Nature Gives Us Clues If you were going to pick a model from nature for how to create and operate as a great team, which animal would you pick?
How about lions, tigers, hippos or bears?
Those species are known to eat their young, or the new guy or gal on the team, in our analogy. That doesn’t make for good team building!
How about wolves or hyenas?
These animals are known to constantly have ego fights for dominance—definitely not good for trust and the morale of a team.
How about salmon?
Certainly their long struggle to swim upstream in dedication to duplicate (procreate) the team has to be a good role model, right? Yeah, well, the only problem is, once they have finally done the quiver (seriously, that’s what they do—they align themselves next to each other and “quiver” while they each do their part of the act), they die. That can’t be good if every time new people are brought into your team the leaders die. So salmon are out.
I know what you are thinking… eagles, right?
Eagles are good role models for soaring to individual heights, but they are poor team players. They are known to be territorial, pretty hostile toward one another and constantly stealing prey from one another. Get this… momma eagle usually lays two eggs and most often the bigger of the two siblings (which is usually the female, as they come out bigger) kills the other sibling while mom looking on (harsh, right?). No, you don’t want the new recruits killing each other or the leaders stealing sales and clients from each other. Eagles, team players? Not so much.
No, the animal species you want to learn from and emulate in working together as a team are…ducks.
Ducks, because they work together to accomplish feats that seem unimaginable and impossible for most any other animal.
Ducks fly distances of hundreds or even thousands of miles, a distance almost no other animal can travel and it’s possible only because they do it as a team.
As you know, ducks fly together in formation. As each duck flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird following and that is perpetuated throughout their V formation. Each duck takes its turn leading the flock in flight. When the lead duck gets tired, it fades from the front and is enveloped back into the fold of the flock and naturally another bird takes the lead. By working together, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone.
Like ducks, people naturally gravitate toward organizations that will shelter and protect them and make their life easier than if they were left to fend for themselves. I have found that people want to belong; they want to be a part of a team. It gives them a sense of purpose, where they can be a part of something bigger than themselves.
I also find that most people perform to their greater potential when on a team than when on their own. They rise to meet the expectations of the team; if left alone to their own motivations, they wouldn’t push themselves nearly as hard.
I find that lots of people do more for the recognition of others than for their own satisfaction. Thus, team environments are a powerful force for drawing out the best within our individual potentials for achievement.
Amazing feats are created when the collective whole becomes greater than the sum of the individual parts. That occurs when teamwork is working well.
So in business, people who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier when they travel on the thrust of one another.
As leaders, it is our job to cast the vision and enroll others to share in that vision. As teams, we need to help one another and to offer encouragement and support as the success of the individual creates uplift for the rest of the flock… or team.
Over the next few posts I will reveal the single most sabotaging factor of why teams even made up of great people will fail, and the two most important ingredients for building great teams who perform way beyond their individual capabilities.
Do you perform better when supported and challenged by teammates? Why?
Want to better understand the dynamics of your team, then take a Talent Dynamics profile test and find out?
If you want to build a successful team for your business, you need to avoid the five causes of team dysfunction. Patrick Lencioni, a leadership expert and organizational consultant, shares the five team dysfunctions and what you should do about each.
Absence of trust. “Team members need to be able to admit their weaknesses and mistakes, to acknowledge the strengths of others, and to apologize when they do something wrong.”
Fear of conflict. “Great teams argue. Not in a mean-spirited or personal way, but they disagree when important decisions are made.” Avoiding conflict only leads to mediocrity.
Lack of commitment. “When team members openly share opinions on a decision, they don’t wonder whether anyone is holding back. When the leader has to step in and make a decision, team members will accept that decision because they know their ideas were heard and considered.”
Avoidance of accountability. “The best kind of accountability on a team is peer-to-peer. Peer pressure is more efficient and effective than going to the leader, anonymously complaining and having them stop what they are doing to intervene. Members of great teams confront each other when they see something that isn’t serving the team.”
Inattention to results. “Team members have to be focused on the collective good of the team. Too often, they focus their attention on their department, their budget, their career aspirations, their egos. Great teams put the tangible results of the team ahead of their individual needs.”
What does the Olympics have to do with you and your life? Few people relate psychologist Carl Jung with the Olympic symbol, yet he is the original designer – and the five rings symbolise the five strengths to live an Olympian Life.
