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How To Discover What Your Top Performers Do Differently


The new book, The Star Factor, shows you a unique system for unlocking the wisdom of your stellar performers and transforming that knowledge into actionable steps to help other employees internalize these new attitudes and behaviors.

The system and methodology is called affirmative leadership. In the book, authors William Seidman and Richard Grbavac, explain the science, specifically the neuroscience, behind affirmative leadership.



They also outline the four phases of affirmative leadership:

  1. Discover - identifying your stars.
  2. Prepare - creating a learning program.
  3. Launch - using coaches to lead learning groups.
  4. Guided Practice - completing weekly practice exercises four to six months into the process.
Affirmative leadership can be used with a small group or globally for thousands of employees.

And just what is it that makes a star performer? Star performers:
  • Take advantage of every opportunity to learn.
  • Are skilled at filtering out what's irrelevant, and focusing on what will improve their performance.
  • Focus in on specific high-value information and resources and ignore the rest.
  • Instill their purpose in their people, creating a buzz of excitement and greater efficiency.
To help you identify your stars, including those less immediately obvious, the authors recommend you ask yourself these three questions:
  1. Who are the people you most respect for their ability to perform some or all of the functions associated with the initiative, program, or project?
  2. Are these the people you would go to if you needed to solve a critical problem or identify leadership for a new initiative, program, or project dealing with this function or area of expertise?
  3. If these people told you how to do something would you (a) believe them and (b) do whatever they said to do, without question?
Affirmative Leadership programs immerse participants in a new way of learning and leading that gradually, seamlessly, and very naturally becomes the new way of being.


William Seidman

Richard Grbavac

Thanks to the book publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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