team building

Corporate CPR Episode 116: How Not Focusing on Teams Might be Killing Your Company

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how not focusing on great teams might be killing your company.

James Scouller, an executive coach, thought leader, and author, has dedicated 45 years to leadership. His four books reflect his profound focus on the psychological challenges confronting leaders and teams. The Three Levels of Leadership, his debut, revolutionized leadership literature with groundbreaking models and tools. Despite minimal promotion, it garnered global acclaim, inspiring countless CEOs. His latest trilogy, How To Build Winning Teams Again And Again, released in January 2024, serves as a companion to his first work. With a rich background in international leadership and coaching, Scouller continues to empower leaders and teams, embodying expertise in psychology and martial arts.

Episode Highlights:

  • Commitment is Key: Teams need to address the psychological aspect of commitment before diving into trust and psychological safety. Without a shared commitment to the team’s goals, dynamics can quickly unravel.
  • Balanced Team Composition: Building effective teams requires more than just assembling individuals based on job titles or regional expertise. Teams must ensure they have a diverse mix of behavioral roles to cover problem-solving, planning, conflict resolution, and other essential functions.
  • Clarity in Decision-Making: Successful teams establish clear processes for decision-making to avoid ambiguity and ensure alignment. Whether through discussion-based consensus or democratic voting, defining decision-making mechanisms helps teams stay focused and accountable to their goals.
  • Conflict is Necessary for Growth: While conflict within teams is often seen as negative, it’s essential for healthy team dynamics. Task conflict, where ideas are debated constructively, is a sign of a good team. However, many teams struggle with conflict avoidance, which can lead to passive aggression and hinder creativity.
  • Understanding Individual Dynamics: Teams are comprised of individuals with unique motivations, fears, and life experiences. Effective leaders need to understand what makes each team member tick and foster an environment where individuals feel valued and understood. This personal connection is crucial for building strong teams.
  • Seven Action Principles for Team Success: James shared seven action principles for achieving team success. These principles provide a roadmap for addressing key psychological issues within teams and improving overall effectiveness.

Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Whether you’re struggling with team building or simply want to improve, it’s important to recognize that the art of building and regenerating teams is learnable. With effort and practice, anyone can develop the skills necessary to build effective teams.
  2. While improving team dynamics requires dedication and practice, the effort invested in developing these skills will ultimately pay off. Not only will you enjoy your work more, but your teammates will also benefit, and your company will see better results because of improved team dynamics.
  3. To support your journey in mastering team building, there are resources available, such as books and tools, that can provide guidance and insights. By leveraging these resources, you can gain valuable knowledge and techniques to enhance your team leadership abilities.

For More Information Related To This Episode:

https://leadershipmasterysuite.com/cc/

Corporate CPR Episode 111: How Not Maintaining High Quality Teams Might Be Killing Your Company

/ Jana

On today’s episode we are talking about how not maintaining high quality teams might be killing your company.

Randy Clark, currently Director of Global Operations at IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork), is an executive and strategic thinker with over 20 years of experience in building and managing high-functioning teams and organizations. His expertise spans from creating entities from scratch to revitalizing existing ones, consistently achieving remarkable success. Embracing change and prioritizing alignment over agreement, Randy fosters diverse, empowered teams, believing in uplifting every individual he encounters. With a mantra of supporting people to their fullest potential and infusing fun into every endeavor, Randy finds profound fulfillment in watching teams flourish and triumph together. Eager for the next challenge, he looks forward to continuing his journey of growth and success.

Episode Highlights:

  • Team Building from the Ground Up: The speaker emphasizes the importance of personally building teams from scratch to ensure they are founded on a proven record of success. However, they acknowledge that circumstances may sometimes require adapting to existing teams.
  • The Significance of Hiring: Hiring the right people is paramount for team success. The speaker underscores the importance of assessing individuals’ capabilities, desires, and skills to ensure they align with the team’s goals and culture.
  • Focus on Team Dynamics: Team dynamics are crucial for success, and the speaker highlights the importance of aligning everyone towards the same goal while fostering healthy agreement on how to achieve it.
  • Motivation, Focus, and Advocacy: The speaker outlines three key factors for keeping teams cohesive: motivation, focus, and advocacy. Understanding individual motivations, defining clear focuses, and being an advocate for team members are essential for achieving collective success.
  • Fit and Adaptation: Recognizing when someone is not the right fit for a role and being willing to have difficult conversations or make adjustments is crucial for both individual and team success. The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding roles that align with employees’ strengths and aspirations.
  • Recognizing and Addressing Misalignment: It’s crucial to identify when individuals are struggling to meet personal goals within a role, as this can have a detrimental impact on both them and the team. Encouraging individuals to pursue roles that align with their strengths and passions is essential for fostering personal fulfillment and driving team success.
  • Dealing with Toxic Team Members: Toxic team members can significantly diminish team morale and productivity, highlighting the importance of addressing such behavior. Taking action, even if it means making tough decisions like removing individuals who don’t align with the team’s goals and culture, is essential for the overall betterment of the team and the company.

