How do you go about conducting a Quarterly Coaching Review to ensure your leaders are truly developing into the high-performing A-Players your company needs to grow?​

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As a CEO, are you still the one stepping in to fix front-line issues? It’s a common frustration in growing small to mid-size companies. 

In my previous 5 Minute Growth Tips, “Are your leaders high-performing?” and “The Strength of Talent by Mike Goldman”, we discussed the framework for moving leaders from "average" to "excellent." We identified five critical elements: Job Scorecards, Quarterly Coaching Reviews, Personal Assessments, Quarterly Development Plans, and Weekly One-On-Ones.

Here, I’ll share the story of a Winnipeg CEO who broke the cycle of micro-managing by focusing on this development process with his leaders.

The Challenge: The CEO as the Chief Firefighter

I worked for several years with Roger Miranda, the CEO of Evident IT, a managed service provider (MSP) in Winnipeg.

When we began our work together, Roger was feeling frustrated. Like many CEOs of scaling companies, he found himself constantly pulled down into front-line people issues. Despite his efforts, his direct involvement was having little effect.

Roger knew that to improve customer service, to turn clients into ambassadors who would help attract new business, he needed his entire team performing at an A-Player level. But he realized he couldn't do it alone. Developing front-line employees into A-Players required his leadership team to grow and develop into A-Players first. He needed to stop firefighting and start coaching his leaders to lead.

He realized that for the leader struggling with Galvanizing, the weekly cadence was the most important support he could provide. By showing up every week, he kept the bar high and provided the coaching necessary to help that leader learn to lead their team better. These meetings weren’t about "checking off tasks" but rather "building the leader," ensuring the leader’s development efforts continued and that the culture of accountability remained firm.

The Result: From Frustrated to Free

The beauty of a high-performance system is that it brings clarity. Over time, one of Roger’s leaders developed significantly and became a stronger leader.

However, the increased accountability led another leader to realize they were no longer the right fit for the direction of the company. They decided to move on. While "losing" a leader can be difficult, it allowed Roger to hire a new leader who possessed the "Galvanizing" genius the team desperately needed.

Today, Roger has stepped back from the front-line firefighting. With the right leaders performing at a higher level, and a system to keep them there, he is finally free to focus on the strategic growth of Evident IT.

Are your leaders performing at an A-Player level? Or are you still doing their job for them?  If you want help implementing Job Scorecards and these developmental rhythms to help your team reach the A-Player level, let’s chat.

So, where can you begin to get your leaders to become high performing? Start with creating job scorecards with and for each your leaders. Then get acquainted with the Quarterly Coaching Review. We’ll cover that in detail in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip.

What does the best-selling book “The Strength of Talent” say about getting your leaders to be high-performing?

In my last 5 Minute Growth Tip, “Are you leaders high performing?”, we dove into the "how-to" of transforming your executive team from just "good enough" to high-performing. We looked at a specific rhythm - Quarterly Coaching Reviews, Personal Assessments, Quarterly Development Plans, and Weekly One-On-Ones - all designed to turn "A-Player" performance from a buzzword into a reality.
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If you’ve started implementing these, you might want to dive deeper into reading about these practices. I highly recommend The Strength of Talent by my colleague Mike Goldman in New Jersey.

Mike is a fellow leadership team growth coach, and his book provides a powerful framework that speaks more to why we focus so heavily on these developmental rhythms. Here is an overview of what Mike’s book says about how to develop your leaders to become high performing, and some other practices for building an A-player executive team.

The A-Player Definition

A core theme in The Strength of Talent is the uncompromising pursuit of A-Players. Just as we defined A-Players as those who achieve excellence while living the company’s core values, Mike emphasizes that talent isn't just about technical skill; it’s about "cultural fit" and "productivity" moving in lockstep. He reinforces the idea that you cannot grow a great company with "B" or "C" players in key seats.

The Job Scorecard

I’ve talked a lot about moving away from dusty job descriptions toward a Job Scorecard that captures results, accountabilities, and behavioral competencies. Mike is a huge advocate for this. 

Hiring with Certainty: Mike provides a deep dive into the selection process. While we talked about developing the leaders you have, he offers a rigorous approach to ensuring the people you bring in are A-Players from day one.

The Cost of "C" Players: He doesn't pull any punches regarding the "talent tax" you pay when you keep mediocre performers around. He offers more details on how to identify when it's time to move someone out of the organization

Succession Planning: The book looks further down the road, helping CEOs think about who is next in line and how to build a "talent bench" so the company isn't vulnerable if a key leader departs.

As a CEO of a prairie-based company, you know that the "war for talent" is real. You don't have the luxury of wasting time on leadership development that doesn't stick.

