Nine Habits
Looking for a good Monday ritual?
As a team, answer these three questions: 1) What did we accomplish last week? 2) What do we need to accomplish this week? 3) Is there anything standing in our way?
Recognizing outcomes—good and bad
Some teams rationalize and try to cover up missed milestones. Other teams forget to celebrate victories. Make sure you publically acknowledge both—it could be a victory dinner for a win or a learning lunch for a miss.
Do a belief gut check
As a manager, your job is to continually keep the team motivated by building belief in the work at hand. To do this, we recommend regularly taking the pulse of the team: Where is belief strong and where is it weak? What do people need to see to feel a deeper conviction?
Empathy can get you unstuck
When your team is experiencing someone as a roadblock, try explaining the situation from his or her perspective. It opens up new ways of thinking about the problem and can help you generate new solutions.
Make decisions visible to all
Does your team struggle with keeping everyone informed about decisions? Consider making a decision board in your shared workspace—a place where you can jot down what the key decisions were and why you made them.
Grant trust before it’s earned
Want to forge a strong duo with someone right off the bat? Don’t wait for the person to earn your trust. When you first begin working with a new person, bring the same tone and warmth you’d use with a trusted collaborator. Doing this in the beginning of the relationship usually creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Small force, huge shift
Is your team feeling overwhelmed? It’s easy to get paralyzed by big forces getting in the team’s way. Try attacking a smaller negative force instead—it can dramatically shift the team’s outlook.