When we make up our minds about people, we have essentially given up on any hope for them to change. They are ______ (fill in the chosen label) and that now defines that person in our mind. The truth is that there may be much more to that person’s story and journey than what we have deemed
Potential isn’t a reality. Potential is a possible future. Individuals require others around them to do the following three things in order to have the best chance to reach their potential. 1) Believe people can change. 2) Delay deduction. See mistakes as an opportunity to learn and not a confirmation of an existing judgement 3) Embrace risks.
Every team should be about reaching the team’s potential. This includes the wins that everyone is usually worried about. However, if the team only ever aims at the team win, it will often overlook the development of the individuals on the team. This sacrifices the immediate goal for the long term goal of growth and development. Everyone
Teams that believe people can change and grow are more likely to tap into the potential of the team. Unfortunately, most people who answer in the affirmative when asked if they believe that people can change or grow don’t usually match their answer with behavior that supports it. This requires a long-view approach to development and not
Teams that don’t train well usually depend on the untrained or elsewhere-trained individuals to carry the team. Training and developing is necessary if a team doesn’t want to depend on too few people for their source of successful outcomes. Leaders are usually the high-flyer that the team can be built around but if the best people neglect
Our culture has given us a new term that is an apt description of how someone reacts when they are offended. I would like to reframe that as what it takes for us to lose focus. Our ability to be great teammates is correlated with our triggers. I am talking about the things that make us break
It’s tough to be kind to those that disagree with me. It’s tough to take an insult based on things I cannot control. It’s tough to fail and watch others succeed. Its’ tough to not blame my failure on the success of others. Perhaps it’s not that our culture is becoming less civil, but that it is
The HOW is different than other interrogative words not only because it tests authority and competence, but also because it changes and challenges more than the others. Great teams recognize that the HOW needs to evolve as the team grows and as their mission progresses. Consider the phrase, “What got us here, will not take us where
Every teammate and leader will reach a point when they require help to maintain or grow what they have been trusted with. Since our name is on what we are trusted with, we sometimes limit our trust of others in helping us accomplish our tasks and goals for the team. The fact of the matter is that
Too often we treat people as if everyone is the same. The unhealthy get put in places of authority that they never should have access to and are given an opportunity to spread their dysfunction to others. The healthy are left alone without much direction or leadership. Leaders become stale when everyone receives what the lowest common