ELEPHANT ALERT!
Imagine you are the coach for the defending Super Bowl champions, New York Giants. Because you won last year, you tell the team, “It’s obvious we have the best talent, so we’re not going to practice together. Just show up on game day ready to play.”
This insane approach would result in a 0-16 record and the end of your career. Shockingly, guess what the predominant approach is in business?
Here’s the elephant in the office: Despite the best of intentions, the traditional “training mentality” is costing companies billions of dollars. Giving people a “once-in-a-while” chance to improve how well they work together backfires; people become cynical and skeptical and an attitude of “the company values rhetoric” emerges as employees are exposed to a daily dose of dysfunctional teamwork.
Once-in-a-while must be replaced with all the time.
STOMP THE ELEPHANT
An event-based, build-the-team-once-in-a-while mentality is the predominant approach in business. Most of the people reading this blog are a part of a company that has achieved a paradigm shift: It is in EVERY interaction you have with others that defines and determines your effectiveness as a team. This is the essence of culture.
Therefore, successful organizations equip team members with leadership tools they can apply in daily interactions. These companies understand that it is in every conversation you have with a colleague that you are either destroying your culture – or making it stronger.
Professionals understand that “game day” only reflects the efforts and effectiveness delivered in the previous six days. Instead of building a team “once-in-a-while”, they know that the only way to win is via a systemic, moment-by-moment approach.
Results never lie: this is the only way to win. What will you do in your interactions today to bring your team one step closer to victory?
Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?
