“Team Building” and “Culture Change” have become the ultimate buzzwords these days. By now, I’m sure you are growing tired of thinking about these phrases. We all have specific changes that we need to make in our organizations, but those phrases have almost become cliche. We all want our teams to be working at full potential, efficient, learning, and happy to come to work each day. Just thinking and talking about team building and change is never enough.
It is all about people. Your staff. The people who some days love you and other days hate you. The same people who you find yourself spending a lot of time thinking about the best ways in which to communicate. If you are like me, you too have internal communications strategies and cascading messages that often times don’t resonate with your teams, and sometimes even go unheard or are not even read at all.
It is exactly these people that need us to lead them.
Successfully leading them is never going to happen to the fullest extent unless they know you, and more importantly, you know them.
Truth be told, some of my best intelligence about what is happening in our culture happens while washing my hands in the ladies’ bathroom. Here we are all equals. Just soaping up, rinsing and drying our hands. We are chit-chatting about life, our bathroom schedules, the weather, kids, how the train lines were late, how they hate something I just decided was a good idea. Nothing is off limits.
I try really hard to know everyone’s name. As a leader of a 300+ person organization, I know everyone by first name and what department they work in. It is not easy, and don’t get me wrong, this takes work. Knowing your employees plays a crucial role in motivating them to deliver their level best. Here are my tips:
Invite new employees to come to a Senior Staff Leadership Team Meeting to introduce themselves, tell a little about themselves, where they came from and what they will be doing at the company. This really helps me because I make a note.
I also encourage department heads with new employees to come to my office and again introduce the new employee.
I write personal birthday cards to each employee.
HR gives me a monthly list, sorted by date, of names and departments.
Anyone I do not know, I look them up and see their photo.
I write personal congratulations cards to anyone getting a promotion and celebrating a big anniversary.
Again, anyone I do not know, I look them up.
Have Leaders over introduce at meetings.
Literally, have your Leaders say, “You remember Keesha who started with us in August. She is joining us today.”
I participate. We have several all-staff events each year. I make sure my calendar is free to not just be there - not just watching - but actually participate. Get involved.
I hula hoop at the annual picnic.
I bowl at the annual tournament.
I make chili for the competition.
I wear a Halloween costume.
I go to knitting club, weight watchers, book club.
I do not get to go every week but I always make an effort. Scheduling this is tough but I consider it very important, and I make sure that it is a priority. At these events I hear about the ups and downs of everyone’s lives. People share because they know I care.
How can I lead a team I do not know?
How can staff follow a leader they do not know?
How can I make the best decisions if staff does not feel comfortable telling me the truth - even the hard truth?
Although it is easier to sit in your office with the door closed, my advice is to get to know your entire staff. Just make an effort. It will be recognized and you will be a better leader.
In turn, you will find that phrases like “team building” and “culture change” won’t just be buzzwords. Your company culture will begin to change by tapping into the core beliefs of each individual, understanding what their basic underlying assumptions are, and creating an environment where those can be listened to, brought together, and reacted to.
Leave A Comment