My New Leadership Website

Ladies and Gents-I am delighted to host my new website http://leadershipcafe.org/

Please join me there for more Leadership Conversations and perspectives.

Leadership Lessons from my father

Abba(Dad) and Ema(Mom)

Fatherhood is the highest calling of leadership. Good fathers are good leaders. How do I know? I am lucky and blessed to have someone like that in my life.

Abba as we call him, (Father in Hebrew) is an extraordinary person I look up to and have made a positive impact in my whole life. 

Abba is one of the most important people in my life that I value and continue to thank God who blessed me with being his son.

Abba taught me several leadership lessons throughout out his life and continues to do so as a great father/leader to his family.

Here are some of the lessons I always reflect on his greatness and gifts:

Life and Family is about giving

Abba has taught me the most important quality of being a leader. A good father/leader has a servant heart that comes from serving people and help them succeed-wanting the best for others. Abba is a selfless leader that really would do whatever it takes to give all he has so that we would be the best we can be in life. He has an attitude that says: “How can I serve my family and my children in their best interests?”

Open Mind and Open Heart

Abba taught and continues to teach we need to stay open to possibilities and listen intently to what’s in our heart. Where do we make a positive difference in the lives of other people besides ourselves? Do we take care of other people by staying open with their challenges and continue to give open-hearted support throughout challenging times.

Continue to seek feedback and learn from it

Abba has taught me another critical leadership lesson that we should never forget as we develop our potential-Being open to receiving feedback and learning from it makes you a better, stronger person in life. Abba taught me we can only improve if we take time to reflect as everything in our life is a teacher.

Everything we encounter is a moment of teaching to learn about who we are and what we can become. But if we dismiss people and their feedback, we are not learning. My life has changed because of the attitude Abba shared with me to take in reflection of the learning journey as we need to respect other people thoughts and feelings.

Never give up on anybody in your family

Abba gave me another great example on how to accept people in our family with unconditional love and kindness. This is a spiritual leadership quality that is Godsend.

all families face challenges and opportunities as no one gave us instructions on how to deal with. But God gave my parents the biggest unconditional loving heart that conquers all the difficulties and moments of learning in our family. 

That’s what leadership is about-love and caring unconditionally the people that mean the most in your life. The day you become a leader is the day you are willing to sacrifice your ego for someone’s heart.

Thank you Abba for the lessons in life and hoping to learn more from you for more and more years to come. I love you always forever. God bless you.

The three A’s of Leadership-The keys that open us

Leadership is experienced differently by each of us. But leadership is always expressed in relational terms as we begin to widen the circle of leadership around us for future generations. 

We begin to build those leadership relationships by working on adding positive values as we engage to learn more about each other’s unique contributions. As leaders, each one of us brings an exceptional set of values to enhance our dialogue and meaningful leadership discussions.  

Relational thinking is the spiritual discipline through which we begin to see ourselves in relations to others, as part of the whole, not apart from it. Relational Leadership requires us simultaneously to observe the three A’s of leadership. The three A’s are not extras. They are important characteristics of relational leadership:

The Three A's of Leadership are:

Attunement

Attunement is mirrored through attentiveness from one person to another. Attentiveness means thoughtfulness by noticing and hearing the words, spirits, and experiences of other people. As we experience authentic attention-we truly feel who we are on a deeper level and understand what others trying to communicate and feel. 

It’s our way of validating the feedback and thoughts of others through empathic leadership.  When we stay attuned, it creates a zone of trust and safety around us. We feel encouraged to look for instead of waiting for someone to create trust. We let others feel safe in our leadership environment that we constantly trying to build as an environment of trust.

Acceptance

Acceptance in relational leadership is determined by unconditional caring. In acceptance, we are embracing people as worthy, empowered, understood and fully approved of who they are as unique individuals. We give kind support for other people’s path no matter how you view the situation at that moment.  

Acceptance is another component of creating the trust zone in our relations. We hold and suspend our judgments toward other people in order to help them feel safer in our environments. We want to help people feel more of what they are, so that they can realize their true potential without destructive feedback that only demoralizes a person.

Appreciation

Appreciation elevates acceptance with gratitude. In appreciation, we communicate with admiration the qualities in each other without any reward. The reward is the joy of the energy that comes from your open heart. Appreciation includes gratitude of kindness and a gift we give to others out of no motive but a sense of appreciating our relationships. 

