Welcome back to the Look and Sound of Leadership, an ongoing series of executive

coaching tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want

to be perceived. I'm Tom Henschel, your executive coach, and today we're talking

about Power Tools for Teams, the Plus Delta Exercise

Nathaniel and I were building an agenda for his team's three-day retreat.

Working with Nathaniel was a blast. He was curious, smart, and undefended. He seemed willing to hear anything. Well, almost anything. He wasn't willing to hear

about scheduling concrete activities for the

mornings of days two and three. He said we need flex time in case anything major

comes out of the plus delta rounds at the ends of the days.

Delighted, I said, no argument from me.

Plus Delta is an exercise facilitators and group leaders use to help teams close meetings,

improve processes, and develop the team.

During the Plus Delta exercise, each participant in turn named something they think went well during the day, that's their plus, and a wish for something better in the future.

That's their Delta.

My friend and colleague, Christine Grimm, she's CEO of Aria Consulting International, had worked

with Nathaniel and his team for five years. She had taught them the Plus Delta exercise. Now the team was ready for

the look and sound of leadership and she had introduced me to him.

Christine told me, you're going to love him.

Nathaniel is one of the most transparent grown-up leaders I've ever met.

About his use of the Plus Delta tool, she said,

The instant I explained it to him, he understood that the Delta isn't about expressing

discontent or about identifying a problem, it's about picturing an ideal future.

...