Transforming Teams – How do you do that?

How to work together to ensure success – spend quality time together.

Build the Trust

Teams who don’t trust their leader will never succeed.

Teams who don’t trust each other will never succeed.

So what breaks trust?

§  Leaders who say one thing and do another

§  Leaders who gossip about their team to their team

§  Leaders who ‘set’ team member up against each other

§  Leaders who don’t give feed-back

§  Leaders who don’t give feed-forward

§  Leaders who don’t mentor or coach

§  Leaders who don’t acknowledge strengths

§  Leaders who don’t take responsibility

§  Leaders who don’t celebrate success

§  Leaders who don’t allow people to say what they need to say

§  Leaders who don’t encourage open debate

§  Leaders who don’t listen

§  Leaders who don’t include their team decisions

It’s the same in every relationship – we need to talk about ‘things’ that matter, talk about concerns, our fears, our workers.  We need to know and understand one another’s strengths, the support we need, talk about our challenges and share ideas.

There is no trust if there is no conflict management and there is no conflict management without trust.  People will not open up, share issues and concerns or challenge each other if there is no trust.

So the first thing to establish in your team/organisation’s relationship is trust.

How do you do that?

§  Share about yourself – be open

§  Laugh about yourself

§  Be interested in others

§  Take the time to get to know ‘who’ people really are and what motivates them

§  Take the time to get to know each other

§  Socialise and have fun as a team

§  Be a part of the team

§  Create a 'Shared Vision'

§  Focus

§  Bring the spirit of the team alive

§  Motivate and inspire

§  Include them – you can do this with your families too!!!

Everyone has to have the conversation – say what they need to say to the right person in the right way to understand.

Seek to understand.

 

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So David Cameron says Leadership is important...

I say it’s not just important it is absolutely vital to our survival. It is the only thing that will turn our country around… and the global economies.

I was also struck with the amazing self-leadership shown on the UK Pride of Britain awards last night. Amazing true examples of ordinary people doing the extraordinary. So how do they do that? What makes them different?

Well what we know (if we really listen to what they are saying) is that they never ever give up. They are determined, they accept what they cannot change (losing legs/blindness etc) and they focus on what they can do.

Take your life/career now and apply these 2 different sets of questions:

A              What are the problems/issues you have?

                What is wrong with your life/career right now?

                How long has it been this way?

                Whose fault is it/who is to blame?

B              What do you want?

                What is your vision of success?

                What resources do you have now to help you?

                What 5 actions are you going to take now?

Great self leaders don’t stay stuck in a problem, they don’t blame others and dwell on all the problems with society etc. They do something about it, they take action and they never give up.

Self-leadership is about you and it will be because of you, you succeed or fail.

So decide now and do something about changing what you want to change in your life/career today.

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Impact is Critical

All great leaders have amazing impact – something about them exudes gravitas.  What is it that makes the difference?  What makes people want to work with them, be in their team and work in their organisation?

Impact is subjective, almost intangible at times – but we know when we have been in the presence of someone truly inspiring.

Impact is present both on the ‘outside and the inside of us’.  Leaders who have gravitas are authentic and have integrity are ‘at one’ with themselves.  So what is it when you break it all down?

Outside – what we see on the outside is a person who is at ease with themselves and others.  They connect immediately, they are interested in you, they seem to have an incredibly range of probing questions to ask that make you stop and think.  One question can change a mind set and they know that.  Their body language is congruent and energised.  You come away from them feeling inspired and motivated not drained and negative.  What do they do to be able to do that?  They connect directly with you at a values level, they cause you to think further ahead than now, they probe what you learned from the past .They seem to be able to help you see what you are great at and what you could develop – they give you so much without saying too much. They are interested in you.

They remember the small things about you.  They remember you had a holiday, they remember to ask how you are.  They have amazing new stories.

They are confident.  They know their strengths and they know how to use them to have the best effect.

They don’t try to be anyone else.

They know where their ‘gaps’ are, what they don’t do well and they are always open to learning.

They laugh at themselves – they are not defensive.

They know and understand the impact of their emotions; they welcome them and use them to inspire.  It’s ok to feel the fear.  It’s ok to feel the frustration.  It’s ok to be angry, as long as you are angry with the right person in the right way. That is an art and they have that art.

They pick up all the nuances and are flexible in their behaviour and are open to learn from you.

You are important to them!

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Leadership starts with you, it’s down to you and it is up to you...

