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Tools for Peak Performance
Instructor’s Manual
Prepared for
National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Transportation Research Board
National Research Council
Research Organization Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
Course Developers Everett C. Carter, Professor Emeritus
Elmer E. Biggs, Program Manager, T2 Center
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland
Mark Bergstralh, Senior Editor
James Childers, Production Specialist
William Fogle, Production Specialist
Bergstralh-Shaw-Newman, Inc.
Frederick, Maryland
November 2000
Instructor’s Manual
Tools for Peak Performance
Acknowledgement
This work was sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, and was conducted in the
National Cooperative Highway Research Program, which is administered by the Transportation
Research Board of the National Research Council.
ii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................ iii
Preface ................................................................................................................................................................ v
Planning and Preparing for the Course .............................................................................................................. vii
Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1-1
Chapter 2, ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................ 2-1
Chapter 3, INDIVIDUAL NEEDS.................................................................................................................... 3-1
Chapter 4, TURNING EFFORT INTO PERFORMANCE .............................................................................. 4-1
Chapter 5, PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 5-1
Chapter 6, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: SELECT, DIRECT, AND FACILITATE ..................... 6-1
Chapter 7, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: ENCOURAGE ...........................................................7-1
Chapter 8, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: COMMUNICATE...................................................... 8-1
Chapter 9, ACTION PLANS .............................................................................................................................9-1
Instructor’s Manual iii
Tools for Peak Performance
Preface
Increasingly, the agencies that maintain highways, roads, and streets are counted on to provide fast, high-
quality service because good maintenance saves lives and money. Meanwhile, the roadway system is
growing in size and complexity, and state, county, and municipal government agencies are under ever-
greater scrutiny by the public to perform at their very best. While maintenance needs increase, the
workers, equipment, and funds remain in short supply. Yet, shortages or not, it is vital that workers do
good work. The best and quickest way to encourage this is through effective motivation by their imme-
diate supervisors.
This training course, “Tools for Peak Performance,” is designed for new first- and second-line supervi-
sors of highway, road, and street maintenance workers, although managers at all levels in the agency can
use the tools, techniques, and knowhow it presents to motivate their subordinates.
The course, and the Instructor’s Manual and Participant’s Workbook that accompany it, are pre-
sented in nine chapters.
Chapter 1—Chapter 1 seeks to spotlight the importance and challenges of highway, road, and street
maintenance, as well as the knowledge, skills, and abilities of those who do the maintaining. It raises and
answers questions about the purpose of the course and what is expected of those who participate in it. It
takes an initial look at worker motivation. Finally, it looks at the course content, materials, and procedures
as further orientation to course participation.
Chapter 2—The goal of any organization is to be successful, to fulfill its purpose. To achieve this
success, an organization requires certain things of its people. Motivation plays an important role in the
organization’s getting what it wants from employees. We’ll examine these organizational requirements
and how they interact with motivation.
Chapter 3—All workers have a different set of needs and desires, and each worker is motivated by
different actions. An effective motivator can recognize and take advantage of these differences. Course
participants will learn how to develop a “worker profile” in connection with this focus on individual needs.
Chapter 4—Rewards can be used to motivate workers. The two types of rewards and their uses will be
covered. The “effort-to-reward” process will be explained, with key points being that rewards must be
desired or valued, workers should be assigned tasks they are capable of completing, and workers must be
given the necessary resources to complete the assigned tasks.
Chapter 5—Determining expected performance, measuring and analyzing actual performance, and
then comparing the two to identify performance problems are important steps in motivating workers to
improve their performance. The procedures for analysis are examined, as are the setting and adjusting of
standards that establish expectations. The importance of customer satisfaction and continuous perfor-
mance improvement are also addressed.
Instructor’s Manual v
Tools for Peak Performance
Chapter 6—This chapter’s objectives include identifying the components necessary for achieving ex-
pected performance. It presents the related supervisor actions of selecting, directing, and facilitating as
steps toward improving performance. Associated subtopics of activity design, cross training, and roadeos
are covered too.
Chapter 7—Principles and techniques are presented for raising worker performance to a motivated
level by encouraging workers effectively. Encouragement, then, is another step toward improving perfor-
mance. It is accomplished through evaluating performance, coaching and mentoring, rewarding, correct-
ing when needed, and involving workers in decision making.
