Month: May 2021

Leave a comment Posted on Coaching, Communication, Leadership, Success

What I have Learned about Teams

For over 30 years, I have been privileged to lead great teams in various organizations. Together, we have pushed ourselves to continually become better. We have held each other accountable even if it became uncomfortable. We worked to have a one-mind approach to our success.

Over the years, I have learned some things about leading teams.

Care

I connected better with my teams when I got to know them better personally. I truly care about the people I serve. I have listened as they shared about their children. I have seen them worry before certain tests were going to happen that would determine long-term care for a child.

I have attended weddings, visited them in the hospital, delivered meals to their homes, and attended their funerals. Caring makes leaders vulnerable, but it is such an authentic way to connect with teams.

Coach

Team members want to be coached. They want to improve when they know they are valued. Coaching can pinpoint areas needing improvement as well as celebrating with them when they overcome an obstacle. Coaching means asking great, probing questions to get to the core of issues.

Communication

Team members do not like uncertainty. I’ve learned to be available via email, Skype, phone, or personal meetings. The team has not taken advantage of this. But they know I’m open to invest time with them in order to keep our communication lines open. I’ve learned so much from my teams by encouraging open communication.

And I have learned to model open communication.

Celebrate

My teams have accomplished great things over the years. They banded together to make what seemed to be impossible possible. They have reached out to those in need in the community in order to make someone else’s children have a dream Christmas. They’ve shattered expectations in sales and service initiatives.

And in my coaching sessions, team meetings, and on performance reviews I celebrate them. They love the retelling of their story of success.

I have been a promoter of the organizations I have served. I have liked working there. But I have loved my teams. Watching them grow and develop, advance in their careers, and triumph in personal trials has been a privilege for me.

What have you learned about teams from your experience?

Leave a comment Posted on Communication

Communication Tip – Email Strings

I’m sure you’ve been caught up in what seems to be an endless email string. It started off between two people and suddenly there is a host of folks chiming in. Or perhaps one of your team members forwards one to you and says something to the effect of, “see what’s going on?!”

If an issue, complaint, misunderstanding is heading down the email string path, stop it. Pick up the phone. Set up a Skype or Zoom meeting. Walk to their desk. Take them out for coffee or lunch. But stop the email string.

Communicate directly and clearly. The written word is powerful, but it all comes with inherent misunderstandings. Some read an email and pick up a certain “tone” in the words. Others read the same email and don’t. Others see an offensive approach while others don’t.

Jon Acuff in his book, Soundtracks, speaks of direct communication in a couple of ways that I have found to be helpful.

“Curiosity beats criticism.” “My predictions are positive.”

I have had team members and colleagues forward an email string. “See what they said to me?!” Curiosity can say, “Why are they communicating this way? What is the root cause of this issue? Have you talked with this person directly about this?” Encourage your team (and yourself) to lead with curiosity and not criticism. Seek to understand.

This then leads to Acuff’s other point. An email string can be wrought with assumptions. Approaching issues from the positive can begin to break down walls, cease accusations, and come to a common goal – clear communication that leads to results.

I challenge you (and me) to encourage direct communication. Far too much time and money is wasted on incendiary emails that contaminates the workplace. We’re better than that.

Leave a comment Posted on Leadership

What Beats Criticism?

I’m reading Soundtracks by Jon Acuff. What I read early this morning was this:

CURIOSITY BEATS CRITICISM.

When faced with another “annoying” question from someone, be curious. Ask them questions:

  • How can I communicate this to them more effectively?
  • What am I missing?
  • What resources are they missing?

When you see work being done that is not up to standard, be curious.

  • What does your team member think of the quality of their work?
  • How clearly did you communicate your expectations on this particular project?

It seems that far too often we default to criticism. This leads to discouragement and frustration in your team members. And when that happens, the team will not perform with excellence.

Try being curious. Ask more questions.

Trust in you, the leader, will go up. When trust increases, work tends to get done more efficiently and effectively. Job satisfaction rises, too.

Curiosity beats criticism. Try it!