When the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, was looking for a symbol for the games, he turned to his friend Carl Jung. Jung knew the circle was the symbol of potential and life in ancient cultures, and introduced the idea of the five interlocking circles as a reflection of five energies – the same five found in Chinese philosophy (Jung was the first to publish the I Ching in the West, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics the Chinese returned to the initial concept with their five mascots representing water, wood, fire, earth and metal).
This year the symbol is 100 years old, and in 1912 when Coubertin introduced it he also introduced what he saw as the keystone Olympic event, the Modern Pentathalon. This had five disciplines that to him summed up the five key attributes every ‘Olympian’ individual should have. How do you square up in these five areas in your life and business?
1. SWIMMING (Element = Water / Spirit / Blue): This discipline is about rhythm. Rhythm keeps us breathing, above water, and moving forward at pace. What is the level of rhythm you have set in your life and business, and where is there stress and disharmony where rhythm has been lost and where you’re out of synch?
2. SHOW JUMPING (Element = Wood / Spring / Green): This discipline is about power. Not the power of the rider, but your ability to harness the power of the horse. How well are you harnessing the power of your business, your market, your industry? A clue: If you’re the one doing all the work, you’re not the rider. You’re the horse.
3. FENCING (Element = Fire / Summer / Red): This discipline is about flair. Your success is dependant on having an opponent to spar with and how well you dance with them. Who are you fencing with in a way that you both are upping your game? Who should you be fencing with? And are you doing it with honour?
4. CROSS COUNTRY RUN (Element = Earth / Autumn / Yellow): This discipline is about perseverance. Cross country is about running through the elements and adjusting with the terrain, slowing when you need to and speeding up where you can. Where should you be slowing down and speeding up to win your race?
5. SHOOTING (Element = Metal / Winter / Black): This discipline is about precision. As distinctly different to the other four as they are to each other, this is not about physical exertion, but the ability to quiet the mind, let the body disappear, and hit the target. How well are you hitting your targets by doing the opposite of working hard?
Today, winning an Olympic medal isn’t on many people’s to-do list. Mainly because – without the right skills and sacrifice an Olympic medal is simply out of reach. De Coubertin’s vision was not this. It was to make sport accessible to everyone, and to use the Olympics as a way to demonstrate how sport can highlight the skillsets we need to excel at an ‘Olympian’ level in life.
So to make the most of this year’s Olympics – Be inspired by the athletes competing in the London Olympics, but also bring these five disciplines into your own performance in life, and claim your own gold.
Want to learn more about the Secret Energy of Business and how to apply it, then contact me for a free, no obligation consultation.
Success comes in many shapes and colours. Regardless of what success looks like for you, it involves being and doing certain things in order to achieve it.
One of the most empowering concepts you can discover on your journey to entrepreneurial success is that self-responsibility – in all its forms – is the key to reaching your goals and enlightening your spirit.
Did you know that self-responsibility actually leads to more happiness, success, and yes, freedom?
Everyone has distinct memories, beliefs, and patterns of behavior around self-responsibility. Sometimes those patterns will trip you up and keep you stuck and frustrated in your business… until you identify them and consciously develop new thoughts and new ways of understanding what it means to be self-responsible.
To be clear, being self-responsible doesn’t mean feeling being the Lone Ranger or taking on the feelings of others. Self-responsibility is much more enlightening and empowering than that!
The key is to fully accept that your success depends on your willingness to do whatever it takesto achieve your goals, regardless of whatever else is going on around you.
Here are 3 essential ways that you can take charge of your business and your success:
#1 – Find Solutions Instead of Excuses
When things go wrong, admit your errors and then take action to correct them – without drama, guilt or lengthy discussion. And this includes making excuses to yourself! Excuses are a time-waster that drain you emotionally and physically.
Put your energy into creating and implementing solutions. Positive action creates positive momentum, which leads to more positive action. Within that framework, “mistakes” simply become learning opportunities, rather than roadblocks.
#2 – Stop Waiting for the “Perfect Moment”
Waiting for your life or your business to unfold in a specific way before you can take action is a guaranteed recipe for inaction. There will probably never be that exact combination of circumstances you’re imagining – life is ever-changing!
The concept of the perfect moment is actually a sneaky way the brain avoids responsibility because it makes you feel like you’re being “rational.” What’s really happening is the ego is trying to protect you from whatever it is you fear.
Use your intuition as a compass to guide you into taking action now, rather than waiting for some idealized scenario that you’ve constructed in your mind.
#3 – Own Your Divine Feminine Power
If you truly want success, you must step fully into your power – as a woman and a business owner. That means being the visionary leader and creator of all that happens within your business, without exception.