Chapter 8—This chapter features communication as yet another step toward improving worker perfor-
mance. It first examines the supervisor-employee relationship as the foundation of effective communica-
tion. Then it addresses the six elements of good communication: self-concept, effective listening, clear
expression, handing anger, talking about oneself, and “owning” problems.
Chapter 9—Chapter 9 aims to help participants combine all the concepts of the course into formulating
written action plans, one for an individual crew member and one for the whole crew. Upon completion of
these plans, there will be a review and summation of the entire course. Then the participants will be
asked to evaluate the course.
In short, this training course equips highway, road, and street maintenance supervisors with the means—
the “tools,” the techniques, and the know-how—for motivating their own workers to reach their peak
performance.
vi
Planning and Preparing for the Course
PURPOSE OF THE COURSE
The specific course objectives are detailed in Chapter 1 of this Instructor’s Manual, and are summa-
rized on a transparency reproduced in Chapter 1 of the Participant’s Workbook. From the instructor’s
viewpoint, the course is intended to achieve the following goals:
n Provide an overview of factors influencing motivated behavior
n Stimulate supervisors’ desire to have employees work in a motivated fashion
n Equip supervisors with basic tools to evaluate employees
n Encourage supervisors to try the concepts and techniques developed in the course
This course is not intended to train the participants in behavior modification theory. The intent is to
familiarize them with tools and techniques they can use to increase their productivity by motivating their
crew. The course presents matching an agency’s needs with those of its employees, as the secret to the
success of any attempt to increase productivity. Highway maintenance supervisors should gain an under-
standing of the important concepts that define motivation and identify personal strategies for implement-
ing the concepts.
INSTRUCTORS
Instructors selected to present this course should have these qualifications:
n Basic knowledge of behavioral science
n Familiarity with maintenance activities
n Skill in leading group discussions
n Ability to communicate effectively
It is recommended that two or three instructors form a team for presenting this course, with two being
the preferred number. Although, one skilled instructor could pull this off, a team approach is more effec-
tive. This team would be comprised ideally of an instructor with some background in the behavioral
sciences paired with an instructor familiar with local maintenance activities and agency practices. This
Instructor’s Manual is designed to provide qualified instructors with the essential information to suc-
cessfully present the course. The instructional materials have been developed for presentation in a flex-
ible manner depending on the availability of participant personnel and time.
Additionally it would be helpful to have in attendance a representative of the agency’s personnel depart-
ment to handle specific policy issues that will likely arise. Even so, it is not intended that such issues be
addressed at any length during this course. Rather, answers to policy-related questions should be short
and to the point to avoid detouring the course from its objectives. The agency representative should note
any unresolved issues and “get back” to the course participant(s) who raised them—if necessary, to the
entire group—with a definitive answer or clarification. This agency representative, or another one, might
also open the course and introduce the instructors. More guidance on multiple-instructor teaching is
offered under “Presenting the Course” later in this section.
Instructor’s Manual vii
Tools for Peak Performance
COURSE PARTICIPANTS
New supervisors of highway, road, and street maintenance crews are the targeted audience for this
training course. The training is also appropriate for personnel immediately above the supervisors as well
as employees who are training to become supervisors. This could also be used as a refresher course for
more experienced supervisors and presented in a slimmed down version eliminating much of the basic
foundational detail.
Typical course participants should have a high school education or the equivalent. They are expected to
be experienced in maintenance and to have extensive experience in their areas of maintenance opera-
tions; but they will be untrained in the concepts of personnel management and motivational behavior.
While an effort has been made to eliminate technical jargon and terms common to those subjects, the
substitution of words is not as important as the ability of the instructor to relate the terms to the group.
The course should be limited to approximately 20 participants per class. Larger class sizes would inhibit
discussion, hinder creativity, and reduce interaction among the participants. Too many participants would
make conducting the small-group activities harder to accomplish. Finally, a group that is too large would
make it very difficult to keep the course on schedule.
On the other hand, too-few participants would reduce the effectiveness of discussions and small-group
activities.
BASIC COURSE SCHEDULE
Exhibit 1, on the next page, shows the basic course schedule. Two days of instruction are envisioned. The
projected time for each chapter’s presentation is based on including all the Required and Suggested
“Toolbox” elements identified on page 1 of each chapter. However, if the Optional elements are in-
cluded, it may be difficult to complete the course in two days.
While the course is intended for presentation in a continuous manner over the two days, a separate
schedule can be developed for courses taught as a series of modular classes. Other tailoring of the
course may be deemed necessary or desirable by certain agencies—to make the training fit the audi-
ence—and it’s encouraged as long as the key objectives of the course are met.