When we appreciate, we have the ability to extend ourselves and become better leaders and better people.  Appreciation gets so under-utilized in our culture because we tend to focus on what’s not working instead of what’s working right and how we can uplift the “right” toward an empowering vision for the future.

What other values you want to share as part of the dialogue on relational leadership? Looking forward to learning from you.

Are you creating an authentic dialogue?

One of the essentials of authentic leadership is the power of authentic dialogue. 

Authentic dialogue begin to happens when the leader value the web of relationships in any environment. 

Authentic leaders thrive on opportunities to connect in a meaningful conversation to foster a greater collaboration and diverse perspectives within their teams. The authentic leader has a sincere open mind to the wide range of generational views presented to them on a daily basis.

Working collaboratively always brings better results than working competitively. When people don’t work together to share results, the organization becomes more about self-interest which can potentially derail moral and performance in the long run.

Authentic leaders who have the courage to invite authentic dialogue are more effective. Of course, disagreements and conflicts are unavoidable in the process. But when you insist on a professional environment that reward and recognizes different point of views, everybody wins.

How can we use the power of authentic dialogue at work and in our personal lives?

"Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others." Daisaku Ikeda

Focus on what matters

As a leader it’s important to keep your team focused on what really matters. Are you engaging the conversations that invite insightful ideas to make things better? Are those conversations going anywhere or just chit chat? Intention is the key in this stage. You have to ask yourself, what is our intention and mission of our dialogue. In other words, “what are we trying to achieve together?”

Speak your heart and mind

When engaging in authentic dialogue, you need to have a servant heart. Authentic leaders must communicate in a genuine way that speaks from their heart. It’s about asking “how may I serve the people I am with”? This is where integrity comes into to play. You need to encourage honesty and real feedback from everyone. As you speak and communicate candidly, everyone will appreciate the source of your thoughts as they come from an authentic place of your heart and soul.

Listen together for insights and deeper questions

Another aspect of authentic dialogue that sometimes gets underestimated is the connection on a deeper level for understanding and reflection. As leaders we have to encourage an open dialogue that embraces a learning mindset for everyone. It means listening intently to other perspectives and reflecting deeply on everyone contribution. The question every leader should ask here is-“What am I going to learn today?” Let me sit back and ponder on what I am hearing today.”

Link and connect ideas

Last and not least is our ability as authentic leaders to connect the dots of ideas and create an environment where everyone point of view is part of the whole. We are a team of ideas. One person’s idea is never enough to take us to a higher level of collaboration and success. By connecting everyone’s idea, we take a further step toward collective leadership. It takes courage and humility to honor everyone's point of view because the power of authentic dialogue starts and ends when you respect others as human beings.

 "In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change."Thích Nhat Hanh

The best of Lead With Giants-Uplifting Leadership Insights!

This month’s Best of Lead With Giants is being hosted by Dan Forbes on his blog http://www.leadwithgiants.com/ .  Jump on over there now to see the best leadership blog posts published this month from the Lead With Giants Community.

Are you communicating or connecting with others?

With the increase use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs, we are bombarded with thousands of messages every single day. 

Our world is cluttered with words all day long as we receive and send messages to the people around us. 

We seem to communicate more than any other time in history by the resources available to us. 

But are we communicating or connecting?

When we connect with other people, we not only feel more human, we are able to do greater things than we could have done alone. We move beyond the isolation of office cubicles and gated communities to unite with others on many levels. The days when we could do our own thing and it was ok are long gone. Even simple mechanical procedures require connection to be effective.

Great communication and leadership are all about connecting. Your ability to communicate and connect with others is a crucial factor in reaching your leadership potential. To be a successful leader, you must work with others. And to do that, you must do more than just communicate—you must connect.

As leadership expert John C. Maxwell says, “Everyone communicates but few connect.” Connecting is everything when it comes to meaningful relationships.

Connection is part of the human condition we cannot ignore. We were born to connect and interrelate with other people on a higher level. When we meet new people, we seek to connect with them and try to find something in common with the other person by sharing our stories to learn more about each other.

Connection increases trust

When we connect, we build trust, and when we build trust, we are able to be open to new possibilities. When connection increases, trust increases. Connecting people to each other is the foundation for team synergy. Without connections, teams don’t exist. The more I get to know about you, the more I can trust you.

