Posts

, , , ,

Self Improvement Starts With Teamwork. Wait, What?

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”]
[et_pb_row admin_label=”row”]
[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]One of the biggest hurdles that so many business owners face is creating a comprehensive and dynamic work culture within their business. They struggle with bringing together multiple personalities and experiences and perspectives to achieve a common goal. Throughout my experience as an NBA player and as a motivational speaker and business coach, I’ve learned that when I strive to be a better team player, I also see a radical improvement in myself as well. When I focus on these three things, I find that not only are the people around me are happier and more productive, but I am happier and more productive too:

A great teammate will respect the skills and strengths of others

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I hand out compliments like they are running out of style. I’ll be the first to tell someone that their hair looks on point, their presentation was phenomenal, or that suit makes them look like a million bucks. I try to be intentional about pointing out people’s strengths and expressing gratitude for what they bring to the table. When I focus more on the strengths and skills of others, I am in a consistent state of gratitude and appreciation.

I am very aware that without the strengths and skills of the people around me, I would not be where I am today. It takes a dedicated team with a variety of strengths and specialized skill sets to make our team run smoothly. I am surrounded by people who can do specific tasks ten times better than I can, and instead of letting that make me feel insecure or inferior, I showcase those strengths and those skills and express my gratitude for them. A great teammate will respect the skills and strengths of others. 

A great teammate will must respect perspective

Chances are, your company is made up of a lot of different people from a lot of different places with a lot of different experiences and areas of expertise. There is beauty and power in this. Business leaders who embrace the diversity and differences of perspectives within their workplace open themselves up for innovation, creativity, and success. One of the most dangerous things that can be said in a workplace is “we’ve always done it this way.” If you are not open to understanding or hearing the perspective of others, you are limiting yourself and the potential growth of your company. As a teammate, when you are intentional about respecting the perspective of others, the result is that your world perspective changes. Your mind is opened a little bit further to accept information and ideas that may not have come naturally to you. Not everyone is going to agree, but being open to hearing the ideas and feedback of others is key to being a good teammate, a good leader, and a more well-rounded individual. 

Trust

The key to any successful relationship is trust. If you do not have trust, your marriage won’t work, your friendships won’t work, and your professional relationships won’t work. On the court, I had to have 100% trust that my teammates would be where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there so we could make the shot. In business, I’ve learned that customers want to do business with a company they can trust. When the people around you feel like they can trust you, they are more likely to come to you with problems, ideas, or feedback. When it comes to self-improvement, you also have to learn to trust yourself. You have to have confidence that you can do the hard things. You have to go with your gut. You have to follow your intuition but also be willing to take guidance from those around you. Self-improvement happens when you learn to trust in yourself.

The Takeaway

Working to be a better team player consistently is a win-win all around. Not only do you strengthen the culture of your company, but you work on the fundamentals of your character and work ethic that make you a better leader, a better employee, a better entrepreneur, and a better person. If you are like us and taking self-improvement seriously this month, the first step in building yourself up and your legacy up is by building others up first.

My challenge for you this week: Ask yourself how you can be a better team player. Check out our teamwork resources to find out what simple steps you can start implementing now to build a stronger and more productive team. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]

/0 Comments/by
, ,

We’re diving into summer with big plans and big dreams

We’re heading full steam ahead into June with so much in the pipeline that we’re excited about. Here are the two biggest projects we are working on right now:

iTeam Training

We are working on a way to revolutionize the way businesses build teams. The iTeam Training Program enables you to eliminate “bad fits” in your teams. It is designed to help you build a blueprint for a highly effective and productive team based on individual work expressions. Businesses who have implemented the iTeam series into their team building blueprints report stronger communication, trust, and chemistry within their teams

Get in on this dynamic teamwork building program and change the way your team works together!

Swim!

Our biggest and most exciting news is the launch of our book. We’ve been working on this for over a year now, and are so excited to see it finally coming together. And if you know us, you know the debut of Swim! is not going to be like your typical book launch. We’re throwing a party, and your copy of Swim! is your invitation. Here’s how it works:

  1. Order the book
  2. Register for the private virtual party and live Q&A session with Walter
  3. Enter to win Airfare for Two to South Florida with a 2 night hotel stay at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa and dinner with Walter and Antoinette!  

The characters is this book, Drew, Scotty, CiCi, Julia- they feel real to me. They feel like family and I’m confident you’ll fall in love with them like I did. (and one may rub you the wrong way. But give him time….)

This book dives into the fundamentals of developing a shark mindset and the power of mentorship and team work.

We’re diving into summer with big plans and big dreams to help business leaders and entrepreneurs develop a shark mindset, eliminate excuses, and reach next level success. Keep an eye out for more exciting announcements!

