople to achieve excellence. Why having quotas is antiquated and will decrease sales results. Compensation & incentive plans to drive higher performance. How detaching from outcomes will lead to massive amounts of success. The four factors inside our Sales DNA responsible for our success or failure in sales. How to consistently find, recruit, hire, and retain top-level sales talent. Exactly how to get people to change by revealing the true cost of inaction. 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!