Our clients are mostly CEO’s and business owners at BTL. We begin our engagements solely focused on them. The reason being that an improvement in their performance cascades throughout the entire system – only makes sense, right?
Eventually, however, we hold BTL practice with the CEO and their team. We teach them slowly, over time, and through the handling of hard things, how to become ONE, distinct, deeply connected, and BTL. We teach them together. We break the CEO and team into smaller teams in each practice to facilitate the process. The CEO is no longer seen as above the team; he’s practicing alongside them. We, the BTL builder, become the bad guy, if you will. The common enemy. The leader, if they’re lucky, becomes one of teammates. We get them tired together. Here’s the magic.
When you and your team get tired together, you’re no longer Engineering, Marketing, Ops, Admin, Sales, Unit Managers, Collectors, PM’s, Executives, C Suits, or any other professional labels. You’re simply tired – together. And, oftentimes for the first time in a long time, you feel an acute alignment with associates you’ve never much noticed or known before you’ve been this tired. You’re tired. Together.
BTL practice is purposely designed toward this aim. You see, you and your team cannot become ONE when you see each other and your titles so clearly. BTL practice blurs the lines by fatiguing the minds. After awhile your mind will forget the titles and tenure of your teammates, even the tone. You’ll just see a teammate, and then me, your common enemy. Good.
Now you know a bit more about why we practice. Funny, huh…
BUILT TO LEAD 
Toto great summary of WHY we practice, and why practice WORKS. Practice is less about WHAT the leader does in practice, and much more about WHO the leader is (and isn’t) in practice.
Reminder for most readers that FEW leaders practice WITH their teams.
This is why Larry used to call the greatest gift a leader could give his team is the gift of being “with”. Friedman was right. Galbreath were right:
“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership. (The Age of Uncertainty (1977), p. 330.) “