It’s easy to fall into the trap of telling versus asking. Telling is fast and ensure that the work gets done to your standards. It’s also the height of laziness and a profoundly powerful way to show your lack of respect for your team members. Try asking instead of telling. You will be surprised with the results.
Enjoy those days when all seems to be good in the universe. Just watch out for that reality check about to blindside you!
As machine learning and brain science advance with remarkable speed, it’s not implausible to imagine leadership behaviors reduced to a component of a master algorithm. Thankfully, there are some distinctly human attributes that may be difficult to capture in this format. Use them as if your survival as a leader depended on it.
The general guidance on building effective teams is right, it’s just often not specific enough. Here are 4 keys to building your great team that don’t get enough consideration in most workplaces:
It turns out, a good part of success is tuning in to our true purpose and mission. It’s a lofty or squishy sounding topic that is made tangible if we spend some time uncovering our unique backstories. The events that have shaped us as humans give life and purpose to us as professionals.
There’s no shortage of those in leadership roles who might reasonably be described as mundane. They focus on performance, but fail to inspire the pursuit of potential. That’s too bad, because there’s nothing secret or particularly difficult about pursuing extraordinary as a leader. Small changes in behaviors have the potential to yield big outcomes.
Starting out successfully as a new manager is challenging. However, there’s one thing you can do to improve your odds of success from the first moment of your new role. Invest time to…
Learning to appreciate and value differences on your team takes effort on your part. An open-door policy isn’t enough. You need to stretch. A good question to keep in mind is: “What’s it like to be you?”
We’re taught from an early age in school what we need to do to earn the “A.” Unfortunately, the real world isn’t that structured, predictable, or kind. Learning to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty in business is essential for survival. Learning to leverage these characteristics is essential for success.
The idea of shifting baseline syndrome is most often referenced in ecological terms. I see it in action in the workplace and in our personal lives almost every day. Perhaps it’s time to shift the baseline, but in the right direction.