Mike Goldman’s The Strength of Talent is a fantastic read because it makes crystal-clear that the path to a thriving company isn't just a better strategy or more capital; it’s the strength of the people sitting around your executive table.

By applying these people development practices, you aren't just managing a team, you’re building a high-performance machine.

If you’re feeling like your team has hit a plateau, or if you’re struggling to turn "good" leaders into "great" ones, you’re not alone. If you want help implementing Job Scorecards and these developmental rhythms to get your team to that A-Player level, let’s chat.

In the next 5 Minute Growth Tip, I’ll share the story of one of the clients we’ve worked with in this area and others. 

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As a CEO, how do you know the leaders on your executive team are high-performing? And how do you ensure they get there?

Over the last several 5 Minute Growth Tips, we’ve discussed the importance of getting your executive team aligned and getting them executing more efficiently, as well as the critical business practices to make this all happen.

So you and your team are now aligned around your One Page Strategic Plan, annual and quarterly plans, and individual roles and accountabilities. And you and the team are executing more efficiently with a Monthly Operating & Financial Forecast, quarterly targets and priorities, an executive meeting rhythm and a results tracking system. So how do you know if all your team members are performing at the level they need to be? And how do you ensure they develop to get there?

For a CEO to grow a thriving small to mid-size company, they need all their executive team members to be high-performing. From both an individual contribution perspective as well as in terms of how each leader collaborates with their team mates, there is no room for average or mediocre performers in this endeavor.

We call this A-Player performance. And while the term A-players can be misunderstood, we define it clearly as achieving excellence while ALSO living the company’s core values.

For executive team leaders, achieving excellence is critical because their excellence is defined by the excellence their teams achieve. And living the company’s core values is critical because this contributes to a cohesive, collaborative, high functioning executive team, and modelling the core values nurtures the company’s desired culture, not only in their own teams, but throughout the company. 

One-on-ones are not a place to set targets, determine priorities, discuss reasons why goals haven’t been met or listen to the leader’s concerns or complaints about other team members. All of this should be handled in the executive team’s regular meeting rhythm: annual planning, quarterly planning, monthly checkins and weekly meetings. This is the place for planning, execution monitoring, healthy debate and holding each other accountable. Doing any of these in one-on-one discussions reduces the alignment, effectiveness and efficiency of the executive team and adds work and hassle to the CEO’s plate.

How often should one-on-ones be held and how long should they be? We recommend once a week for 20 to 30 minutes, scheduled at the time on the same day every week, and attended religiously. This is long enough and often enough for the conversation to build from week to week. Less than this and the momentum, meaning, impact and return are lost.


By implementing a regular rhythm of quarterly coaching reviews, quarterly development plans and weekly one-on-ones, complemented by personal assessments as needed, CEOs can develop their leaders to become high-performing with both excellence and core values alignments, while building strong, connected relationships that fuel their leaders’ engagement.

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These aren't just my ideas. They're discussed in the best-selling book The Strength of Talent, by my colleague Mike Goldman in New Jersey. I'll cover that in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip.

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How do you go about building a Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast to get your aligned and committed executive team executing more efficiently?

​In my previous tips “Is your executive team executing efficiently?”, “A great book to fix execution drama: Metronomics,” and “How a president and her team improved execution“, we discussed the four proven practices that bridge the gap between team alignment, commitment to a plan, and disciplined follow-through. Working together to build a Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast is the first of those practices, which we will discuss here.

Ultimately, a Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast, effectively structured and built collaboratively, is an essential tool that ensures a financially feasible plan, highlights key levers for performance improvement, and allows the executive team to track execution monthly to make quick adjustments to hit their targets.

​Want a head-start in building a Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast to improve your executive team’s execution? If so, contact me to get my complimentary forecast template. Or complete the form in this article.

Does getting your executive team executing efficiently seem impossible? It’s not. We see this all the time with the companies we work with.

In my previous tips “Is your executive team executing efficiently?” and “A great book to fix execution drama: Metronomics,” we established the four proven practices that bridge the gap between commitment and disciplined follow-through. This article shares the story of one client who successfully mastered that journey.

I have had the privilege of working with Arcora, a human transformation partner. Arcora provides Employee Assistance Programs, Business Assistance Services, and Workplace Coaching to companies across Canada, also working through employee benefits companies and their benefits advisors. Their effective, results-focused services and caring, responsive experience help their benefits partners and advisors differentiate in the market, grow their client base, increase client retention, and fulfill their purpose of caring for people.

I began working with President Shandy McLean and her team to help them grow to penetrate the Canadian market by expanding their network of benefits partners and advisors. While their day-to-day services were excellent, they wanted to get aligned around a plan for growth and improve their ability to execute on the changes and improvements that would be needed to make it happen. After an initial kickoff and annual planning session, Shandy and her team got started implementing the four business practices we suggest to improve execution efficiency.

A Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast

They soon implemented their first monthly operating and financial forecast. This projection, based on anticipated client volumes from their benefits partners, was initially intended to set clear expectations for the ownership group and serve as a quarterly reporting tool.

The CEO and Senior Executive Team shifted to conducting company quarterly planning and monthly check-ins on their own. They introduced shorter, separate monthly meetings with the Leadership Team to gather input, share decisions, and guide change. Limiting quarterly planning to the Senior Executive Team proved critical for tightening up their plans and improving their execution.

A Results Tracking System

Initially, the broader leadership group used a simple document to capture plans and support status updates. Once the focus narrowed to the Senior Executive Team, they adopted a proven Results Tracking System.

This system was vital for efficiently capturing and tracking results, monitoring progress on targets and priorities, and helping the team stay on top of execution between their daily huddles, weekly, monthly, and quarterly sessions. The system added a final layer of discipline, tightening their quarterly planning and execution by demanding clear articulation of targets, priorities and plans, as well as clear status updates.

Despite an initial learning curve, the team quickly appreciated how the new system made their plans and progress clearer, and helped their execution get more manageable, effective, and efficient.

With improved execution, Shandy and her team at Arcora have made great strides in making the key changes and improvements needed to make their exceptional human transformation services available through more employee benefits plan companies and advisors across Canada.

So, where can you begin to get your executive team executing more efficiently? Start with the foundation: get acquainted with the Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast. We’ll cover that in detail in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip.

Want to listen to the tip? Use the play button below.

Want to listen to the tip? Use the play button below.

​In my previous article, "Is your executive team executing efficiently?", I laid out the four proven business practices that bridge the gap between executive team commitment and disciplined follow-through. You've already seen how getting your team aligned around an annual plan is absolutely essential. But, as we talked about, the real drama starts when you try to move from a committed plan to disciplined execution. 

That's why I wanted to dive into the book Metronomics: One United System to Grow Up Your Team, Company, and Life by my colleague, Shannon Byrne Susko. This book is a powerful resource because it offers a proven, prescriptive system that ties together people, cash, strategy, and execution, including the business practices you need to break down those execution bottlenecks.

Let's see how the Metronomics framework reinforces the four critical practices we discussed for moving from alignment to drama-free execution:

1. Monthly Operating & Financial Forecasts
In my previous article, I stressed that a Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast is a non-negotiable tool. It forces your team to break down expected changes in volumes, revenues, costs, and cash, and track actual results against the forecast monthly. This is how you make frequent, necessary decisions to stay on track.
Metronomics reinforces this beautifully through what it calls the Cash System. It emphasizes forecasting and monitoring financial results and cash flow to manage performance effectively. It's not just about tracking; it's about validating that your annual targets are financially feasible. A feasible plan is an executable plan.

​2. Quarterly Targets & Priorities
You know that breaking your annual plan into Quarterly Targets and Priorities is the most effective way for small to mid-size companies to execute. Your financial targets come straight from your monthly forecast. The key, as we talked about, is selecting the priorities that must happen in the next 90 days, assigning accountability, and creating a plan to make it happen.

Think of it as a shared platform. It means no hiding, no confusion, and no wasted time finding numbers. This extreme transparency is what holds the whole system together and is the ultimate support for accountability. When everyone can see what’s on track and what’s stuck, it forces proactive problem-solving.

​While our focus here is specifically on execution, Metronomics is a more complete operating system for growth. It goes deeper into elements that often precede or enhance the execution phase:

Cohesive and Human Systems: Metronomics adds depth and breadth around building trust, managing conflict, fostering commitment and accountability across an executive team (drawing on Patrick Lencioni's work), and getting the right A-Players in the right seats (drawing on Brad Smart's Topgrading).

Clarity and Strategy: The Metronomics system helps you go beyond the 'Annual Plan' column of the One Page Strategic Plan to solidify the first three columns: your Desired Culture, Strategy, and Longer-Term Goals. Articulating these "strategy fundamentals", including creating a unique market position (drawing on Michael Porter's work) is a non-negotiable foundation.

The Full Team Cascade: My article briefly mentioned that over time, teams need to cascade these practices down into their departments. Metronomics provides the structure for this organizational maturity, ensuring not just the executive team, but all teams, are operating with forecasts, quarterly plans, and a disciplined meeting rhythm. This is how you strengthen execution company-wide.

For CEOs, Metronomics provides a complete, connected framework. If you've got executive team alignment, you’ll find in this book the tools that offer the discipline and accountability to drive the results and growth you’re aiming for.

Does getting your executive team executing efficiently seem impossible? It totally is. We see it all the time with companies we work with. I’ll share the story of one of those clients in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip. 

How can you and your executive team move from alignment around a plan to executing without drama?

