3 Musts for Creating Team Spirit
3 Musts for Creating Team Spirit
How can you get the team spirit back? Here are 3 things you can do RIGHT NOW to help:
1. Start listening. As an entrepreneur, I can find myself spinning out of control with all of the things that need to be done. When my colleagues point out that my voice is getting louder and faster, and that they are not being heard, I know it's time to take a time out. If this happens to you, take a few deep breaths into your belly to ground your energy, and move your attention to the other person. Listen to what they have to say, get curious and ask questions so that you can really understand their message. Then tell them what you heard them say...if you've got it right they'll tell you so, and if not, ask them to say it again in a different way until you both know that you've understood. Ask any sales professional...listening is one of the best ways to create relationship.
2. Open up. It is easy to become aloof or arrogant, especially if you're like me and have trouble relinquishing control over anything to anyone else. In order for us to be in conscious and intentional relationship with others we have to be honest with ourselves, and show others what's beneath the surface. And, this doesn't mean that you have to share your deepest secrets! Here's the thing: many of the corporate cultures I've worked with have employees parking their whole selves at the door on their way in. These are the workplaces where people are most miserable. Their misery translates into a number of problems: poor productivity, high levels of toxic behaviour like criticism and defensiveness, more sick time...you get the picture. Get personal by sharing something from your life outside of work and it will signal to others that they can bring all of themselves to work as well. Nothing creates a sense of team spirit faster than getting to know the other people on the team!
3. Model healthy balance. Stop sending e-mails to your folks at 11pm. Yes, I know this business is your passion...but it may not be the passion of every member of your team. Respect that employees have personal and family lives, and they will reward you with their full attention and energy during working hours. More importantly, respect your OWN personal and family life! What relationships are you neglecting at home when you work at all hours of the day and night? I've worked with organizations where EVERYTHING is a priority, which has people working 24/7. The result? Employees are burned out, frustrated, and NOT satisfied! Are these high performing organizations? Sometimes. But not for long. The exhaustion eventually sets in and productivity inevitably declines. Do yourself and your team a favour by maintaining a sense of balance in your own life so that you can be at your best when you are at work.
We've talked about 3 things you can do now to re-establish great relationships at work. Any one could be the starting place for you to create an atmosphere of positivity and trust in your company, which will support the creation of sustainable results.
3 Musts for Creating Team Spirit - To learn more about this author, visit Shahmeen Sadiq's Website.
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You are passionate about your business. You've built it yourself from the ground up, and it is your main area of focus most of the time. It is so satisfying when things are going well, AND from time to time it can feel like you're the only one who cares! Perhaps your spouse is complaining that you're forgetting about important family engagements, or your employees don't seem as motivated as they once were. Chances are, all of the energy that you've been putting into the company has you forgetting one really important thing...the importance of relationship.
How can you get the team spirit back? Here are 3 things you can do RIGHT NOW to help:
1. Start listening. As an entrepreneur, I can find myself spinning out of control with all of the things that need to be done. When my colleagues point out that my voice is getting louder and faster, and that they are not being heard, I know it's time to take a time out. If this happens to you, take a few deep breaths into your belly to ground your energy, and move your attention to the other person. Listen to what they have to say, get curious and ask questions so that you can really understand their message. Then tell them what you heard them say...if you've got it right they'll tell you so, and if not, ask them to say it again in a different way until you both know that you've understood. Ask any sales professional...listening is one of the best ways to create relationship.
2. Open up. It is easy to become aloof or arrogant, especially if you're like me and have trouble relinquishing control over anything to anyone else. In order for us to be in conscious and intentional relationship with others we have to be honest with ourselves, and show others what's beneath the surface. And, this doesn't mean that you have to share your deepest secrets! Here's the thing: many of the corporate cultures I've worked with have employees parking their whole selves at the door on their way in. These are the workplaces where people are most miserable. Their misery translates into a number of problems: poor productivity, high levels of toxic behaviour like criticism and defensiveness, more sick time...you get the picture. Get personal by sharing something from your life outside of work and it will signal to others that they can bring all of themselves to work as well. Nothing creates a sense of team spirit faster than getting to know the other people on the team!
3. Model healthy balance. Stop sending e-mails to your folks at 11pm. Yes, I know this business is your passion...but it may not be the passion of every member of your team. Respect that employees have personal and family lives, and they will reward you with their full attention and energy during working hours. More importantly, respect your OWN personal and family life! What relationships are you neglecting at home when you work at all hours of the day and night? I've worked with organizations where EVERYTHING is a priority, which has people working 24/7. The result? Employees are burned out, frustrated, and NOT satisfied! Are these high performing organizations? Sometimes. But not for long. The exhaustion eventually sets in and productivity inevitably declines. Do yourself and your team a favour by maintaining a sense of balance in your own life so that you can be at your best when you are at work.
We've talked about 3 things you can do now to re-establish great relationships at work. Any one could be the starting place for you to create an atmosphere of positivity and trust in your company, which will support the creation of sustainable results.
3 Musts for Creating Team Spirit - To learn more about this author, visit Shahmeen Sadiq's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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