When I trust you, I am more willing to work with you and take risks. As we work together we learn more about our strengths and weaknesses. In the process of working together, I learn that you are reliable and that I can count on you for support, then trust increases further and our relationship deepens.

  

Connection helps relationships

Connection is the key to any successful relationship. If you can connect with others at every opportunity whether it is one-on-one or in groups, your relationships will be much stronger.  Your ability to create teamwork increases as you increase your leadership positive connection with others.

Relationships are more trustworthy and open when there is a connection there. The small connections every day can be very meaningful and insightful as we grow and mature in our relations to each other. 

Connecting leads to better understanding because when you connect, you listen attentively and care for the other person’s story as it was your own.

Connection helps your growth as a leader

Connecting is vital for any person who wants to achieve personal growth. It is essential for anyone who wants to continue building and sustain great relationships. You will only be able to reach your leadership potential when you really learn to make the effort to connect with other people. 

If you are going to connect and grow as a leader, you need to understand yourself and others better. Great leaders focus on other people needs and aspirations. When people know you care about them and understand them, it makes a lasting connection.

Before you can communicate with anybody, you need to care for them and empathize with them. Connection helps make that leap from being a good communication to a great one.

How do you connect with others?

Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow

“The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. “ Lee Cockerell

Leadership is an expression of your heart and soul. To become a leader, you need to know your higher purpose and believe in it passionately.You can develop the qualities of authenticity, empathy, curiosity, developing others and explaining the big WHY. 

As a leader you need to be fully committed to nurturing the well-being and commanding the trust of the people around you. 

Only in the context of a meaningful relationship can people feel empowered and inspired to demonstrate their greatest potential.

Finding your authentic self

Leaders need to feel comfortable in their own skin. It begins with the ability to explore and share one’s life story by helping people understand how we all mesh together for a meaningful journey. You intentionally begin to discover your authentic self by connecting with who you really are. Authentic leaders are not power driven but meaning driven people.

They want to explore why they are here on this earth. They want to connect to their heart and understand how to elevate their soul to help other become the best they can be. Vulnerability and humility are trademarks of the authentic leader and create a positive, beautiful energy. Customers and employees want to help an authentic person to succeed.

Why empathy is more important than ever?

A leader who has walked a mile in their follower’s shoes is more likely to inspire loyal followers.

Leaders need to find a genuine balance between the ability to share their own stories and take the time to listen to the stories of others. Leaders need to understand the people around them and how to uplift the human connection. A great way to do that is by practicing empathy.

Empathy takes a lot of emotional effort because it’s not in our nature to live another person’s story. We really have to strip away from our own personal thoughts, assumptions and evaluations of the people around us. We have to really listen hard as though we are experiencing their pain.

Good leaders take the time to listen to, and connect with followers at all levels. They demonstrate they understand and empathize with followers' concerns, values, priorities, and aspirations.

Developing others will be a priority

Leaders are also investing in one of the most significant facets of leadership today-teaching. Teaching can be very rewarding experience as we continue to develop the capacities in others. With teaching, we are taking people to a mentoring journey that hones people’s potential.

When we teach, we make a difference with our hearts and minds. We are interested in other people’s growth and capacities. We have to be committed to nurturing and planting more seeds for the next generation of leaders.

Leadership legacy involves bringing out the best in your followers. We need to create an organizational culture in which the strengths and potential of each individual are valued and recognized.

Explaining the big WHY

Leaders need to develop the big WHY As the days of command and control are over, the vision and direction of a team would be about the ability of the leader to capture the big WHY in the hearts and minds of others. People rally behind a strong vision when they know WHY they doing what they doing.

Explaining the big WHY also creates a dynamic accountability within the organization. When people understand how their roles tie into the big vision, the more of a difference they can make on a daily basis. But when people fall short of that difference, we have a compelling WHY to help them understand and hold them accountable.

Developing curiosity

Leaders will need to develop a sense of on-going curiosity to help them bridge the gap between today and tomorrow ever- changing work force and innovation. Leaders need have to embrace the unknown by being curious as global changes happen rapidly almost every day.

As more and more people join from different cultures and backgrounds, the leader would have to connect and discover new ways to establish new connections and create a harmonious organization.

Leadership will require exploring and discovering new ways of leading and serving as a whole and not only within a local community. People have found ways to communicate and build communities of practice throughout the world by being curious.