/0 Comments/by

Teamwork (carwash)

As I observed the careful precision of that car wash team, I could identify six things that made them work so well together, and that resulted in an impressive final product:

  1. Communication- the team expertly communicated what they were doing, when they were finished, where they noticed a problem, and when they needed help
  2. Chemistry- the whole time they worked, the team smiled and joked around. They were clearly focused on their job, but it was evident they had a strong personal connection and were happy doing what they were doing.
  3. Common Goals- the way the team worked meticulously on their specific part of the car made it clear that everyone was working for the same purpose: to make my car look its best. And it showed. They shared a common goal.
  4. Trust- very little had to be said as they washed, scrubbed and dried my car. Each member of the team trusted that the others were doing their job, and doing their job right. If one needed help, they called out and knew someone would be there to help them.
  5. Accountability- it would have taken me an hour to get my entire car as clean as these guys did in 20 minutes. Each person was accountable for their specific role and executed it with careful precision. Because of their accountability, each area of the car sparkled in the Florida sun.
  6. Commitment- there was a line of cars after mine, but the team didn’t seem rushed. They were efficient and committed to providing top-notch service. They didn’t cut corners or do anything halfway. Their commitment to their service truly impressed me.

It doesn’t matter what type of business you are running; if your team doesn’t possess these six traits, they’re not as productive or successful as they could be. This little south Florida carwash killed it when it came to teamwork, and inspired me to make sure I’m bringing these six traits to the teams I’m on.

Your challenge for this week:

Do a careful analysis of your team and pinpoint the traits your team does exceptionally well and the one your team could work on. If your team can master these six traits, they’ll be unstoppable!

/0 Comments/by

Where Chemistry Lives!

To build great teams, we need to look no further than a person’s skills. Your professionals must be talented and skilled; however, we also must consider their attributes as a professional based in our iTEAM model. Your professionals’ attributes is the basis of team chemistry. There is a huge void in the organizational development space because no one really approaches the subject of teamwork quite like we do. I believe that chemistry is created if we look below surface skills and focus on innate attributes at a much deeper level.

With our iTEAM approach, you will be able to take a deeper look at how to build a team. Let’s approach it this way. Have you ever hired a person that you once thought was a perfect fit only to end up being a nightmare hire? Why were you so wrong? I’m not saying they were a bad hire because they were heavy drinkers, made inappropriate remarks, or were had character flaws. I’m talking about hires that were good people, very professional but they just didn’t fit your culture or your team didn’t get from them what you hoped. The only feedback I hear in this scenario is: “He wasn’t a good fit. She wasn’t a good fit.” The entire business world has accepted that as a good explanation without digging deeper.

Being a thought leader, I’m always asking the question, “Why?” I firmly believe that you should ask why someone was a bad fit because you don’t know if your next hire will be another bad fit. Have you accepted bad fits as the cost of doing business? What if we could give you some intelligence to protect you from ever hiring a bad fit again? Would that be valuable to you as a business leader? What if we could eliminate bad fits completely from your business experience and environment and replaced it with “great fits” “perfect fits” each and every time you on-board a new person?

Based on my 15-year experience in helping organizations build successful teams, I have learned that executives don’t have a solid framework for building teams. They just look at resumés to determine which applicant has strong credentials and extensive experience and then they roll the dice….that’s pretty much it.

Our iTEAM model will help you find a suitable candidate or a current team member by examining their innate capabilities and not just their official job title or experience. There is a much more intimate connection between job function and what a professional actually does. Ror example, I know that you have a COO in charge of operations but what does she actually do? Innovate? Implement? Instigate? Improve? Execute? Once we look deeper into their innate skills, we gain more intelligence about, and appreciation of, that professional.

And as you begin to understand each member of your team, you will be able to build a balanced team with balance through our iTEAM system. Companies make mistakes when they fill positions based solely on titles and experience. Don’t ever hire another bad fit again by using our system; better yet, you should know exactly why a person is a bad fit to the team to make sure you that you don’t make the same mistake twice.

My hope is that you hire the perfect fit each and every time. Your management team needs to have a balance of all iTEAM roles in order to perform at a high level. Bad fits can almost always be traced back to an imbalance. If your team has too many instigators, you need to hire more improvers. If you have too many innovators and not enough implementers, your next hire needs to have a great resume with great experience but he/she needs to be an implementer if you expect that person to be a good fit. You will be able to build your team’s chemistry once you our iTEAM model and build a balanced team. Almost all of your problems as a business leader can be solved by knowing how to build, repair and fix broken teams. Success is a team sport and your employees are your most valuable assets, so you always need to make sure that you get the right people appointed to the right places. And if they aren’t, we want you to know why.

Click the button below to receive a complimentary iTeam Audio Download where I teach you how to:

  • Build trust and respect between team members.
  • Collaborate and best use of each team member’s talents.
  • Ignite mutual understanding and respect.
  • Delegate tasks in a way that magnifies strength.
  • Build micro-teams and how to fix dysfunctional teams.
  • Boost employee engagement and job satisfaction.

[ut_button color=”turquoise” target=”_self” link=”https://dq197.infusionsoft.com/app/form/e1b4cc02568f76c08c8f5e3ee206079d” size=”large” shape=”round” title=”Click to Download the iTeam Audio” ]Click to Download the iTeam Audio[/ut_button]

/0 Comments/by