In my recent articles,”Is Your Executive Team Aligned?”, “The Alignment Playbook: Scaling Up”, ”How one CEO doubled business with aligned execs”, and “Your One Page Strategic Plan for Aligned Growth” I discussed how to get an executive team on the same page and going in the same direction, so they can help the CEO lead the company to grow profitably, predictably and sustainably.

While the first three columns of an executive team’s One Page Strategic Plan captures their desired culture, their strategy and longer term goals, the annual plan column is what they will tangibly execute to make it happen.

Being aligned around an annual plan is one thing. Executing on it with discipline and accountability is another.

Don’t get me wrong. An aligned executive team that is committed to their annual plan is a great starting point. And it’s a critical one for supporting accountability. Because accountability starts with commitment.

But the discipline to follow through on those accountabilities is where things often break down.

Thankfully, there’s a handful of proven business practices to resolve this challenge once and for all:

1. A Monthly Operating and Financial Forecast
2. Quarterly Targets and Priorities
3. An Executive Team Meeting Rhythm
4. A Results Tracking System

Let’s discuss them one by one.

4. A Results Tracking System

For any of this to work, results and progress need to be captured, written down, and accessible by everyone on the executive team, and in a consistent format so that everyone quickly and easily knows what to enter and what it all means.

The best way to do this is with a proven results tracking system.

Such a system is where your quarterly plan will be captured. This includes your targets for each company metric, your quarterly company priorities, who’s accountable for each, who’s involved and the action plans.

A results tracking system also captures the actual results for each company metric as well as actual progress on each quarterly company priority.

Seasoned business growth executive team coaches use such systems with their clients. These provide a shared platform to efficiently capture and track results on quarterly plans, supporting the executive team to more easily stay on top of things during and between their daily huddles, weekly meetings, monthly check-ins and quarterly planning.

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We find that executive teams who are new to these kinds of execution practices start with company-level forecasts, quarterly plans and meeting rhythms. Then over time, executive team members develop the capability to forecast, plan and meet with each of their teams. At that point, we encourage them to share and report on their department plans as an executive team so they are all aware of what they’re aiming to achieve in each area and can keep those plans aligned. This is when an executive team, if it functions in a healthy way, can really strengthen execution throughout the company, driving results and progress.

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These aren't just my ideas. They're discussed in the top-selling book Metronomics, by my colleague Shannon Byrne Susko. I'll cover that in the next 5 Minute Growth Tip.

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In the 13 years I’ve been an independent business coach and advisor, I’ve seen many companies that grow to a certain point and, despite all their best efforts, can’t seem to grow beyond that.

I’ve also seen companies that do continue to grow but become less and less profitable, and more and more stressful for the CEO.

Turns out this isn’t just my experience.  It’s a common pattern.

Growth isn’t common

Out of the roughly 28 million firms in the US, only about 1.1 million have surpassed a million in revenue. Only 112,000 have gotten past $10 million. And only 17000 have grown beyond $50 million.

The reason is that companies need to operate differently as they grow. Companies that don’t adapt how they operate will tend to grow to the limits of that way of operating. 

CEOs who have had success getting to a certain point often tend to repeat what they know, thinking “well, it got us here.” But, as the title of a book by Marshall Goldsmith goes, “what got us here won’t get us there”.
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​The systems to manage a growing company
The changes needed for a growing company are driven by the added complexity that comes with having more employees.

Think simply of going from having 2 employees to 3 employees. This makes the number of relationships between individuals increase from 3 to 6. Add one more employee, and there are now 10 relationships. This complexity continues exponentially as the company grows from 10 to 25 to 50, 100 and 200 employees.

​To predictably achieve results within this growing complexity, a certain level of order is needed.

The shift needed is for the CEO to work WITH top level leaders as a team…a leadership team (or management team, executive team, or whatever you want to call it).
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It’s the CEO’s job to assemble that leadership team, and build a plan together that gets them all going in the same direction, moving in lockstep, making the needed changes and improvements to enable the company to grow AND thrive.

​An evolving leadership team and strategy

The challenge of having an effective leadership team and strategy continues through the life of the company. New leaders come and go. Markets evolve. Systems need to change. And so the capabilities of the leaders and the team, and the strategy and plan, need to evolve as well.

The crucial underlying challenge to growing a thriving company is to build, maintain and continuously improve a great leadership team that is highly capable, thinks strategically, is aligned around a clear strategy and plan, executing and leading effectively and efficiently, strengthening collaboration and engagement across the company. Essentially, working as one unit to move the company forward, because it’s too much for the CEO to do it alone, at least not effectively and sustainably.

In the articles ahead, I’ll cover in detail how to make all this happen.

And so what is the CEO's role in all this? And do you have what it takes?

We'll cover that in our next 5 Minute Growth Tip article.