The meaning of trust

“Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trust is fundamental to our safety, autonomy, and self-worth as human beings. It’s the core foundation of every relationship we have. When we trust someone we feel safe to share our feelings, hopes and dreams. We feel we can talk about our concerns without any repercussions.

Where does trust comes from? Where does it begin?

Everyone has the need to trust someone. Even at birth we needed to feel the bond and trust of our mother holding us tightly to know she is there for us as the beginning of a trusting relationship.

We didn’t know anything about relationships but we were vulnerable to give trust to the people we love the most.

Trust comes from being vulnerable and open to others. Trust is not putting on a façade to make us look better in front of others. Trust sometimes means being able to admit you didn’t understand. Trust means you are willing to say you didn’t do something right but you are willing to amend and do it right the next time.

When you are willing to be vulnerable and open, the more trust you will gain from others. Trust doesn’t mean you won’t face disagreements. Trust allows us to disagree and debate in a respectful manner. 

It allows us to test each other ideas and innovative ways of doing things.

When it comes to developing meaningful relationships and trust between people, it is made of many many interactions such as taking the time to listen to other people, to understand them and to see what is important to them. 

Trust takes empathy. It takes the ability and the courage to sit down and shut up. Let others speak to you from the bottom of their heart. Hear their concerns and follow through on it can create a better trusting relationships.

We have to make and keep the promises we make to them. We need to treat people with kindness and courtesy because that’s where trust begins to form between people. We must live out to our daily commitments.

Care is one of the most important elements of building lasting trust. When people believe you are only concerned with your interests and don’t consider other people interests, they will begin to limit their trust in you because you only care about yourself. On the other hand, if you are willing to place other people’s concerns and aspirations on the top of your agenda, you will be able to expand the trust with them for the long run.

As you can see trust consists of many human touches but at the core of every person there must be trust to move us forward to trusting relationships. We need to begin to search within ourselves the humility and openness to let other people see what we are made of.

People want to be trusted and they will respond to your actions of trust. Whatever the situation, we need to get better at establishing, extending and restoring trust as the most effective way of communicating and relating to others. The results will speak for themselves.

“None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.”  Paulo Coelho

What makes a great team leader?

“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.” ~ Warren Bennis

Leaders are dependent upon those whom they lead. The leader’s success will always be measured upon the performance of those they leads.

Leading a group of people and taking them to higher levels of performance is the leader most important calling. Many leaders today are evaluated on their leadership based on how their teams perform with the leader and sometimes in the absence of the leader.

Since the back-bone of leadership is based on the ability to effectively lead any group of persons toward the accomplishment of a single vision, goal, or objective, one of most powerful leadership traits is team leadership.

Team leaders are responsible for much more than simply making their followers feel supported, they also have an enormous impact, be it positive or negative, on the entire team and how it progressed towards its goals.

As leaders, How can we create a culture of team spirit in our organization?

Here are some encouraging insights to share with you and I always welcome your thoughts/suggestions as well.

Walk a mile in their shoes

Walking a mile in their shoes is to encourage a teammate to understand the other person’s own unique responsibilities, pressures, frustrations and aspirations for a better future. When you begin to understand by placing yourself in another person’s life, you make a genuine commitment to relate and empathize with their daily hopes and dreams.

Make an effort today to reach out and hear their pain. Walking a mile in their shoes also helps you as leader to be connected personally to the mission of the organization. Leading by example sets the tone when you walk through the crowd and share the team’s feedback.

Uplift their spirits

When leaders uplift their teams, people are encouraged to grow and contribute. They perform at a higher level, and they use more of their resources in a creative, innovative way. The motivating leader is a people builder who is focusing on strengths instead of weaknesses.  Anyone can focus on the negatives, but it takes a leader to bring the light to another person’s life and believe they can be a success.

Recognize the sacrifices they make

As leaders, we need to recognize the sacrifices people make to ignore their personal agendas and work toward the team’s goals. When people recognize the big prize as a team collective effort, we must appreciate them and let them know how much their team spirit makes a positive difference.

Remind them why their work is important

Take the time to share with your team the difference they make through their on-going dedication and commitment. It’s a wonderful opportunity to rally everyone on the vision and communicate help them visualize that they are part of a success story. More importantly, articulate why their story is better as they contribute with their hearts and soul.

