Your #Team Will Rise To Match The #Value That The Individual Members Place On One Another (Reflections from the #WorldCup)

Probably like you, I have been enjoying the World Cup when I have had the opportunity. Here are some general reflections about teams.

If you lose your strongest team member, the team gets weaker.  We all get that. Especially if that team member is catalytic and can bring out the best in others.

But let's not forget the weakest team member.  In many ways, the team is only as good as its weakest member.  If you disagree with that premise then you are really not talking about a fully functioning team.  A complete team maximizes itself through the necessary involvement of each member and the collaborative movement toward a unified goal.  If the team is moving together and if a strong player can help the team move more effectively toward its goal, then a weak member can hinder that movement (maybe even stop it altogether).

What are the options? 

Replace that team member or have him switch positions.  This is not always as easy as it sounds and the process takes a lot of energy away from the team's progress.  This should always be considered an alternative, but perhaps one that is explored after some of the others are looked at first.

Get rid of or redefine the position.  In many instances, the issue is not the team member, but the role we are asking that member to play.  Maybe your best pathway lies in updating the role to match current needs.  In some extreme cases, it may be that the role is no longer needed at all.

Let the team work together to lift the weak player.  Perhaps the first and best option is to give the team the opportunity to "heal" itself.  This takes a whole lot more than just waiting around to see if something changes.  It requires leadership that cultivates an atmosphere that includes trust, clarity, openness, and a keen emphasis on value.

If you really look at the team as a team, then each member values the other members completely. When your team has established that kind of a culture, you will see each player rise to match the value placed upon them by the others.  And you will see the team rise to its greatest potential as a team.

There Are No Zero-Talent People! Start With What You Have, And Go Make A Difference. #leadership #culture

Sometimes a strong leadership culture creates more spectators than participants.  People look at the leaders and think, "I could never do what they do."  The fear of failure stifles their gifts and abilities.  And sometimes it's not about fear, but comfort.  People watch high achievers from the sidelines, but never bother to step out on the field themselves. Without the proper balance, a leadership culture can tend to leave too much work in the hands of the few.  

So, here are three value statements to consider as you develop the leadership culture in your organization or in yourself:

• There are no zero-talent people!  Not everyone has the same starting point, but everyone starts with something.
• Start with what you have.  Using and growing what you do have is much more important than worrying about what you do not have.
• Success is achievable (and expected) by all.  Imagine what would happen if we each began to expect more out of ourselves.

One Well-Timed #Rest Will Do More Than a Thousand Days of #Overworked #Stress (Take This 30-Second Test)

Which of the two lists more closely defines you, the way you feel, and the way you look at the day?  Do you tend to align more toward the first or the second column?

Dread	Anticipation
Lethargy	Energy
Pessimism	Optimism
Obstacles	Opportunities
Closed	Open
Sarcasm	Sincerity
Confusion	Clarity
Fear	Faith
Destructive	Constructive
Isolation	Communication
Suspicion	Trust
Doubt	Confidence
Empty	Full
Harsh	Kind
Sickness	Health
Anger	Joy

If the signs are there and you find yourself leaning toward column one, let nothing stand between you and your much-needed break.  One well-timed rest will do more for you than a thousand days of overworked stress.

Sometimes The Biggest #Reinvention That Needs To Take Place Is That Which Deals With Us #Newness #NewLife #LifeCycle

[1]

In a sense, almost everything has a life cycle.  Everett Rogers' Technology Adoption Life Cycle depicts the stages as a new product grows and declines in popularity before another new product displaces it. It is the up and the down and the start and the end of a cycle we call life.  Looking at this process and analyzing it closely is certainly nothing new to books and blogs.  Many have written about the life cycles of products, cultures, individuals, and organizations.  I want to focus on the last item in my list.

Where is your organization in its life cycle?  If you feel like you are climbing uphill, having to generate a lot of creativity, often ending each day with more questions than answers, but excited to forge ahead toward a brighter tomorrow, you are probably in the early phase, still headed upward.  On the other hand, if you feel like you are coasting downhill, preserving instead of inventing, relying on yesterday's solutions, and not that sure that tomorrow is going to be that great, you are dealing with a decline.