Following the Exhibit 1 schedule meticulously is not mandatory, but major deviations from it are not
advisable. A considerable amount of material needs to be covered, and experience shows that the best
results are obtained when the schedule is followed as outlined. Time spent in discussions and interactions
is an integral part of the course, but is difficult to predict or control. A real challenge for the instructors
will be to avoid going off on tangents or allowing anyone to get on a soapbox and waste valuable time.
Keep in mind that the course objectives can only be met if the participants complete the exercises and
other activities as designed, and if they are able to comment and question as they feel necessary. Delet-
ing Required or Suggested course elements in order to get back on schedule would be detrimental to all.
Of course, adjustments to starting and ending times for each day may be made according to specific
situations for each course presentation. For example, the first day’s starting time may be moved later
when participants travel from far away. Whatever time is “lost” at the beginning should be added to the
first day’s ending time…unless it can be added to the next morning by starting very early, say 7:00 or
7:30. That assumes the first day’s travelers will be staying the night in the vicinity of the training location
and not returning all the way home. Whatever the course schedule may be, the instructors should be
aware of it well in advance in order to plan the short breaks, summaries, lunchtimes, etc., and to avoid
having to end too early or go too long at any point. Ideally, except for Chapter 3, chapters will not be
interrupted for lunches or short breaks.
viii
Exhibit 1: Course Schedule
First Day
8:30 AM Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION — 60 Minutes
9:30 AM Chapter 2, ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS — 45 Minutes
10:15 AM Short break
10:25 AM Chapter 3, INDIVIDUAL NEEDS — 120 Minutes (80 before lunch)
11:45 AM Lunch
12:30 PM Chapter 3, concluded — 40 Minutes
1:10 PM Summary and wrap-up of Chapters 1–3
1:20 PM Short break
1:30 PM Chapter 4, TURNING EFFORT INTO PERFORMANCE — 90 Minutes
3:00 PM Short break
3:10 PM Chapter 5, PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS — 60 Minutes
4:10 PM Summary and wrap-up of Chapters 4–5; Preview of tomorrow (Chapters 6–9)
4:30 PM Break for the day (no later than 4:30)
Second Day
8:00 AM Chapter 6, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: SELECT, DIRECT, AND
FACILITATE — 90 Minutes
9:30 AM Short break
9:40 AM Chapter 7, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: ENCOURAGE — 120 Minutes
11:40 AM Short break
11:50 AM Summary and wrap-up of Chapters 6–7
12:00 Noon Lunch
12:45 PM Chapter 8, STEPS TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE: COMMUNICATE — 90 Minutes
2:15 PM Short break
2:30 PM Chapter 9, ACTION PLANS — 90 Minutes
3:30 PM Course summary (Part of Chapter 9)
3:50 PM Participants complete course evaluations (Part of Chapter 9)
4:00 PM Wrap up the course and head for home
Instructor’s Manual ix
Tools for Peak Performance
LUNCHES AND SHORT BREAKS
We recommend that the sponsoring agency provide lunch at the training location for all involved in the
course. This way lunchtime can be kept within the scheduled 45 minutes. If the participants head out to
find lunch on their own, at least some of them will use more than 45 minutes—hunting for and debating
the best place to eat, encountering slow service, engaging in after-lunch conversation, or running into
heavy traffic.
Take short breaks between chapters as indicated, not necessarily at the exact times shown in the sched-
ule. In addition, take short “stand-up-and-stretch” breaks when needed (but at appropriate points that will
not disrupt the instructional flow). Remember, the participants are not used to spending hours cooped up
in classrooms. Even though the course is not one long lecture, it will still be a challenge for the partici-
pants to stay focused throughout the instruction. Regardless of how stimulating the presentation may be,
the participants sooner or later are apt to feel drowsy, stiff, restless, or distracted. The course’s small-
group activities will help lessen this tendency by creating changes of pace, and by occasionally inviting
the participants to stand up and move about.
FACILITIES
Classroom
The classroom should comfortably accommodate the number of persons who will attend the course. Be
sure to allow for any observers, and for persons who may attend only segments of the course. Each
participant should have elbow room, and table or desk space to accommodate the Participant’s Work-
book and other materials. Auditorium- and ballroom-size facilities should be avoided. They allow partici-
pants to sit too far apart and are not conducive to interaction and informality.
