by Lynda Silsbee
In yesterday’s Advisor, Lynda Silsbee, SPHR, presented a few leadership lessons from the Seattle Seahawks. Today, Silsbee discusses how to bring your team together as well as the importance of regular “practices.”
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Silsbee is founder and principal consultant at Performance Dimensions Group, a boutique consulting group that provides the resources and skills to nurture organizations along the path to achieving high performance.
Fit the Players Together
Team leaders must know their employees well and expect great things. Leaders must understand what motivates employees and how to get them to believe in going beyond their capabilities. Make sure each person fits into your organization’s culture—not just whether he or she can do the job but if they can do the job well while being a team player.
It’s important to keep a special eye toward making sure someone is a good “match” for the team and his or her role within the team. Formal and informal assessments can help. Someone may not be the right “fit” for a certain position but often can excel somewhere else doing a different job. Remember to give feedback and make sure the team is on the right track. Ensure each person feels included, appreciated, challenged, and engaged.
Lastly, it’s important to reward and celebrate as a team. Reflect on the triumphs and the tribulations—both of these contribute to teambuilding.
Hold Regular ‘Practices’
Along with excellent leadership guidance, basic teambuilding activities can make a huge difference in your organization. Seattle Seahawks’ Coach Pete Carroll started to integrate meditation into the program back in 2011. The players are not required to be there, but a large group shows up at various times to participate.
The entire roster also participates in an optional yoga class. Everyone enjoyed it so much that it became a mandatory part of workouts. Carroll’s mantras are positivity of thought, words, and actions. Swearing and yelling are looked down upon. The idea is that happy players make for better players.
You can carry this same philosophy to your organization by understanding that happy employees make better employees. Set the tone for higher levels of trust, sincerity, and openness. Try organizing activities or “teambuilding experiences,” and have a clear objective with these experiences. When teambuilding activities are done correctly, they should have an impact on everyone.
Just last year, virtual work space providers Vorkspace.com posted an article titled 13 Top Team Building Activities. These activities are effective, inexpensive, and can be organized without leaving the workplace.
Enjoy the Game!
You and your team members should always be looking for better ways to collaborate, communicate, and have fun. Above all, enjoy the “game” of making every day as successful and productive as possible—put the WE in your organization today!