It is easy and takes little effort to slide down the backside of the life cycle curve as the organization slowly ebbs away.  In some cases the process might be long enough to allow you to cash in your chips before the ship completely sinks.  But perhaps a better way to look at those days of ease and coasting is to see them as a loud and clear alert signal calling for reinvention and rebirth.

You see, the problems to solve, adversity to overcome, and walls to scale are actually good signs.  It is when things begin to seem too easy that an inner warning should prompt you that it is time to reinvent.  So, where is your organization?  Is it the season to start something new?  Is it a new product, a new system, a new idea, a new market, a new location, a new service, or ... is it a new you?

Sometimes the biggest reinvention that needs to take place is that which deals with us. Maybe this is your day to get out of the rut that you have been in and start anew.  If you are reading this then it's not too late.  A new you takes quite a bit of effort and you must be ready for a climb.  But a new you just might begin to restore you to that place of purpose and fulfillment that you thought was only a distant memory.  And a new you can give you more than a productive company or a growing organization, because a new you creates a brand new, beautiful, powerful, meaningful, and vibrant life![2]

_____________________

[1]  The image depicts Everett Rogers' Technology Adoption Lifecycle.  The image is being used through the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license which can be found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode.  The image was not changed in any way.

[2]  I am a follower of Christ and when I started a relationship with God, my life was made completely new.  If you would like to find out about the promise of eternal life through a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can go to this non-denominational site (http://www.allaboutgod.com/plan-of-salvation.htm) or email me at ekschroeter1@gmail.com.

Big Dogs, Little Dogs - Don't Try Growing Larger Than Your DNA Will Allow (#Impossible); Focus On #Reproducing The #Value You Can Bring

Consider big dogs and little dogs.

• Both live, breathe, and constantly regenerate, but their features and their lives will look different, as they should.
• Both grow, but their ultimate size will be dictated by their DNA.
• Both can be healthy, but their health will result in behaviors unique to their kind.
• Both get sick, but their sickness is often common to their breed.
• Both have vital systems--the same vital systems--but their systems are size-appropriate, or something is really wrong.
• Both make their presence known, but their sound as they bark at the world fits exactly who they are.
• Both add value, but their best use differs greatly, and it is the reason their breed is even around.
• Both mature, but their mature disposition reveals their uniqueness.
• Both reproduce, but their offspring will undoubtedly share their characteristics.

The point is that if you spend all of your time and energy trying to grow your organization larger than its DNA will allow, you are fighting an impossible battle and very probably missing your reason and purpose--the value your organization alone can bring!

“It is prodigious the quantity of good that may be done by one man, if he will make a business of it.” #Ben Franklin #DoGood

Doing good to others, if you arise each day and make it one of your primary goals, will be transformational to you, your family, your organization, and your community.

I am not talking about occasionally slipping a few coins into a Salvation Army kettle or running in the annual 10K race to show your support for a local charity.  I am talking about adding to your calendar and budget regular, even daily, efforts to lift up the people around you in one way or another.  You get to pick how.

I am talking about doing good without discrimination so that your competition, even your enemy, receives blessing derived from you.

This is a strategic endeavor that becomes part of who you are.  As Benjamin Franklin said, you “make a business of it.”

It is an outflow of goodness that expects nothing in return—no publicity, no profits, no power.

But when you approach your life in this way, you can rest assured that your reward will be great![1]

____________________

[1]  Luke 6:33-35

Don't Get #Frustrated By The #Limits, But Let Them #Empower You To See New Things

It's Friday and maybe you're looking back over the week feeling a little unfulfilled about what happened. Maybe the results didn't match up to your expectations.  Or perhaps you're looking ahead to this weekend's event or next week's meeting and you're frustrated because you feel like the tools and resources at your disposal are just too limited to make the impact you desire to make.  Or it just might be that you're thinking about your target market and it seems too small for you to generate any momentum.  You are certainly not alone.

At first, a new "sandbox and all of its toys" are captivating and more than enough to keep you engaged and hopeful--full of vision and energy.  But time, growth, and maturity reveal the limits and boundaries of your situation and they will always force you to make a decision that goes something like this:  "Am I the person who gets frustrated about the limits I see, or do I get excited as I look beyond those limits?"

People who learn to let their frustrations empower them not only move on to greater things, but tend to go through life with a whole lot more joy!

Today is the day to step out of the sandbox!