Too often, women give away their power to others – demanding clients, unresourceful team members, even holding back so they don’t make their friends and family feel less successful.
Playing small and denying your innate power is simply another way of avoiding responsibility. The result will be less satisfaction and less fulfillment. When you own your power and let yourself shine, being responsible actually re-energizes you!
It’s time to release the childhood notions that responsibility equals having to do something undesirable. The moment you shift your mindset around this concept, you can begin to see how taking full self-responsibility is the ultimate tool for success in business and in life.
Need help with discovering your path to success, then I highly recommend taking the Talent Dynamics test and find out
“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”
–Napoleon Hill
Do you love what you do for a living?
Do you look forward to going to work every day or do you grudgingly show up in order to pay the bills?
Do you work past quitting time because it’s expected or because you’re “into it” and lost track of time?
Many people know their calling in life, their true purpose, and live “on purpose.”
Are you one of them?
Take this True or False Self-Quiz to determine whether you are operating from a place of purpose.
When I get up in the morning I look forward to the day ahead, whether it’s a work day or my day off?
I love the work I do — any external reward I receive I consider “the icing on the cake” ?
My work makes me feel rewarded and motivated rather than drained and exhausted ?
When I have spare time I participate in activities that I’m passionate about, and those activities reflect my purpose ?
I know what my greatest talents and strengths are, and I apply those attributes to my work in some capacity every day ?
I know I’m living my true purpose when others notice and compliment me on my abilities ?
My life, personal and professional, reflects and is in alignment with my core values ?
I consistently base my decisions on my beliefs, not on the expectations of others, and, overall, I’m happy with the outcomes ?
If money were not an issue I wouldn’t change much of what I do and how I do it ?
My work environment is supportive of my personality and talents and allows me to not only show up as my true self, but to perform at my optimal level ?
When my work environment fails to provide me with opportunities to utilize my unique abilities, I look to make a positive change ?
The good (and great days) at work far outweigh the occasional “bad” days ?
My work is enjoyable and often feels like play ?
By fulfilling my own dreams and desires, I am making a positive contribution to the world as a whole ?
Determining one’s life purpose can take a long time, but I’m confident that, even when I question what my purpose is, I know that I have one.
If you answered false to many of these, you may benefit from discovering how to live a life on purpose. Each month I open just 3 spots to coach with me personally – at my cost, my treat! for 30 minutes. It’s my 30 minute “Grab the Reins – Lead Your Life” Breakthrough Session”. So don’t delay submit your application now to be considered for this incredible gift breakthrough session.
The hardest thing to do is to be honest with yourself. We lie more to ourselves than to anyone else. You need to always tell the truth to yourself even when it hurts. Truth congruency comes from matching who you are on the inside with who you are on the outside. Only when this happens are we truly aligned and in flow.
Principle Two – Judging Yourself
In my experience we are our own harshest critic. Many of us talk to ourselves in a way that we would never tolerate from a stranger, a friend or a loved one. Why is this? Well for many of us it is our inner critic talking to us. They think their job is to keep us safe and yet time and time again all they actually do is to limit our opportunities. You need to stop the negative conversations you are having with yourself immediately. For one week carry around a notepad and jot down every time that you notice your inner critic talking to you and instilling negative thoughts. When the inner critic knows they are caught out they will curtail their activities. Better still give your inner critic or critics (17 archetypes have been identified by the Inner Mean Girl Reform School!) a name. Mine are called Sabotaging Susie, Comparison Claire and then my old favourite Chatterbox Charlie.
Principle Three – Stop Judging Others
It is hard to be joyful when you are judging others. Judging others creates a huge amount of stress in our lives. It affects all our relationships – personal and business. Judging is often an unconscious habit that has developed over time, so much so that often we don’t even realise that we are doing it. Let go of judgement and every time you find yourself judging others stop. Just making this small change can have a massive difference on your life and help keep you in flow.
Principle Four – Pursue Fun with a Vengeance
It’s okay to have fun. Children have fun all the time and yet as we become adults we somehow forget to have fun? Fun shouldn’t have to be squeezed into a few weeks of vacation a year, or indeed the last chapter of your life when supposedly you will have enough money to retire. Fun deserves to be part of your life right now. You need to prioritize fun into your life right now or else it will go missing and life is too short not to have fun.
