Let’s Start With Brains
Seriously, this is important and really simple. Your brain can change, the same goes for the brains on your team. Neurologists have discovered that you can teach old dogs new tricks. Your brain is constantly creating new neural pathways. This is critical because it means you are never stuck with things as they are. You can always create new cultures to sustain better teams who lead to stronger brands.
We used to think that after a certain age, the brain stopped developing, things were just set. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, the emerging field of nerualplasticity is constantly discovering new examples of how human brains can adapt to challenges and rewire themselves weekly. And the single greatest influences in changing our brains are the relationships surrounding us.
That means even dysfunctional groups can learn, adapt, and grow into highly motivated and dynamic teams. When your teams begin to live the culture of your brand, it creates an environment that reflects who you are as a business, not just what you do or sell. Over time, its effects how your business runs and its influence becomes something your customers can feel with every interaction. Maybe the best description is that your brand becomes authentic, through and through.
Rules tell, Stories Sell
You have an opportunity to sell the value of your business to your team as much as to your customers. Most HR manuals and office polices develop over time. They grow like kudzu into a tangle of rules and SOPs that make sense when they’re created, but not always to new team members. Stories, on the other hand, narrate culture. They invite your team into a dynamic context where roles and responses to new situations don’t have to be questioned, they are self evident. Your story might emerge from your experiences dealing with challenges or real-life examples of your team knocking it out of the park. Or, it could simply be the story you want your business to embody. Create a story whose ending invites you to do greater things, then bring it to life.
Discover how stories can transform your team and bring your brand to life.
“Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world? Because he knew more stories than anyone else.”
Alan Kay, vice president, Walt Disney Co.
Consistent Questioning Speeds Innovation
I’ve been on great teams where questions were encouraged and celebrated. I’ve also been on teams where questions were unfortunately viewed with suspicion or even taken as a challenge to the leader’s authority. Guess which teams consistently excelled? Persistent questions within development, SOPs, marketing, branding, delivery, and every step of your process will lead to dependable improvement across your whole organization.
Find the questions you and your team can start asking today.
“My investment of time, as an educator, in my judgment, is best served teaching people how to think about the world around them. Teach them how to pose a question. How to judge whether one thing is true versus the other.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, Planetary Scientist, Author
Unexpected Gifts in Your Team = Engagement
There’s not much that’s more demoralizing than to be unknown in a group. Worse yet is to have talents or abilities that could be of value but are overlooked because they’re not in your job description. Every team has hidden talents and abilities just waiting to be recognized. Build their felt value by recognizing each for who they are, not just what they do. Find the hidden gems — innate skills not on their job description — to start building confidence and authority in your product or service. A team member who knows she’s valued and seen for more than her work will invest more in the community that invests in her.
Discover how to find the hidden gems in your team and elevate everyone (and your brand).
“If you want people to understand that you value their contributions and that they are important, the recognition and praise you provide must have meaning that is specific to each individual.”
Tom Rath, How Full Is Your Bucket?
Repeated Actions Build Momentum
There is tremendous power in simple easy to repeat actions consistently applied over time. They don't even need to be job specific. If you think of great golfers or batters, they all take a few highly consistent actions before they hit the ball. It primes them for powerful execution and compounding success. Recent bestsellers highlight habits as critical to long term success. Your team is no different, consistent actions over time are woven into the fabric of its culture building repeatable wins.
“Champions don’t do extraordinary things,” Tony Dungy would explain. “They do ordinary things, but they do them without thinking, too fast for the other team to react. They follow the habits they’ve learned.”
Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to Change
The Threat You Pose to Your Competition
My old swimming coach always said, “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.” Traditional SWOT analysis looks at the threat “out there.” Turn that upside down; start to ask what threat you pose to the competition. There is a palpable shift in posture and confidence when team members believe they are the best at what they do. It’s not cocky, it’s confidence. Begin to look for areas where your team is innately great and honor it as a threat to the other guys.
Uncover the strengths and advantages in your team and ignite their confidence.
“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
Mahatma Ghandi
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