GROWING GREAT TEAMS – PART 2

 

This is the second in a series of blogs on Growing Great Teams.  If you missed the first one you can find it here.

 

Design a culture that attracts and nurtures the right people.

There are 6 key steps to building and retaining a great team.

 

1.     THE WHY. 

It starts with the WHY – in the words of Simon Sinek – “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.

This means knowing and being able to articulate the purpose beyond the purpose of the business – why does it exist and what does it enable?

For example, a work place health and safety business exists to save lives – they believe that everyone should know how to save a life should they ever be in the position to need to do so.  They are passionate about educating people in first aid to enable them to save lives.  They don’t make sales – they save lives – very powerful.

People who believe this will be attracted to this organisation.

 

2.     THE VISION. 

What will the business look like in the future – say in 6 to 9 years’ time and in terms of sales, profit, value, products, people, customers, locations, the owners’ role?  Having real clarity around the vision for the business means that it can be shared with the team in a passionate and articulate way.

In the context of the example of the work place health and safety business, not only does the team believe in the WHY, but they are excited about the future of the business and want to be part of enabling even more lives to be saved.

 

3.     THE VALUES. 

Given the WHY and your Vision – what are the non-negotiable values that will drive the desired behaviour in the organisation?  The value as a single word should be accompanied with “and what that means is” and further extended with “and this is how it plays out in our organisation.”  This helps reinforce the meaning of the value as it applies to this particular culture, to this team, and their interaction with others.

People whose personal values align with the corporate values will feel comfortable and connected in this environment which is conducive to their growth and development.

 

4.     THE NEEDS. 

How will the business environment meet the human needs of the team?  How will it provide certainty, variety, a sense of connection, significance and growth, and how will it enable the team to make a contribution beyond themselves?

When human needs are met at a high level people are more likely to stay than to leave – they are more likely to excel than to stagnate.

The WHY, Vision, Values and the Needs come together to create the culture of the organisation – it is this environment of intangibles – the energy of the place – that feels right to the right people.

 

5.     THE SKILLS. 

What skill sets are needed now and into the future?  What skills will be bought and which will be taught?  This proactive (as opposed to ad hoc) process of recruitment requires that there is a business plan to support the VISION, a growth plan to enable the business plan and a people plan to support the planned growth.  A people plan developed 3 to 6 years ahead will highlight the skill sets needed to do the jobs now, and/or with training and development, the jobs of the future.

This approach means that the recruitment process attracts people who believe in the WHY, whose VALUES are aligned, who will fit the culture and who have the skill sets that will suit an organisation growing into its VISION.

 

6.     WALKING THE TALK. 

There must then be an ongoing process of walking the talk.  If people are attracted to the organisation because of the WHY, VALUES, NEEDS, and culture, then any dilution of these or any loss of clarity around the vision and the opportunities it brings, either real or perceived, will be the precursor for potential attrition.  There can be no confusion – a confused team will not commit, they will limit the amount of skin they put in the game.  What is published and asserted must be validated by what is actually done.

Culture is caught not taught.  The culture that is loudest will prevail.  This means that there must be a continual and consistent promotion of the chosen culture and KPI’s that reward those who embrace it.  Behaviours that are off-culture must be addressed immediately and without exception.

The culture of an organisation that encompasses the WHY, VISION, VALUES and NEEDS must always be front of mind.  Install a culture champion(s) – someone whose charter it is to ensure that culture gets the focus it deserves, who has the ability to identify behaviour that is on and off culture and who is mindful of the changing needs of people in an ever-changing fast paced business environment.

If you need help creating an environment that will attract and retain great people, we can help you – our CULTURE COLLABORATIVE workshops are designed to do just that.

 

Part 3 of this blog series considers the distinction between a high performing team and a team of high performers – how do you promote a sense of team while at the same time valuing the individual.  Click Here to read Part 3 of this series.

Starting the day with WHY works wonders – it wraps context around your action sheet and the myriad of things you have to do.

Simon Sinek author of “Start with Why” talks about the power of being able to articulate why you do what you do in business.  Simon explains the Golden Circle concept and the science behind it in his YouTube video here.  You don’t need to watch the video now (it is worth watching though) to understand what comes next – so read on.

This concept is equally as powerful for the individual.

When the alarm goes off in the morning the first thing we think about is WHAT we have to do today and the enormity of it.  These thoughts have a way of doing you in before you even start.  The next thought is how – HOW on earth am I going to do all these things?  When it is all about the WHAT and the HOW, the stress ramps up and the pace of life becomes frenetic.  The focus is on laying the bricks without any vision to the cathedral you are building.  The WHAT and the HOW have become “the bad guys” – the reason that life isn’t as you had planned it.

What if we switched it up?

 

What if, we woke, welcomed the morning, breathed deep slow breathes and reflected on why we are on this earth for this time.  What if we connected with our heart and allowed the passion for life and living to envelope us.  What if we visualised, with pride, the extraordinary cathedral we are building?  What if we started with our WHY?

Starting with our WHY brings context to our day and to the many actions on our action sheets.  It reminds us WHY we do what we do, why we get up in the morning and go into our business or our work.  Our thoughts become more focused and intentional – we are on purpose.  These actions are the building blocks, the bricks that laid one at a time will build our cathedral, to this life we aspire to. Each brick, each action has more meaning when it is viewed in the context of the bigger story – your cathedral, your life.  This is WHY doing the WHAT and HOW matter!

Try it – tomorrow wake and lead your thoughts from the inside out, rather than the outside in – you can do that because you control your thoughts, don’t you.

Of course you must know WHY you are on this earth for this time, you must know what it is you are here to do, and what a life well lived looks like to you.  You must know this, to be able to start your day with your WHY and benefit from the clarity and power it brings.

The clearer the WHY the more intentional you can be and the more goals you will kick – success in business enables success in your life.  The bigger the WHY, the more reason to do what it takes.

This process is integral to what we do at Opening Gates.

to read more about how we transform lives and businesses.