Listen intently

Listen with your heart and intently focus on their needs. Great leaders are able to help mold a team synergy as they encourage each person to listen and connect in a meaningful way. We need to set time to meet with each person to engage and appreciate everyone’s perspective.

Share the Burdens

A good team leader will always step in and help to ease the stressful situations for those working under him/her by doing whatever he/she can to make the process easier and simpler for the team – even if that means that he/she must roll up his/her sleeves and jump into the trenches to help out with menial tasks.

Please share your feedback and suggestions to be a better team leader.

Leaders can inspire others by connecting to a story

“The ultimate impact of the leader depends most significantly on the particular story that he or she relates and the reception of the story on the part of the audience.”  Howard Gardner “Leading Minds”

The key to leadership as well as to following is the effective communication of a story. If you want to be an effective leader, you have to master the art of storytelling that inspires others to become part of a dream. 

Communicating stories to a group of people is a fundamental part of any leader tool box to move people into action. Ultimately, leaders achieve their vision through the stories they relate to others.

Many people want to know if their story (their life) is getting better with you. As a leader are you articulating and communicating a better future for your team, organization and even your family?

So why storytelling? Ever since humans first sat around the campfire, stories have been told to create emotional connections. That connection was very powerful as it communicated a call to action. It resonated with people to make a difference. In many societies, they have been passed along nearly unchanged for generations.

People enjoy following a leader who has survived personal challenges and can share their narrative of success or failure comfortably with any audience.

Leaders find it challenging to get their teams engaged and rally everyone to a big cause. But it boils down to how we communicate to inspire the vision. 

Great leaders found a way to articulate a narrative to keep the vision alive in the minds of their people. Leaders must keep sharpening their message to be persuasive enough to relate and connect.

Information is static; stories are dynamic—they help an audience visualize what you do or what you believe. Tell a story and people will be more engaged and receptive to the ideas you are communicating. 

Stories link one person’s heart to another. Values, beliefs, and norms become intertwined. When this happens, your idea can more readily manifest as reality in their minds.

Storytelling does not replace logical thinking. It supplements it by enabling us to imagine new perspectives and new possibilities and ideally create inspiration for change and innovation.

Stories provide continuity in our lives, conveying a sense of where we been and where we could be. Storytelling brings people together in a common perspective and stretches everyone’s capacity to empathize with others and share experience.

Leaders like Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln and Churchill knew the power of a good story. They even took it a step further-by involving communities of nations to improve their stories. As a leader, are you making other people’s story better?

The best leaders are teachers

"As a leader, you have to have a teachable point of view.” Jack Welch

The days of hoarding information for power are coming to an end. Leaders these days – the good ones, anyway – are teachers. 

The hallmark of great leaders and great companies is their ability share what they know and reproduce who they are.

When we think of people that impact our lives, we think of people who had the ability to teach and create an environment of growth. Leaders must initiate growth by becoming the teachers of today, because the leaders of tomorrow will be the ones who keep growing and developing others.

Our greatest threat is satisfaction. The failure to keep asking, “How can we improve?” can mislead you to take a comfortable route and leave you behind your competition.

Teaching is what separates great leaders from good ones. Let’s think about it, teaching should elevate your entire organization. 

The goal is to pass on what you know so that everyone can do more. It is the opposite of information hoarding. It is empowerment. It is the ’loop closing’ stage in the development cycle.

Leadership expert Noel Tichy has taught about leadership and teaching in major corporations.  Noel Tichy said, “A teachable point of view is your opinion on what it takes to lead other people. It’s essentially your approach to leadership.”

Here are some suggestions on how to become a leader/teacher:

First, ask yourself, what do you wish to convey about leadership? What have you learned? Spend time preparing your message, and most importantly, reflect upon key lessons you personally want to share, not borrowed from a book or someone else’s presentation.

Secondly, ask yourself, how do you want to deliver your point of view to your audience? Some leaders prefer meetings. Some prefer one-on-one and others may prefer to share stories with their team. Depending on the message you wish to deliver, it can have the proper set up for your communication.

Finally, who is the audience to benefit from this message? Is it leaders at all levels? Peers or bosses? Just your direct reports and team? Give thought to who might be interested and who will benefit from your teachable point of view.