Because of the importance of dividing the participants into small working groups at various times during
the course, either the classroom should be spacious enough to permit separate clustering of these groups
OR there should be surrounding rooms available for this purpose. Often, adjacent hallways, lobbies, and
even snack rooms may serve the purpose well—if these spaces don’t have to be shared with others, and
if little time will be lost in moving the groups back and forth..
Temperature and Ventilation
It is typically difficult to please everyone when it comes to ideal room temperature. Obviously, extremes
of heating and cooling must be avoided. Be prepared for the likelihood that a room that starts out fine will
heat up with the presence of people and use of equipment. Adequate ventilation is always a must.
Remember, the participants are people who are used to spending most of their time out of doors.
Lighting
Lighting for this course may be a challenge. There should be low lighting for the playing of videotapes
and projecting of transparencies, but brighter lighting for the participants to follow along in their Work-
books and do the writing assignments. At the same time, having dimmer lighting up front in the instruc-
tors’ area would make it difficult for the group to see what is written on the chalkboard, marker board, or
flip chart. Not to mention, instructors shouldn’t end up teaching “from the shadows.” So, having a room
that’s light at the back and dark at the front is certainly unsuitable. The ideal is to have adjustable light
controls.
x
Room Layout
Exhibit 2 illustrates a suggested classroom arrangement permitting a maximum of 25 persons in atten-
dance. A larger class size may dictate a “more traditional” room layout. This information should be
furnished in advance to the facility provider, particularly when it’s a hotel or motel.
Exhibit 2: Suggested Room Arrangement
P P P P P P P P P
P Instructors'
Materials
O I
O
O
I
VHS Video Overhead Projector or
Player and Laptop and Computer
Monitor Projector
O
O
P
P
P P P P P P P P C
Flip Chart (optional if chalk
or marker board available)
I Instructors
8' Screen
C Agency Coordinator
Chalkboard or Marker Board
P Participants
O Observers, others
Instructor’s Manual xi
Tools for Peak Performance
Other Considerations
Having a proper room size and class size should eliminate the need for the instructors to use micro-
phones.
It’s important to make adequate parking arrangements and provide clear directions to the participants for
their travel to the course site.
Finally, the instructors should review the room arrangement and become familiar with the equipment
operation before the course.
EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
Exhibit 3 lists the equipment and materials required to present the course. The equipment needed for
each chapter is also listed on page one of each chapter here in the manual. You will need to determine
whether to print out the course transparencies and project them using an overhead projector, or simply
use the PowerPoint presentations from a laptop computer combined with a computer projector. Both
presentation technics are supported.
The projection screen should be large enough to allow an image big enough to be seen from any of the
seating positions. It should be positioned so that it doesn’t block the chalkboard, marker board, or flip
chart.
The positioning of the five crew posters referred to in Exhibit 3 is not shown in Exhibit 2. These posters
are very important to the course presentation. When they are brought out in Chapter 3, place them where
all participants can see them, but not where they will obscure the screen, the instructor, the flip chart, or
the chalk- or marker board…or otherwise be in the way. Suggestions: Affix them to a wall; set them on
chairs or a table and lean them against the wall; or stand them in the tray of a chalkboard or marker board
and lean them against the board surface (as long as this doesn’t cover up needed writing space). Even-
tually, in Chapter 3, one of these crew members will be assigned to each small group. When this is done,
move the appropriate poster to each group’s location.
xii
Exhibit 3: List of Equipment and Materials
n Set of five crew posters (showing the silhouettes of the fictitious crew members)
n Videotapes titled:
• Highway Maintainers: The People Behind the Scenes
• People and Performance
• Meet the Crew
• This Stuff Doesn’t Work!
• Choose an Acting Crew Leader
• What Do You Think?
• What Went Wrong?
