5 Tips for Better Teamwork
Which of the 4 graphs above best represents your team trajectory?
- Is it A? Holding steady- not improving but not declining
- Is it B? Sometimes up, sometimes down… but rather unpredictable
- Is it C? Let’s be honest, things are getting worse
- Is it D? Measurable improvement. Our outcomes are good and getting better, and our culture is good and getting better.
If it’s anything but D, ask yourself… What is my role with my team?
- Is my role to simply “watch the store” and make sure things move along steadily? Not getting better and not getting worse?
- Is my role to ride the waves and just help everyone deal with constant uncertainty?
- Is my role to look around and find out who to blame for our demise?
Of course not!
I'm betting that you would not claim any of those perspectives!
I’m betting that you want D.
You want your presence to have a markedly positive impact, right?
You want to unleash the energy, creativity and genius of every member of your team in support of meaningful goals.
And while you’re at it, it wouldn’t be all bad to experience a little more joy, ease and exhilaration on a regular basis with your team, right?
I’m going be BOLD…Don’t settle for A, B or C!
If you want to be a leader, accept this mandate to do right by your team and support real success. But how?
Here are five powerful tips:
1) Build a deeper understanding of YOURSELF.
- Who are you as a leader?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Where are your blindspots?
- Really knowing and understanding yourself is the golden ticket to doing better. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that the failures around you have nothing to do with you. Take 100% responsibility for getting better outcomes, and I promise you’ll find ways that you can improve.
2) Build a deeper connection with your team
- Who are they and what do they want?
- What motivates them?
- What are their strengths and how can they put those to work?
- Getting to really know your team members and forming strong bonds accelerates everything that you try to do.
- We all know the saying, “people don’t leave jobs, they leave their bosses.” But the opposite is also true- we stay, grow and go the extra mile for a boss and team we feel bonded to.
3) Get really clear on what you are working towards
- Are your goals clear?
- Are they compelling?
- Do you have too many goals?
- Is there an appropriate amount of stretch and urgency?
- A leader’s ability to set and achieve the right portfolio of goals is a high-art. This practice deserves your time and attention. Don’t leave this to chance.
4) Adopt a process for making progress
- Good habits are important. When we do the right things, over and over, we see real progress. So…
- Revise your meeting structure
- Adopt new project management tools
- Rinse and repeat until you’ve built powerful new habits
5) COACH toward success
- A quality coaching conversation can help you do ALL of the above.
- It supports self-knowledge and understanding
- It creates a bond and build rapport with your team members
- It helps you build clarity about where you are going and WHY
- And when you build a regular habit around coaching, it is the grease that makes everything smoother.
Embracing these 5 tips will make a world of difference in the outcomes you are able to achieve and the positive impact you can make.
So think about it… which of those graphs is really most accurate?
If it’s not D, then join me for Coaching for Excellence LIVE.
This LIVE Online course starts March 16th, 2022, and will give you the tools, practice and foundation you need to reset your team dynamic on a positive trajectory.
