Compete as a Team
This blog post is a follow up to the second topic we didn’t discuss in-depth on our recent webinar, The Strongest Team Wins: How to Build a Team that Gets Things Done. If you were unable to attend, click the link to view the recorded version of the webinar.
Does your team compete together or against one another? While encouraging internal competition may produce results in the short-term, in the long run it can create distrust and a “me first” mentality. So, how do you encourage healthy competition? You encourage your people to compete as a team. (more…)
This blog post is a follow up to one of the two topics we didn’t get to discuss in-depth on last week’s webinar, The Strongest Team Wins: How to Build a Team that Gets Things Done. If you were unable to attend, click the link to view the recorded version of the webinar.
“Team first” is a popular mantra in sports and business, but when it comes to walking out the idea of team first, the idea can quickly stall out. So how do we make team first a reality? (more…)
You don’t need military experience for the words “friendly fire” to send a chilling and angry awareness through your spine. Someone was harmed but it wasn’t by our enemy – it was by someone on our own side, someone who was supposed to be fighting with us, not against us.
Friendly fire happens in business too. Someone on your team throws you under the bus. Someone on your team undermines you. Someone you trusted stole from you. Someone you partnered with is lying about you. Someone who reports to you just took advantage of your relationship.
Whether intentional or not, why does friendly fire occur in the workplace? (more…)
I’ve written and spoken on the subject of non-negotiables countess times this past year. It’s a topic we now cover with nearly every team we serve. What’s interesting is the themes that have emerged. Though the teams we work with are vastly different in their industry and their challenges – from retail, to heavy manufacturing, to technology and HR – their non-negotiables almost always include these four common themes: (more…)
Our organization’s payroll team has recently gone through a software change, and if you’ve ever been through a significant technology change like that, you probably just groaned and shook your head in shared sympathy. There just isn’t room for error when it comes to dealing with others’ paychecks, so the stress level among this team has been heightened, to say the least.
I had the chance to sit in on this team’s meeting this week, and their leader asked everyone to come to the meeting with a few ways they have worked to stay positive in the midst of this stressful and sometimes frustrating transition. (more…)
One of the most beneficial exercises we do with teams when we work with them is the values exercise. The values exercise gives each individual teammate the opportunity to sort through and identify the values that he or she holds most dear. They then share those values with their teammates. What does an individual teammate’s values have to do with leadership or teamwork? Simple. The better we understand ourselves and our colleagues, the more effectively we can connect, work together, and lead one another. Over my years in doing this exercise and in talking with clients about their values, I’ve learned the following: (more…)
We all have days, weeks, and sometimes seasons where our projects and commitments exceed our capacity. The question is, how do you handle it? You have two options.
- You can continue to rush around, frazzled and hectic because you have too much on your plate. (This does nothing to lower your own stress level, and it likely raises the tension and anxiety of those around you.)
- You can raise your hand and ask for help.
Serving is an essential leadership action. It’s the first thing I tell new leaders to do when they begin a new job: serve. Don’t worry about your title or your salary. Just serve; the career advancements and the money will follow.
But serving isn’t just reserved for the newest members on the team. Serving becomes more important the further your career advances. Yet, can we be too servant-minded? Is there a thing as serving too much? Well, yes, actually there is. Although I’d be cautious to suggest anyone slow down on serving, there are some instances when we need to stop and reflect on our motives, our relationships, and our results when it comes to our eagerness to serve. (more…)
You’re furiously working on multiple projects, doing your best to keep from dropping the ball on any one of the numerous items you’re juggling. Yet, your boss is in his office down the hall quietly wondering why you’re dragging your feet on a couple of his priority projects.
Doesn’t he know you’re working as fast as you can?!
Well, no, actually he doesn’t. And that’s not necessarily his fault. A sense of urgency is what nearly all of us must have to survive in business, especially where our customers are concerned. However, sometimes there are things we fail to do – and other things that we do – that convey a lack of urgency, even when the opposite is true. (more…)
You’ve probably seen an ad by Johnson and Johnson over the years with the slogan that “Having a baby changes everything.” When you have a child, everything does change – or at least it should. Your routines, your hobbies, your meals, your sleep schedules, heck even how you spend your money changes drastically! You change not because it’s convenient or easy but because it’s what’s best for the lives that have been entrusted to you. (more…)