• That’s Encouragement
• The Bad Performance Appraisal
• Classic Communication
n A Participant’s Workbook for each course participant
n Pencils for the participants (one for each participant plus some extras)
n Loose-leaf paper available for participants (Most note writing and exercise completing will
be done in the Participant’s Workbook.)
n Name cards/name tags
n PowerPoint slide presentation, on disk or CD, to be projected during the course
OR
Set of overhead transparencies to be projected during the course
n Laptop computer and SVGA-type projector (ideally equipped with remote control to allow the
instructor to move around), and a projector table
OR
Overhead transparency projector, and a projector table
n Projection screen (8-foot minimum width)
n VHS videotape player and monitor (preferably on a video cart)
n Chalkboard with chalk and eraser
OR
[White] marker board with dry-wipe markers and eraser
AND/OR
Flip chart with broad-tip markers
n Several blank transparencies and transparency pens (if overhead transparencies and projector
are used)
Instructor’s Manual xiii
Tools for Peak Performance
USING THE INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL
The Instructor’s Manual serves both as a manual—to familiarize the instructors with the course sub-
ject matter and with presentation techniques as they prepare to present the course—and as a guide
while they are in front of the class doing the instructing.
The manual consists of nine chapters that are similar in format. Each starts with “Instructor Information”
that includes such things as expected duration of the chapter; equipment needed; required, suggested and
optional Toolbox elements; objectives; and tasks. This information helps orient the instructors as they
study each chapter in advance of the course. The instruction portions of each chapter begin on page 3.
They are organized under major headings and subheadings. The pages are interspersed with:
n Boldface indented text. This is the information that the instructors should convey to the partici-
pants. Usually this text should not be read to the group—except when the directions call for it, or
sometimes when the instructor wants to relate the exact wording of certain short sections. Of
course, the instructors can’t memorize all of this text and recite it verbatim to the group. The
intent is for the instructors to study it well enough—in advance—that they are able to present
most of it in their own words. The white space to the left of the text can be used for personal
instructor notes and any “prompt marks” that the instructors might want to insert. For instance,
these might be points they want to add to the manual’s information, or examples they want to cite
to illustrate what the text says. Of course, instructors should feel free to highlight portions of this
text with a marker, or by underlining or circling it. Again, they should avoid reading the text aloud
to the class…or else they will lose the group for sure.
n Instructor notes. These are directions to the instructor. They are always bordered by a line
before and after. Usually they include little “prompt icons”—the main ones being an overhead
projector, a videotape, an instructor in front of a class, a flip chart, an open book, and a hammer/
wrench (or combinations of these). These indicate, respectively: when to show the next transpar-
ency/slide, play a videotape, lead a discussion, write on the board or flip chart, conduct an exer-
cise, or refer the participants to a “tool” in their [Workbook] Toolbox.
n Transparencies. The overhead transparency icon prompts the instructor to project either an
overhead transparency (with an overhead projector) or a PowerPoint slide (with a “computer
projector”). Although the instructor may choose to leave either type of projector continuously on
during instruction—even while conducting discussions and exercises away from the screen—the
overhead transparency icon means it’s time to advance to the next transparency/slide. [Note:
Throughout the Instructor’s Manual, we use the term “transparency.”]
Every transparency to be projected on the screen is reproduced in the Instructor’s Manual, in a
“frame” at the top of most pages. The transparencies are numbered sequentially within each
chapter (1.1, 1.2, 1.3 ...; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, ...; and so on) according to the order in which they will be
projected in the presentation. Each of these sequence numbers is shown at the lower right corner
inside the transparency “frame,” as well as just outside the transparency frame on the left side.
Each is also shown just above the prompt icon, followed by a brief wording relating to the
transparency’s content. This is to help the instructor verify immediately that the transparency he/
she is prompted to show is the one now on the screen.
xiv
The transparency is reproduced on the same page where its prompt icon first appears—and on
each subsequent page while the instruction addresses the topic represented by the transparency’s
content.
Most of the transparencies are also included in the Participant’s Workbook so that the partici-
pants can easily follow along, and jot down notes related to the contents. Some of the details and
smaller print in certain transparencies may show up much better in the Workbook versions.
n Other information. Listings of information for the chalkboard, marker board, or flip chart are
one example of “other information” shown in the chapters. Another example is a restatement of
information presented in a transparency, with additional points to be made by the instructor.
Following some chapters are support and supplementary materials: scripts from the video presentations,
instructor copies of exercises and activity details, information for optional activities.
Exhibit 4 on the next page shows a sample page from a chapter here in the Instructor’s Manual,
pointing out the features described above.
USING THE PARTICIPANT’S WORKBOOK
Information that the instructor can use to explain to the participants how to use their Workbooks is
covered in Chapter 1 of this manual. Basically, the Workbook chapters parallel the Instructor’s Manual
chapters. They (the Workbook chapters) contain copies of most of the transparencies, all of the written
exercises, and other materials. They are followed by the [participant’s] Toolbox and a Readings section.
