Implementing The Collaborative Way
For more than a decade, Lloyd Fickett & Associates has been supporting companies in implementing The Collaborative Way. These already successful companies had reached a point where the owner or company leaders recognized that to realize their vision for the company and/or meet perceived threats from an increasingly competitive marketplace they needed a more powerful way of working together. Through practicing The Collaborative Way, our clients have gained the competitive edge they were looking for.

You are invited to contact us to explore how we can work with you to produce this result for your company.

Unproductive Speaking
The way we speak at work too often involves playing it safe – voicing what’s comfortable and reflecting only what we think we’re supposed to say – or it’s vague and leaves false impressions. As a result, productivity suffers; one example of which is the ineffectiveness of many company meetings. These meetings either end in poor decisions because not all of the participants contributed their intelligence or they end in decisions that don’t have everyone’s full support or understanding. This lack of support and/or understanding isn’t discovered until the implementation process begins and then yet another meeting becomes necessary, which will often be as ineffective as the first unless the real problem, our way of speaking, gets addressed. The practice of Speaking Straight gives companies the ability to deal with this root issue and, as a result, become faster and more effective.

Speaking Straight
Establishing the practice of Speaking Straight is critical to addressing the challenges to our productivity. As we practice Listening Generously, we build an environment conducive to Speaking Straight. Through continued support and practice we build the rigor and quality of our speaking so that we are:

• Speaking up when we have something relevant to contribute
• Speaking honestly while making a contribution
• Bringing up issues that need addressing even at the risk of conflict and discomfort
• Making clear and direct requests and getting committed responses

"One of the areas that we've really benefited from Speaking Straight is when an employee speaks up to someone who is their boss. Many times the employee feels that he can't talk to this person. We've really worked hard at turning that around. Without this, I never would have heard the contributions that I've gotten."
- Mike Goodman (President, Metallurgical Products Company)

Company-wide benefits of the practice of Speaking Straight

• More productive meetings
• Higher quality of collaborative thinking resulting in better decisions
• Faster implementation of initiatives by dealing with the real issues up front
• Greater skill at managing requests and handing off tasks with fewer mistakes
• Employees who feel respected and part of the game

"What we're getting from Speaking Straight is faster and higher quality decisions and actions. With this practice, we can get all the issues about a certain situation on the table – more information than we would if someone was having a hard time with straight speaking"
- Ed Stopper (President, Elray Manufacturing Company)