If you want to find out how to discover when you are in flow and living life with passion and purpose then just think about a time when everything you did seem effortless. It was fun, you were motivated and super productive. Then think about a time when the task you had to undertake was boring, monotonous and seemed to take all day. Maybe you were even stressed. This is a time you were not in flow.
To find out what roles speak to your natural talents and keep you in flow I recommend that you take a Talent Dynamics Test and see how your life can shift from living in flow. Enjoy.
Last night I was watching DIY SOS hosted by Nick Knowles. The house in question was a two bedroom bungalow that the owner was trying to expand into a four bedroom home to accommodate his family. The three children were living in one bedroom and the roof leaked and part of the extension meant that the house was exposed to the elements. No wonder the family was challenged and the health of the family was suffering. My heart went out to the family and in particular the husband who with limited building skills was seeking to provide for his family the best he could in between his job as a teacher.
As I watched the programme Nick Knowles said something that so resonated with me. “Success in completing this home would never be possible by just one man, it takes a team of experts to make things work”. This made me think about my own business and that of other solopreneurs and small business owners. How often do we think that we need to do everything? How rarely do we ask for help? Yet what was apparent from last nights programme was that the team of helpers, all experts in different fields, in nine days were able to transform the entire house with over 3,000 hours work. It was estimated that the owner would have taken seven years to achieve the same thing.
This real example demonstrates so clearly the importance of team work to success, and yet how many business owners try to do everything themselves, never bringing in the support that they need. And yet if they did I wonder how much their business could sky rocket to the next level. The business owner could leverage their time doing the things they love and are best at, whilst others complete the other very necessary business activities that need to occur. So how do you know who to hire and what activities you should do and those you should delegate? One tool I have used that has been invaluable for me is Talent Dynamics.
This profiling tool helps you get to understand where your strengths lie and what activities you should be undertaking. Then armed with this information you can then hire people who are best suited to the other roles. So what I discovered from taking my Talent Dynamics test was that I was a Creator. I simply love writing blogs and articles, developing new products/services/businesses. Sure I can do my accounts but that is not the best use of my time as it takes me considerable effort to motivate myself to do my accounts, as well as hours to get the work done. I always find things to divert my attention and so the job takes much longer than it should. Think of all that wasted energy that I could use on growing my business if only I had a book-keeper in place to take care of the financial aspects of the business on a day-to-day basis for me.
For small businesses there is definitely a tipping point – the point at which you think you can’t afford any support but if you don’t invest in this support then your business will not grow. I realise that for many people taking on team members can be a daunting task but there are a plethora of ways that you can do this now, hiring people by the hour, project or on short-term contracts. The flexibility is amazing. And once you know your Talent Dynamics profile you will know which tasks that would be best for you to outsource. If you are interviewing for a full-time person you might even want to consider making the interviewees take a Talent Dynamics test. Then you would know if they were best suited for the role that you were recruiting for. You can take your Talent Dynamics Test here.
Please leave any comments on what activities you have decided to outsource in order to grow your business because as we always say “Success is a Team Sport”. Who is playing on your team?.
Did you know that everyone has their own success frequency, there own path to success? Yet time and time again I see people modelling other people, only to fail, because they are tuned into a different success frequency. Just think about it. If you loved rock music but modelled yourself and your business on how the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performed do you think you would be happy? Would you be in flow? Would you be successful?
Flow is defined in the dictionary as being fluid and our lives our described as being in flow when there is a natural effortlessness in our lives that moves us towards wholeness and harmony. When we are in flow, occurrences line up, events fall into place and obstacles melt away. It’s a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus and full involvement. And you know what. When this happens time just flies by and you feel motivated and energised. Gone are the feelings of stress and overwhelm. In the workplace flow is seen when an individuals challenges and skills are equally matched, thereby creating a harmonious environment.
Just think about it for a moment. If all you listened to on your radio was classical music from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, no matter how hard you try you will never hear the rock music that you love. Your motivation to become a “rock chick” and “head banger” would subside as the music wasn’t right. Try as hard as you like classic music doesn’t make your heart sing. You can invest in attending seminars and reading books to learn all about how classical music is the best thing, but somehow it never works.
You become frustrated, demotivated and feel like a failure. How come everyone else can be successful tuning into Classic FM and not you. Well it’s because Classic FM is not your Success Channel. Your success channel is Rock FM.
The fastest and easiest way I know of to find out your success channel is to take a Talent Dynamics Profile test. I know it made all the difference to my business and career when I discovered what my success channel was and then tuned into Success FM. Don’t delay, take the test and then tune into your Success FM station today. There is no time to waste.