Instructors should become familiar with the layout and contents of the Workbook.
PRESENTING THE COURSE
The following sections are meant to help those who plan for the course—and especially those who will
present it.
Team Teaching
In the earlier Instructors section, it is the recommendation that two or three instructors teach this
training course. Because of the amount of material to be presented and the array of activities that make
up the course, a lone instructor may tend to feel overwhelmed. He or she will at least be stretched to the
limits of effectiveness. The participants more easily tire and are distracted when a single instructor tries
to present it all. Two or three instructors are able to divide up the chapters for presentation so that their
areas of specialty and experience are best tapped. The participants are more stimulated by different
voices, personalities, and experiences—all of which help hold their interest and ward off boredom.
Multiple instructors may simply take turns at presenting whole chapters of the course, or may work together
within chapters. For example, one instructor might take the lead in presenting information, handling the
transparency projection; while another might conduct the supporting exercises and other activities. Alterna-
tively, one instructor might simply do “all the talking” for certain chapters while another serves as the
“resources assistant,” projecting the transparencies and playing the videotapes. There are any number of
ways in which two or three instructors can work together in presenting this course well. But, if this
approach is used, do not let the course become disjointed. The styles can be different but the content must
retain its cohesiveness. The instructors must be sure to keep the building nature of the chapters intact.
The instructors should discuss the best teaching approach and arrangement long enough before the course
for each to prepare effectively.
Instructor’s Manual xv
Tools for Peak Performance
Exhibit 4: Sample Page from Instructor’s Manual
Transparency
content
Transparency 8.3
Instructor note
THE ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
8.3 Communi- After projecting Transparency 8.3, read aloud the statement on it…and ask the group what they
cation
think it means.
Then cover the following points:
Communication is the act of exchanging information with others.
Prompt icon
It’s a two-way activity, an interchange of ideas, facts, opinions,
and even feelings. Communication includes writing and using
signs, but we’re mainly concerned with spoken communication.
Boldface indented text
In this chapter you’ll learn about the elements of good communi-
cation, and how communication influences worker motivation. You
may also have the opportunity to do a little self-evaluation of your
Instructor note
current interpersonal communication skills. Let’s look at a video.
Classic Play the trigger videotape, Classic Communication . It includes two clips from old films. One clip is
Communication an excerpt from an Abbott and Costello comedy sketch, called “Who’s On First.” The other clip is
a brief segment from the Paul Newman film, Cool Hand Luke.
Running time is about 3 minutes.
Does this video describe your experiences with communication?
Prompt icon One thing’s for sure: Good communicating doesn’t happen by ac-
cident. Several components combine to make it successful.
xvi
Working with the Participants
The first-line highway maintenance supervisors targeted for participation in this course are generally not
accustomed to sitting in seminars or long meetings. They are typically hands-on-oriented and outdoor
types. At least some of them are not likely to jump for joy when invited/assigned to receive this training.
Their outlook about the course may range from mild skepticism about its value to certainty that it will be
a total waste of time. That’s some of them. Others will be quite eager to get any help they can, and will
come to the course ready to participate in it and benefit from it. All this is to be expected.
And that’s okay. There is diversity among supervisors just as there is among those they supervise. But
regardless of the participants’ individual attitudes, the course instructors are tasked with bringing them
together and getting them fully involved in this training. The challenge is to teach and motivate these
supervisors to motivate their own people.
And speaking of “their own people,” we refer throughout the course to those who are supervised by the
participants as “workers,” “crew members,” “employees,” and maybe even “personnel.” In the first
trigger video we even use the term “maintainers.” We have steered away from “subordinates.” If the
organizations represented by the participants use other terms for their employees, these should be in-
cluded. The same goes for other terms we have used in the prepared materials. If any of ours are
“foreign” or otherwise wrong for the organization(s) or geographical area, more familiar terms should be
substituted. Our desire is to communicate clearly with the course participants; we want this training to
sound and feel as “close to home” as possible.
Using Small Groups
Their Purpose
Dividing the overall class into small working groups is essential to the success of this course. Small
working groups not only simulate and reinforce the crew concept, but they ensure participation by all
participants. In front of a class of twenty or more people, it may take a lot of courage for some to offer
an answer, volunteer a comment, or ask a question. In smaller groups, however, just about everybody will
feel at ease and uninhibited. The interplay of several groups will encourage a spirit of competition during
some of the exercises. Teamwork will be promoted. And, at the very least, breaking off into their small
groups will rouse the participants and “reel them back in” if they have started to drift away during class
discussions.
