A team that trusts one another is a team that moves quickly. That is the premise of the book, Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey, which builds the case that trust is one thing that changes everything for a team. The inverse is also true; a lack of trust and a lack of clarity slow…
Teamwork
Only 2 Ways to Resolve Tension Because of Higher Expectations
When I was in my twenties, just beginning to find any semblance of a stride as a leader, I shared with a mentor that I was receiving some pushback among some people on my team that my expectations were too high. The expectations probably were too high as I was leading a team of predominantly…
The Biggest Way People on Your Team Know You Value Them
Unless you are a robotic leader without any heart, you want your team to know you care for them. More specifically, you want each person on the team to know he or she is valued. When there is a healthy relationship between team member and supervisor, work is much more enjoyable and rewarding. When trust…
When Workload on Your Team Increases, You Must Do This
Every single week the Office of President receives 65,000 paper letters, 500,000 emails, 5,000 faxes, and 15,000 phone calls (as told by Daniel Levitin in The Organized Mind). You can’t wing that type of workload. A system that sorts and prioritizes and ensures the right people are given responsibility and authority is essential. While that…
4 Ways to Lead People Who Don’t Want to Be on the Team
Jeff Van Gundy has coached in the NBA and has commentated NBA games (I have always enjoyed listening to him when he does). He is well respected for his understanding of the game and his ability to coach it. He is currently coaching a mix of G-league players in their quest to qualify for the…
Getting a Team to Self-Destruct
A team that fights with itself wastes an incredible amount of time and energy. When a team or church or group fights, everyone loses. Energy is stewarded away from what is most important and given to tearing one another apart. Instead of rallying in the same direction around the same mission and values, time is…
4 Types of People on Your Team (Only One Is Effective)
In his classic work Pensees, Blaise Pascal profoundly wrote: Four kinds of persons: zeal without knowledge; knowledge without zeal; neither knowledge nor zeal; both zeal and knowledge. The first three condemned him. The last acquitted him, were excommunicated by the Church, and yet saved the Church. Clearly Pascal was affirming those who are filled with…
5 Speed-Killers for Teams
It is possible to move too quickly, to move too chaotically, and to execute without any semblance of strategy. But moving too quickly is not the problem most teams and organizations face. Much more common is moving too slowly. Even when leaders articulate moving fast and desire to do so, there are common obstacles that…
4 Essentials When Bringing New People on a Team
Growing up in the New Orleans area meant my mom became really skilled at cooking gumbo. It is amazing. While the roux is the part of the gumbo that impacts its taste the most, each new ingredient alters the taste. Add shrimp or crab and the taste changes. Throw in okra or a bell pepper…
3 Coordination Killers that Can Kill Your Leadership
Ok, so the title may sound a bit hyperbolic. But it is not hyperbole at all; a lack of coordination can destroy a team’s effectiveness. A lack of coordination across multiple areas can greatly harm a leader’s credibility. I have thought about this a lot lately. Some background: I recently blogged about how execution suffers….