Creating your teachable point of view is a wonderful way to develop your team. For starters, it will sharpen your own story telling skills, because to “teach” something, you really have to know the content. But it’s much more than that – this really isn’t about you; it’s about your audience. Just think of how many people you can impact with your views on leadership. Develop your own point of view about what it takes to lead, and start sharing it in your organization.

six qualities of a leadership DNA

Leadership can be different from person to person depending on their leadership make up. Each one of us has a leadership DNA that consists of our experiences (leadership learning), attitudes (philosophies) and how we want to make a difference in the lives of others. (Relationships).

I thought about six universal leadership qualities that remain almost part of every leader personal development. 

Why development? Because every leader is on a journey to expand their leadership make up throughout their lifetime.

It’s a process that never stops as long as you are committed to relationships, big dreams and significance. 

If you are continuously working on your leadership DNA, you can always make an improvement.

So what are the six qualities of a leadership DNA?

Be committed to personal growth

As a leader you have to be the very best that you can be, because you can’t lead anybody if you can’t lead yourself. So you have to be honest with yourself about your good qualities, your bad qualities and the things you need to work on. 

Notice I mentioned the word committed. Many people get excited about starting to create a plan for growth, but only a few stick it out for the long run.

Make a daily commitment to your dreams and potential. Jim Rohn said, “If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Be committed to other people’s growth

The true mark of a leader is how committed they are to the growth and development of their team. Peter Drucker once said, “There is no success without a successor.”  

If someone asks, “who made an impact on your leadership DNA?” you will probably think of someone that mentored and believed in your potential. I think the day you developed someone and they advanced their career is the day you need to celebrate the impact your leaderships has made on another person’s career.

Lead with your heart

Leading with the heart is difficult for many leaders. Some think it’s too soft and it comes across as the “nice guy finish last” attitude. It doesn’t mean that you don’t set expectations and standards. But if you lead with your heart, people figure out whether you’re genuine, whether you’re real.

Leading with your heart is what I call authentic leadership. You have to be authentic and genuine in your relationships with other people. Leading with the heart means you care about those relationship and you want to bring the best in others.

Trust the people you lead

This is another difficult quality that many leaders struggle with. It’s really about letting go, and allowing people to grow into leadership roles. At the end of the day, it’s O.K. if they make a mistake or if they fall down. Because as leaders, it’s your job to pick them back up.

Be part of something memorable

People want to be part of something memorable. People want to feel they are working toward a big dream. As a leader, you must have a relentless vision that has a story to tell. Great leaders want people to join them in their journey to make the vision a reality.

Serving the people you lead

It’s about putting the cause before yourself, and a willingness to see it through. It’s the way we live each day. My job is to lead and to make a difference. We have to be the catalysts for change, to create an environment where people can grow and prosper. It begins with a servant’s heart.

How leaders can inspire a team synergy?

“Synergy - the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously.” Mark Twain

Some teams are basically a collection of individuals; other teams are synergized. 

Whether you are a leader, a manager, a president or vice president, a coach, a parent-your most important resource is your people.

A strong company culture brings cohesiveness to the team. It is the team’s strength to carry on a winning culture that creates a competitive advantage in the market. A shared culture can provide a source of pride in being unique and exceptional from other companies undefined team culture.

The leader unifies the team members through an awareness of their common culture to uplift everyone to a higher performance.

So how can leaders create synergetic teams in their culture?

The best teams have a mutual vision

Teams need a shared vision in order to drive a shared winning culture. Each person on the team must share the same vision and be passionate about where the team is going. The culture flows from the team’s vision toward a better future. Without a collective vision, the team is going no-where or it will focus on personal agendas which will hinder the team culture and progress.

The best teams face challenges together

The best teams are not frustrated by setbacks. They are determined to come up with a common objective to tackle the issues together. It does not mean everyone on the team shares the same point of view but everyone understands the sacrifice they need to make in order to be a team player. The team agrees on the challenge and set forth the energy to deal with the setbacks together.

The best teams raise the bar together

The best teams continue to challenge themselves as they build momentum toward success. A team must have a learning mindset to make a commitment to stretch beyond their current realities. The best teams look at yesterday’s success as part of the journey to tomorrow’s better performance. Success is never final. The best teams build on everyone success and opportunities to improve.

The best teams focus on what’s right with each other

The best teams recognize every person’s added value to the company culture. Everyone plays a role and can make a contribution. We just have to focus and build on the strengths of each other. The best teams are not a collection of the best people or the best talent but the best roles that can make a group of people succeed.