Forming Them
The small groups may be formed as early as Chapter 1, whether during introductions or in connection
with playing The Maintenance Feud. They must be formed ahead of the activities in Chapter 3.
We recommend five small groups because there are five members in the fictitious crew—and in Chapter
3 each small group will be assigned one of these fictitious crew members. Four participants in each small
group would be ideal. Of course, if the overall group is more or less than 20 participants, adjustments will
have to be made. Observers—if they are willing—might be invited to round out small groups that other-
wise would have only three members. If there are more than 20 participants, some or all of the small
groups might have to consist of five members. On the other hand, the small groups don’t have to be all
the same size. It’s important to have five small groups, regardless of how big they are.
The easiest way to divide the overall group into smaller groups is to have the participants who are already
seated close to each other join together. This is convenient but may not be the best way to group them.
Why? Because participants who know each other will no doubt sit next to each other. Small groups
consisting of participants who are friends and colleagues have their pluses and minuses.
Instructor’s Manual xvii
Tools for Peak Performance
On the plus side, since they already know each other, they may have a good working relationship; and
presumably they are comfortable with each other. They probably can get right to work without delay.
On the other hand—the down side—people who already know each other have established relationships.
Sometimes these are positive; sometimes not. For example, overly assertive participants may domineer
their less-assertive colleagues. And the domineered ones may be perfectly comfortable with this be-
cause they’re used to it. Group members may not listen closely to each other because they think they
already know each other’s views. They may have the same prejudices, the same ways of looking at
things—so they may not give fresh consideration to the issues examined in the course.
Forming the groups will be up to the instructor(s), but they should consider the above concerns.
Working with Them
After forming the small groups, the instructors should monitor, encourage, and assist them. It’s intended
that the games and exercises will break the ice, get the groups working together, and create a sense of
camaraderie within the groups and competition among them. Instructors need to ensure that all this
occurs. With at least one instructor circulating among the groups—while they are functioning as such—
there will be opportunities to clarify what it is they’re to do, give them gentle shoves in the right direction,
jump-start their thinking, and so on.
Otherwise, the goal is for the groups to learn how to work together on their own. After all, this is part of
becoming effective supervisors: getting to know one another, communicating effectively, working out
disagreements, formulating plans, and arriving at consensus. Individual participants who may lack enthu-
siasm for this training or its methods, should be encouraged (motivated) by their fellow group members.
Using the Fictitious Crew
Its Purpose and Importance
The fictitious crew is not just a gimmick. It is an essential aspect of the course. Obviously it’s not
appropriate to talk about the participants’ real crew members specifically, using their real names and
discussing their personal attributes and problems in class. Even if it were appropriate, the participants
would be/should be uncomfortable doing so. The fictitious crew represents the real-life workers who will
be on the participants’ minds during the course.
The initial course presentations have shown that the participants really do relate the fictitious crew to
their people, and vice versa. Maybe not every fictitious crew member strikes a familiar cord with each
participant, but some of them do. Others are composites of real workers. And, in any case, the issues in
the lives of the fictitious characters, and their personalities, are always relatable to actual maintenance
workers, past or present (…and even to some they will yet encounter in the future).
Introducing the Crew Members
The fictitious crew is introduced in Chapter 3. If the instructors are going to “sell” the fictitious crew to
the participants, they will need to know them well. Becoming thoroughly familiar with—and conversant
about—Steve, Ed, Marie, Ty, and Alex is one very big key to the success of this course. Nick (the
supervisor) too—although he gets to “speak for himself” in several video segments. Instructors should
work hard at sounding like they’re acquainted with these folks. First of all, there should be no fumbling
around with their names, or confusing one with the other. When the instructors speak of the fictitious
crew they should do it authoritatively, like they know what they’re talking about. Not what the manual
says about the crew, but what they know or understand about them. The posters, if available, should be
displayed prominently to help the participants focus on the crew as they become acquainted with it.
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Upper-body silhouettes are used intentionally and for good reasons. We want the participants to transfer
the characteristics of the fictitious crew members to the flesh-and-blood people they work with in real
life…and not get hung up on or distracted by a physical appearance that might have been assigned to
Steve, Marie, etc. All that we know about them is what the course tells us, combined with what we can
discern about them by examining all the facts and drawing conclusions.
