Team Growth

Obstacles – 3 Ways to Handle Them at Work

This week while traveling, I had conversations with several people about how tempting it is to compartmentalize areas of life like OBSTACLES. Maybe it helps us feel better about ourselves. Maybe it puts problem areas in a neat little box so we can push them out of sight and out of mind.

Think about this – OBSTACLES are inevitable. They’re a natural part of life and work. Right?

So, if they are to be expected, even unavoidable, why the need to label them?

The fact that we label obstacles makes them scary. Conjures up anxiety.

What if we simply viewed them as a part of life – and a part of our work?

Obstacles occur to help you determine if you really believe in the vision.

Yet most people never get past the obstacle. So they never accomplish their dream. They never live out the vision.

So today, when you face obstacles – and you will – here are 3 ways to handle them…

1. Quit calculating the size of the obstacle and remember the size of your vision. Keep your eye on the vision. Focus on it. Fanatically.
2. Find a solution instead of letting the obstacle become an excuse.
3. Prepare for future obstacles. If they stop you, you will never breakthrough. You’ll never experience the miracle. And your vision is worth it.

Your life matters immensely. And your work matters. So don’t give up. Don’t quit. Not today.

What obstacle are you facing that you need to move past today?

Team Culture – 3 Essential Practices of Every Great Team

Great team culture is less about a list of characteristics and more about understanding your team, discerning their uniqueness, and working together to achieve remarkable results.

Team members bring their own ideas, experiences, education, and skills to the group to work toward common goals. So when a new member joins the team, the team and its culture changes.

Every addition (or deletion) of a team member changes the team and its culture – some slightly, others significantly.

To complicate matters, it takes one to three years for a new team member to fully integrate with their team and effectively contribute to the team’s shared goals.

If that’s true, how can teams be effective in the interim? And what if team members are added frequently? How does a team continue to make progress, remain productive, and produce results with a continuously evolving team culture?

As I’ve led teams over the years, I’ve asked these same questions. And I must admit that, more than once, I’ve experienced the frustration of not having answers.

As we’ve coached teams and leaders across the country, we’ve learned that there are 3 things every leader must understand about team culture to effectively lead the team.

Here they are…

Need More Margin? 4 Ways to Get it Fast

How do we get more margin? Every leader wants the team to maximize efficiency. And in this quest for efficiency and productivity some team members can become so overwhelmed that there’s no possible way to get everything done.

The resulting frustration can be devastating to morale and retention.

4 Reasons Your Team Thinks You’re Not Listening

If you’re going to lead a team, you must listen. No excuses. No exceptions.

Some managers naturally focus on tasks and projects. Yet, the best leaders focus on the needs of the people they serve. Always.

Although some team members may be subordinates, they are also partners. And they need to know – without a doubt – that they have absolute freedom to contribute their unique perspective to the organization. Even when it differs from yours.

And their perspective will be different than yours – regularly. So if you are going to influence people, you must slow down and listen – long enough to understand and consider their perspective.

If you are going to lead, you must listen.

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Most employees think their boss is deaf to their recommendations, their observations, and their pleas for more resources. And few managers realize that their team feels this way.

Here are 4 reasons team members think their manager isn’t listening…

4 Ways to Respond When Your Team Thinks You’re Crazy!

I am task-oriented. It’s easy for me to identify a project that needs to be done and to focus on getting it accomplished.

And I’ve learned that there are times that my “driven” nature frustrates and intimidates other people.

A couple of years ago, I sensed a rising level of frustration within our organization. So I sat down with several of team members and asked them to help me understand how my actions were being perceived.

While I expected some of the responses – others surprised me. Some hurt deeply. Not because the team members were being unkind – I simply had a hard time believing what I was hearing. They said things like…