As we enter summer, I am sure that most of you will agree there is a season for everything. How long that season lasts varies considerably but things will ultimately move on and change. This applies to our people and our teams and yet how often do we try to maintain the status quo when it comes to our best people and our best teams.
One of my favourite quotes is from Bill Hybels where he says “We can’t stay here!” The inference being that to move on as individuals, as leaders and as a business we can’t rest on our laurels. To move forward we have to regularly challenge the present. As someone once said “Eat your own lunch before someone else does”.
But the people in our teams don’t always come with us. Frustration and anguish often builds on all sides with the talk of change, until it gets messy, confrontational and the politics start.
So how do we get out of this downward vortex? A proven principal is to go back to basics with your team and analyse everyone’s natural strengths and talents. With that knowledge you can identify people that are hardwired to be risk averse and resist change and manage them appropriately. You can start to consider where you need to take your team for the ‘new season’ and ensure people are in the optimum role to match their natural abilities. The result of all this is engaged employees who produce higher quality work more productively. Solutions such as Method Teaming are available to help you do just that.
There really is no time to waste. It’s time for a new season and you just know “we can’t stay here!”
Ian Mitton