Working with the Crew
During the course discussions and exercises that deal with the fictitious crew members, the instructors
should encourage the groups to stay focused on them, especially on their assigned person. The partici-
pants may need to be reminded to refer to all the provided information. We first learn about the crew
from Nick’s point of view. Later, when the “Crew Strikes Back,” we learn the “rest of the story” and see
things from their perspective. The instructors should give the groups leeway to analyze the available
information about the crew members and arrive at their own conclusions. However, if it’s apparent that
a group has overlooked something or confused some of the facts, the instructors should set it straight.
What’s Optional and What Isn’t?
In planning, preparing for, and presenting the course, the instructors will note the number and variety of
presentation elements—from instructor lectures accompanied by transparency projection, to video pre-
sentations, written exercises, games, discussion exercises, role plays, and more. Most of these elements
are described as though coming from the instructor’s Toolbox, and are categorized as Required, Sug-
gested, or Optional.
Required items are those considered absolutely essential to include in the course.
Suggested items are strongly recommended for every course presentation. Individually they may be
deleted if the instructors are convinced that the participants already have the knowledge and/or skills
they aim to impart…or if there are exceptional time constraints. But, note that the course schedule
presented several pages ago is based on including all of both the required and suggested course ele-
ments.
The Optional items are sometimes alternatives to the required or suggested ones; in other cases they are
simply additional elements to include or not at the instructors’ discretion. Bear in mind that including
“everything” will probably require more than two full days for the course.
Showing the videos featuring Nick Steele, the fictitious crew’s supervisor, is required. They and the other
videos are considered “trigger” presentations. They are meant to stimulate thought as much as provide
information. Usually they lead right into class or group discussions and should be referred to throughout
the chapter.
Completion of the action plans in Chapter 9 is likewise essential for the course to accomplish its objec-
tives. The action plans are the culmination of all that’s presented, discussed, and worked on throughout
the course. They are the ultimate tool given to the course participants to take back to the job and use in
motivating their workers.
With so many elements to use, and with any number of discussions that could blossom into lengthy
debates, it will be difficult keeping the course within the planned schedule. So the challenge will be to
prevent running out of time before completing everything. Instructors should avoid having to speed up to
finish a chapter on time for a break. They also must guard against moving so slowly in the early going that
they have to rush through the latter parts of the course just to squeeze them in.
The more the instructors plan and prepare for presenting the course, the more they should be able to set
a proper instructional pace and cover all the topics.
Instructor’s Manual xix
Tools for Peak Performance
Giving the Participants “Tools”
As the course title advertises, Tools for Peak Performance is all about equipping the participants with
the means to motivate their employees to perform at their very best. In general, all of the information
imparted by the course is a “tool”—to the extent that each participating supervisor understands it, knows
how to use it, and actually proceeds to apply it with his or her workers. More specifically though, the tools
are the checklists, analytical procedures, how-to-do-it steps, self-evaluation questions, and worksheets
that the participants take home in their Workbooks. The key ones have been inserted into a section of
their own at the end. We’ve called it the [participant’s] Toolbox.* Its tools can be used by the supervisors
to apply the principles and procedures taught in the classroom. Of them all, the action plans best embody
the goals of this training. Doing what it takes to complete the action plans properly, and then implement
them effectively, is the best measure of the success of this training course.
New tools are added to the Toolbox in each chapter, with the exception of Chapter 1. They are not
actually “added,” since the Workbooks come complete. Instead, they are highlighted or called out as
they appear in the chapters. When a tool is encountered, the instructor is prompted by a tool icon usually
located within an instructor note (see Exhibit 4, page XVI). The use of the tool should be explained and the
participants directed to its location in the Toolbox or Action Plan or both. They should actually flip to the
appropriate pages and review the tool. In this way, the participants accomplish two things. First, they
increase their familiarity with the Workbook, which is intended to be a resource for them after the
course. Second, by building and discussing the Action Plan as the course unfolds, we are continually
taking the new material and focusing it on the main objective—applying it to increase productivity. If this
is done correctly, Chapter 9 becomes a natural progression and there should be no confusion as to what
is required.
* The participant’s Toolbox is found in the back of the Participant’s Workbook. The instructor’s Toolbox figuratively
contains the required, suggested, and optional course elements that the instructors will or may use in presenting the
course—and is shown under “Instructor Information” at the beginning of each chapter of the Instructor’s Manual.
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