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Category: Team Building
Leaders teach others how they want to be treated
If you are ever in charge of a project, it is likely that you will need to count on others to help you get the job done right, on time, and within budget. We depend on others to come through for us. Sometimes they fall short. When they do, we often hear excuses like, “It took longer than I thought” or “I’ve been meaning to get to that”…and so on. When we don’t do what we say we will do, we compromise our integrity, and we think that blaming others and making excuses will work. It doesn’t.
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All things equal…personality wins!
I was attending a workshop in the early 1980’s at a hospitality convention and the subject was, “Hiring the right people”. The charismatic facilitator had us all deeply engaged. Just at the magic time, he asked, “What is the most important characteristic to look for when hiring someone to work at the front desk?” We all poked around with our answers. When we didn’t guess it, he revealed what he believed to be the answer: “Personality”
Leaders engage
In 1921, the newly formed United States Steel Company hired their first president. His name was Charles Schwab, and his salary was over $1 million a year. He was hired by Andrew Carnegie. When asked why he was paid so much, Schwab said, “I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people to be the greatest I possess”.
The importance of that high paid quality remains today in companies, sports teams, and other organizations. The leader who can generate the highest performance and measurable results is always the most sought after.
Keeping others accountable: The carrot or the stick?
We live in a world of increasing complexity. And part of that complexity involves doing more, better, faster with less. When we move in this direction, it is easier for some tasks and duties to get overlooked.
Earlier this week, I was working with a management team that was disappointed in their staff. The staff members had agreed to entering specific data regularly, and it wasn’t getting done. There had been many conversations with the group members both individually and as a team. In spite of all these efforts, the data was not being entered consistently.
Leaders Listen…to everyone
While reading the Wall Street Journal this morning, I noticed an article on “Work Place Bias”. The author gave an example of an executive from a major aerospace security system provider. Her name was Denise, and she admitted “I may not have made the best decisions because of inadequate input from introverts. I tend to favor more talkative personalities.”
This reminded me of a key fundamental of a collaborative team: Idea fluency.