All in Teams
Culture, in all its forms, plays such a strong role in our lives that, for the most part, we don’t really even pay attention to it or realize it.
It’s formed through years of experience, understanding and shared experiences. This is the case at home, in our communities, with our friends and with our colleagues at work.
In fact, Trevor Noah once referred to culture as “an operating system that you have, that you didn’t even realize you had”. That captures it perfectly for me.
Our business lexicon is rife with buzz-phrases such as “win-win” but it’s important to remember that that standard has to be met (and perceived to be met) by both sides. In other words, we have to be cognizant of such definitions not only for ourselves but for the other party as well. Deals are better in the long term when we do so.
In fact, our approach to negotiations says alot about us and also provides a good indicator of what we’re going to be like to work with.
At some point in the evolution of any organization, we have to build in structure and process.
The pure quest for growth and, hence, total focus on execution, in a company’s early days inevitably leads to a situation where some level of resource organization is necessary.
That makes sense. We’ve been so focused on getting things done that we’ve spent less time trying to figure out how best to get it done.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
In today's episode, I speak to the fine line we walk when we're in the midst of combative communications. In particular, I speak to the four elements that allow us to tell when it's constructive and when it's not.
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of conflict, and the fact that it can actually be a good thing for our relationships at home and at work. The question is one of intent and ego (or lack of it).
This month's podcasts focus on the art of communication - a critical skill no matter what we do for a living.
Today's episode focuses on the idea of objectivity in what we believe and what we communicate. It's important to believe in ourselves but still be objective enough to understand the reality of our situations.
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
Today's episode focuses on the topic of relationships, and the fact that strong relationships create great teams, which create great organizations. Relationships form the very foundation of our success.
Competition is a sharpening mechanism.
It forces a clarification of our strategies, demands a strengthening of our capabilities and forces everyone to improve (if they want to continue to stay on the field).
And, in order to have competition, you have to have participation - without constraints.
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
My last episode talked about the value of the team, even when we have a star performer in our midst. Today's episode discusses the idea that, while it still is about the team, we should all strive to adopt the star performer's mentality.
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
Today's episode focuses on the star performer - or rather the need to recognize that, despite the extent of their star qualities, the team is always the most important thing.
This month's podcasts focus on people, specifically the different aspects to consider when it comes to the talent acquisition, development and management.
Today's episode focuses on the need to hire the right people and how fit and genuineness are among the most important criteria to consider.
Authenticity has become a rare commodity.
I mean, at first blush, you’d think it would be abundant in society, personal or professional. Because when what you see is what you get, there are no illusions, no need for personal estimations or second guesses. What you saw would, in fact, be what you got.
But in a world driven by social media, the lure of the instant, ADD-fueled soundbite, and the much-discussed finality (and hence, importance) of the ‘first impression’, most of us are on our toes.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I discuss how we often want to be nice to someone in our orbit, but hold ourselves back because we pre-judge the way it will be received. It turns out that that we overthink things and in fact science backs us up.
We believe - with good intent - that we’re trusting individuals. That’s important, because trust forms the very foundation of our relationships. Without trust, there can be no relationships, in any environment, personal or professional.
But how do we build trust? What’s our specific role in developing trust among our colleagues (or our family)?
Culture isn’t created overnight. You can’t mandate it.
You also can’t leave it be and assume a positive productive culture will create itself.
Culture needs to be defined and cultivated, which means a few things:
It has to be intentional. It requires a clear definition i.e. we need to be clear as to what we want it to be.
It has to be actively pursued - we need to have a plan to cultivate it.
This month's podcasts focus on the topic of mindset, and the kinds of traits and ideas we need to embed to achieve what we want.
In today's episode, I talk about a decision to remove someone from my LinkedIn Network because of their constant negativity. There's no point in encouraging that behavior, and in fact, I'd argue it demands a stronger response.
You don’t need to have all of the answers. I don’t know how to get there is actually fine as a response.
As leaders, though, we think that isn’t an option. We think we need to know exactly the way there.
But the reality is we won’t - not all the time anyway, and certainly not when it comes to big ticket changes that we’re putting in play.
Getting things done, as a team, is a challenging task at the best of times.
It requires us to pull together and take actions that are consistent and coherent with respect to our common end goal. This, in turn, requires clarity, communication and alignment.
In other words, we need to all buy in and then do our bit (as part of the overall plan) to get there.
This month, I'd like to speak to a few fundamental ideas about how we work and the implications of our behaviors when we work.
Today's episode focuses on Values. Our values don't simply materialize - we have to choose and exhibit those values. When we don't, we're basically choosing someone else's values.
Our issues always come from somewhere. What I mean by that is that, there’s always a root cause or a set of incidents of some sort that drives us to behave in specific ways.
That’s not to suggest our behaviors are always justified, rather that there’s a reason behind them. Something that has happened to us, or that we’ve experienced, that’s led us to interpret that experience in a particular way, develop particular judgements (or ideas or perceptions) and then act (or react) accordingly.
