Click here for a full transcript of the episode.

In episode 63 of “The JoyPowered^® Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss how to build high-performance teams and workplaces with Sue Bingham and Bob Dusin from HPWP. Topics include what a high performance team is, the problems with policy manuals, and the importance of performance coaching.

First, Bob lays out his atypical journey into the HR world. After starting out his career as a civil engineer, he later found himself as a corporate training director for a national construction firm, where he later took over as HR director. Shortly after starting his own HR Consulting firm, Bob was introduced to Sue, and joined up with HPWP soon after that. Sue has followed a more traditional career path, making her way at Abbott Laboratories, an aerospace company, and several smaller organizations before founding HPWP.

For Bob, high performance teams boil down to a couple things – great relationships at work and having people know that they are valued. Sue goes on to outline HPWP’s disdain for policy manuals, especially those containing progressive discipline statutes. Sue lays out her preferred philosophy for a straightforward code of conduct in which all employees are simply expected to act in the best interest of the company. Instead of strict disciplinary action, HPWP recommends a coaching approach, allowing the company to rehabilitate employees that are straying at work. Of course, some people are uncooperative regardless of how much patience is shown to them, and Sue gives us a rundown of steps to take when an employee performs poorly with no sign of improvement.

HPWP hosts workshops, and after some wheedling, Sue lets us in on one of their top secret exercises to help create high performance teams. More important than lectures, says Bob, is when participants discover “aha!” moments on their own, which tends to be much more powerful and leave a sustained impact. If you like what Bob and Sue have to say on the podcast, check out their book, “Creating High Performance Workplaces: It’s Not Complicated to Develop a Culture of Commitment,”
and stay tuned for their next book on creating a high performance life, which is currently in the works.

Today’s listener question concerns compensation and cost of living. Is it ok to include a premium on a salary for working in a less than desirable geography? Susan breaks it down for us. Moving on, JoDee and Susan share some listener best practices for building relationships with others in the workplace. In the news, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is up for debate. Some states have granted gay and transgender workers protection under the act, but the Federal ruling is expected to come this fall.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Purple Ink
• Susan Tinder White Consulting
• JoyPowered^®: Intentionally Creating an Inspired Workspace by JoDee Curtis
• The JoyPowered^® Family by JoDee Curtis and Denise McGonigal
• The JoyPowered^® Team by Erin Brothers, JoDee Curtis, Peggy Hogan, Denise McGonigal, Laura North, Susan Tinder White, and Liz Zirkelbach
• Creating High Performance Workplaces: It’s Not Complicated to Develop a Culture of Commitment by Sue Bingham and Bob Dusin
• HPWP Group
• The 2019 JoyPowered^® Workspace Podcast listener survey

Let us know what you think! Rate and review our podcast on Apple Podcasts – we love hearing your feedback, and it helps people find our show.