If your team, organisation or business is not high-performing then remember that – it is down to you!

It’s no good blaming everyone else, everything else.  It is time to stop and think about how you’ve caused this to happen – because until you do, nothing will change.

So accepting this ‘place’ right now and taking some time with yourself is a great place to start. You must take responsibility and accountability for transforming yourself and your team now. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Are you ready to look deep inside?  You will need to be able to access your true leadership personality. The one that will make the difference and change the future.

We learn how to lead from other leaders – so start with thinking about your greatest leader – the one that made the biggest difference to your career or life so far.  Who were they?  What did they teach you?  What did you learn about leadership?  Also think of one of the worse leaders or teachers you’ve ever had and what did you learn from them?  What did they teach you?

Write down and get very clear on what you have learned about leadership from all of your experiences.

My greatest leaders were my parents.  My mother was the eternal optimist, always wanting to try new things, experiment, highly creating, energetic and intuitive.  My father was a problem solver, always calm and considered.  He was adept at analysing and solving the problem.  Without upsetting anyone he was firm but fair and challenging in his questions.  A great debater.  Our parents are often our greatest leaders – what did yours teach you?

Aim to be the best version of yourself you can be.  Improve your self-awareness.  Great leaders know themselves inside and out.  They know their triggers/suppressors - what are yours?  They know and understand why they feel the way they feel – do you?

They are seen as confident but not over confident.  You will not inspire confidence unless you are confident.  They are confident because they know what they are great at. What their core strengths are – what are yours?  Every leader will have different strengths and that’s ok, that’s what makes you unique.  There is no one perfect model for being a great leader – everyone is different – but great leaders do have a few common strengths – they are all trustworthy, honest and inspirational.  They are integral, they do motivate and they do listen, hear and understand you.

They use their strengths.

Using your strengths is vital to being a great Leader

Take one of your strengths – mine is I am very courageous and determined – nothing will stop me and no one will stop me.  Now feel what it feels like to use that strength.  This is the ‘Strengths surge’.  When I feel that determined strength my breathing is low and deep, I feel very strong inside – all the way through me – my brain is very focused.  Then I get started on what I am going to do – what about you – what is your Strengths Surge and what does it do for you?

Being honest with yourself and taking responsibility for yourself and your results – what could stop you?  How could you stop yourself?  Every human being is plagued by self doubt at some level and in some way, shape or form at some time in their career.  Great leaders don’t let that stop them – they know how to turn that into success.  Self limiting beliefs drive self limiting behaviours – how do you stop your own success?

I know there is a part of me that will try and stop me ‘you won’t be able to do that’, ‘they won’t be interested in that’, ‘they will have heard it all before etc’.

It’s the ability to be able to ‘switch off’ the negative self-talk and turn it into something more positive and achievable that makes the difference  between a great leader and one that is not as good.  Take the time to analyse your self-talk and turn it around before it stops you.

Transform yourself – be the best version of you, you can be - then you can transform your team.

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Strange Sights

I wonder who they work for and who they are trying to influence.  It amazes me how some people dress – do they think about what they are saying about themselves?

I can’t believe they look in a mirror before they leave for work.

Have they even showered?

Have they washed their hair?  They certainly don’t look as if they have or even bother about what they ‘look’ like.

Don’t they know they are being ‘judged’ all the time? 

Impressions are made in seconds and last – it’s very difficult to ‘undo’ or change a negative impression.

I wonder what difference it would make to their world if they bothered...?

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Why Can’t People Communicate?

Some people just can’t communicate effectively.  Why are some people so negative about everything? Whatever you say they reply with an issue, problem, or negative statement.  It is exhausting and demotivating.  Why not think positively and why do people not say what they think?  Why do they say everything else and hope you get the hint?

We are not mind readers.

We don’t know what you are thinking (unless you say it).

Why do we make assumptions from everything people say and have the ability to change the meaning?

Communication – be very aware of how you are communicating and the effect it is having.

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Body Language – Tells the True Story About You

We are born with total freedom to be ourselves – why does that have to change?

By the time we are teenagers our body language changes and we can ‘look’ very negative, unless we stay very aware of how we are using our bodies.

Every day I see people who are neck and head down almost laying in their chairs, frowning – it makes me feel concerned - tapping their pens, tapping their feet, stroking one leg continuously – what is going on inside them?

Why allow yourself to become like that?

Take a look at your body language and ask for feedback.

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