I was recently asked a question by a leader who was struggling with his team. He asked, “How do I influence team members who may not be at my maturity level, and not under my direction. They spend our time whining or deviating from the work at hand (distracting), even after we established principles.” The simple answer: add more value to them. You see leadership is about having influence. Add more value gain more influence. Of course, the follow-up question would be “that’s nice, so how do I add more value to my team members?” As a leader, there are many ways to add value to your team members. Below is a list of 10 surefire ways to add more value to your team. If you are struggling with the level of influence you have on your team, ask yourself at what level are you adding value to the lives of your team members? A good exercise would be to go through the list and grade yourself from 1 to 10 on each item. Provide Learning Opportunities In And Outside The Organization – Invest in their education Role Model The Behavior You Expect – Their respect grows as they watch your every move. Maximize Their Strengths – Allow them to build on their mastery. Provide Constant Quality Feedback With A Ratio Beyond 3:1 Positive To Constructive – The greatest learnings come from feedback, show them you care. Trust Them – Allow them to make real decisions that are in alignment with their skills, training and experience. Encourage Taking Educated Risks – Great achievements and discoveries are never achieved without...
One of the ways we learn things in life is when we receive feedback from others. This is why you need to maximize the level of feedback you get so you can absorb more knowledge. However, it is important that when someone is telling you something, you must not be rude and push them away. Show them respect and they will be more than happy to give you more feedback in the future. As you know, there are people you just don’t want to give feedback to, you hate to do it. On the other hand, there are people you don’t mind responding to. This depends on how you received feedback in the past. Remember, Feedback = Learning = Improving! The best way to attract feedback from people is to know the right body language. Did you know most people think 80 to 90% of all communication between people is non-verbal? That is not entirely true because according to research done by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, it is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice and 7% verbal. Either way, the words we say don’t have as big an impact as we might have imagined. How many times have you avoided giving feedback to someone because you did not have the right words or the best way to say it? A time comes when you finally muster up the courage and say whatever comes to mind without thinking of your tone of voice or body language. By not paying attention to your body language, you are only making things more difficult for yourself to give and receive feedback. Here are...
By Shawn Stratton | Follow him on Twitter North American teambuilding culture emphasizes the phrase thank you. Expressing appreciation and gratitude to others is highly valued in this culture and it helps to increase your chances of being helped in the future if a favor is needed. Of the many ways, both physical and verbal, to express thanks in North American culture, actually vocalizing thank you is where it begins. Thank you is an expression of gratitude that will never wear out; it’s welcome on any team. In my experience working with Asian and European cultures, thank you was not a commonly expressed, or expected, phrase. The sentiment of appreciation was not any less than it is in North American culture; the phrase was just not used. These days, many of the corporate teams I work with are culturally diverse, within the office and in global virtual teams. Such diversity of cultures brings opportunities and challenges, one of which I call cultural communication norms—the beliefs a cultural group holds about acceptable, expected, and normal behavior and communication. Before, and during, the team development process it is essential that cultural communication norms be discussed. An abruptly ended the conversation brief email, or the non-vocalizing of please and thank you are examples of cultural behavioral differences that can damage trust and break down communication within a team. Without open communication, cultural differences and norms can lead to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, low trust, and stall the team’s progress. If you are currently part of a team that includes people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, I encourage you to discuss cultural communication...
“On behalf of AMEC Earth and Environmental, I wish to express our sincere appreciation for the impact your Leadership Retreat has had on our local operation. Each and every one of the participants has commented on how useful it was both from a personal and professional growth perspective. Although the retreat was held only a few weeks ago, I have noticed a renewed interest and energy in all our management staff. The teamwork recipe we developed is on the wall of our office and serves as a constant reminder of the commitment we have made to each other. This is so vital to our operations. I would recommend your curriculum to any business who values teamwork and sees benefit in developing leadership skills in its line...
Testimonials “This is my second time working with Shawn and once again he has been an outstanding facilitator for our team building session. He brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience working with teams. His messages are delivered in a style that is interactive, thought provoking and a lot of fun at the same time. Shawn created a positive learning environment where our group members felt comfortable to share insightful personal information that will help our team reach its full potential. The varied sessions took us out of our daily routines and assisted to look at ourselves from different angles. The feedback communication skills that we learned and practiced were being implemented upon returning to the office. Shawn’s inspirational presentation on The Power of Teams shared invaluable lessons that will resonate with our team.” Gerard Luursema / Director Inmarsat / Burum, The Netherlands “It was a pleasure working with Shawn in the planning and delivery of our 2-day leadership team retreat. From the planning stages through to the facilitation, Shawn was a consummate professional and easy to work with. His expertise and passion for organizational team building were evident as he led our team through a riveting series of fun, thought provoking activities. Teamwork and mutual respect were themes that were maintained throughout the retreat and positively impacted our team exercises.” Manager, Human Resources / Suncor Energy “Shawn was recently the keynote speaker at a Staff Development and Team Building Session for Canada Business Newfoundland and Labrador. Everyone enjoyed the Shawn’s thoughts on the importance of teams in our professional and personal lives. The photographs were stunning and the comments were thought provoking...
