My son’s new girlfriend has brought out the best in him. She’s like a spark plug!
It reminds me of the positive impact one new team member can have on your company – rallying your team’s performance!
My son (Max) met this woman last year. (Her name is Thanh-Van, she goes by the initials T.V.)
Their first date was 48 hours of phone calls and texts before they had their first in person date.
After some typical dating they quickly moved in together, and suddenly our son was a changed man.
- More communicative, showing his love that was always inside of him.
- More planning of activities that we can do together (like vacations, craw fish boils, etc.) He used to plan a week ahead, now he plans months ahead.
- More positive energy being spread around my family – they visited my dad and made gifts for all his care givers and took him out to lunch.
Max and VT are always doing something productive and creative. It has been fun to watch and be part of.
Which brings me to your business….
How many innovative moves are your leadership team (and each of your divisions) making right now?
Or are they stagnant?
Stagnant Teams suffer from one or more of the following traits.
- Lack of Innovation – They resist new ideas, processes, or technologies.
- Ineffective Communication – Team members fail to share information openly or constructively. The team becomes passive aggressive.
- False Engagement – Employees show minimal enthusiasm for change or simply give it lip service.
- Resistance to Change – They prefer maintaining the status quo over experimenting or improving.
- Lack of Accountability – Individuals avoid responsibility, which creates confusion and inefficiency.
- Silos – Team members work alone or secluded in their silo, rather than collaborating openly.
- Weak Goals – There is no shared commitment to stretching the organization.
- Dull Leadership – Leaders fail to inspire and drive progress, either it’s the leader’s fault or the team has the wrong mix of people.
- Unfortunate Turnover – The right people leave while the wrong people stay.
- Fixed Mindset – Team members are defensive and stop learning and developing new skills.
Sometimes adding one high-value doer to the mix (like TV) can light a fire under everyone.
Your Challenge: Take an honest look at your team, or look in the mirror
As the saying goes, if you do not see what is holding your team back, perhaps you should look in the mirror.
Either way, here is the challenge:
Identify which area of your company could benefit from a spark plug who would bring new ideas, new actions, and new initiatives.
Sometimes you just need to change out one element, to create a domino impact on the entire organization.
Make it a great year – not through wishes and dreams, but through intentional decisions to change things up.
Let’s get after it!
Regards, Jeffrey Scott
P.S. Join our free webinar Thursday, “Two Secrets To A Profitable Year.”
Register here with this link.