Randy’s Top 3 Takeaways for the Audience:

  1. Having the right individuals in appropriate roles, highlighting attitude, aptitude, and work ethic are key criteria for success. Supporting and nurturing the right people is essential for team and individual success.
  2. Bring passion and enjoyment to work. Encourage fostering a fun and engaging work environment to inspire team members to be passionate and committed to their roles.
  3. Lead by example. Managers should lead with care, dedication, energy. By demonstrating commitment and enthusiasm for the job you will set a positive tone for the team and foster mutual respect and success.

How to Connect with Randy:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-clark-a30717/

IBN Website: https://www.investorbrandnetwork.com/

Corporate CPR Episode 45: How to Effectively Manage Global Teams

/ Jana

On today’s show, we discuss how to effectively manage global teams.

Dr. Rajesh Kumar is a consultant and a retired business academic specializing in global business. He has an undergraduate and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Delhi, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in International Business from the Stern School of Business at New York University. He is also a Certified Global Dexterity Trainer.

Originally from India, Dr. Kumar has lived and worked in the United States, France, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. He has taught at Penn State, Ohio State, Babson College, and Menlo College in the United States, the University of Nottingham in the U.K., and the University of Aarhus in Denmark, among others.

Dr. Kumar specializes in the art of doing business across cultural boundaries. As companies go global they must deal with suppliers, customers, and even employees coming from different cultural backgrounds. This impacts all facets of business operations ranging from how you negotiate business deals to how you motivate employees and manage them.

Dr. Kumar has led training programs for global companies on Doing Business in India, Negotiating Cross-Culturally, and Managing Strategic Partnerships. Global Strategic Advisory, of which Dr. Kumar is the principal, offers training programs to companies seeking to enhance their global presence. Dr. Kumar is also part of the Partner-Alliances Collective, a group of professionals involved in managing alliances.

Dr. Kumar has a passion for reading, spirituality, and wine tasting. His global experience adds to his vast knowledge, in which he has many fascinating stories to tell.

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Why Are We Here: The Importance of Communicating Project and Team Purpose

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“And we could be fined for over $200 million!” The bigger picture came after the project had been in flight for a year. Setting and clarifying team priorities and the vision should be done up front, not when the project is behind schedule and the team is exhausted and wondering what the point was anymore. Why do we have such a difficulty communicating purpose and vision?

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3 Reasons to Stop Shooting for the Moon

/ Jana / 3 Comments

My philosophy has always been, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” I’m a firm believer in Jim Collins’ BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Dreaming big builds excitement and enthusiasm that propels us into the future. It also allows the creativity to flow and generate new goals and ideas. However, there are times when big goals are simply unrealistic to the point they work against you.

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What’s in It for Me?

/ Jana / 4 Comments

Dale Carnegie wrote a great book – well, at least I think it’s a great book; I’ve read the first half of the book four times, but have yet to finish it. How to Win Friends and Influence People has stood the test of time. Recently I have wanted to give this book to a few people after observing their methods of getting what they want.

People don’t care what you want, they care about what they want, whether it’s your team, a customer service representative on the phone, or your neighbor. If we are not selfish people, we actually do care what other people want to a degree. However, when looking from a 50,000 foot perspective over time, we move through life with significant focus on ourselves. Some are better at moving the focus off themselves onto others, but that is not the focus of this post. For a moment, assume that to some degree, people do engage in self-focus.  Continue reading →

Catch You When You Fall

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Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Research is proving what King Solomon knew centuries ago; there is value in teamwork. Teams allow you to harness the diversity of strengths. As a leader, you should be watching for individuals who complement each others’ weaknesses. Continue reading →

Fire Drill

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Poor planning on your end does not constitute an emergency on mine. This is a paraphrase of a wonderful quote I heard from Rory Vaden. I have lived this at times. I’m sure all of us have been in situations where we had to pull together as a team and produce nothing less than a miracle to get a deliverable complete on time.

This can create a great sense of accomplishment and team work. However, when done on a regular basis, it induces quite the opposite. Asking teams to perform heroics day in and day out while compromising their priorities to make the next deadline (and the next and the next) is one of the quickest ways to have knowledge seep right out of your company. These employees tend to get sick, start producing lower quality deliverables, and eventually just walk out.
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The Power of Humor

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There is this secret power in the world. Some people seem to naturally possess it, others have to fake it, and some don’t even know what it means: the power of humor. It is amazing how quickly humor breaks down barriers and makes you seem more approachable. I joined a new team today, and the first thing I did was send them a comic telling them I hoped they could start off the day with a smile. Instant rapport. I’m not saying they trust me with their lives or anything, but I do think it opened the channels of communication.

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