In aspiring to be the very best at what you do in and out of the office, it is so critical that you understand that you are responsible for you! This means that ‘the buck rests with you’- you cannot blame others for any failings, you must be ready to take responsibility. You must be responsible for your actions, acquiring knowledge, words, relationships, decisions etc.
In a team environment, becoming the authentic you is to be REAL.
R emain Focussed
E nergise Others
A udacity to honour
L et go
No matter the differences you have with others; either your Boss or your colleagues, you must have these tips at the back of your mind like a mantra- be REAL!
Let’s dig in;
Remain Focused
Focus is critical in life. You focus on something, chances are that you will be successful at this one thing. That is because focus brings all your energies into that one thing and a tenacity to see it completed or created. Focus can become a challenge if you have a tough team to manage or a difficult team member or a difficult boss to please. You can get easily distracted by the challenge and your focus then shifts to trying to either cope or resolve this challenge.
When your focus shifts, distraction kicks in, it then becomes difficult to see the Goal (remember the GROWTH mantra). Quick to follow a distraction is discouragement, once that happens, your energies dissipate to manage the emotions that come with the distraction; anxiety, fear, doubt, anger, etc, all negative emotions that sap your energy levels.
What do you do when these unannounced or typical distractions come? you must remain focused, with your end goal in sight. Decide not to give in to the negative circumstances but be upbeat in pushing through it and coming out successful.
How do you do this?
- Decide to be kind- whatever the issue is, don’t take it personal even though sometimes it looks that way.
- Decide on how to deal with challenge within a specified time frame that does not affect the project
- Be positive in the outlook on what sort of results you desire
- Communicate your decision
- Implement
One last key tip; you may notice from the points above that’s a resolution is all about the decisions you take when faced with a challenge; the more reason you should have your wits around you, resist giving in to the negative emotions, they skew your decision making and affect your end results.
Energise Others
The team works better when energised by the leader or even by team members. Truth be told, some of us don’t really want to work in teams, we want to be left to run our own thing- have you ever heard these words “I can do it better myself”- I am sure most of us, if not all, are guilty of these words. Thing is, once you are in a team, you must endeavour to make the best of it. First realise that everyone no matter how dull they look or speak, has a unique strength that you do not have. NEVER look down on anyone! Instead build on their strength and minimise their weakness by using the strengths of other team members.
Energise others! Get them to feel and be part of the team. Involve them in the decision-making process. Be kind! It changes perspective and tends to bring out the best in people. A few things you can do to energise others;
- Create activities that are team bonding- health walks, dinner, TGIF at the office, etc
- Use praise often – appreciate hard work , celebrate their strengths
- Communicate always
- Involve in decision making process
Understand that the Team that works together achieves better results. TEAM – Together We Achieve More!
Audacity to Honour
This is a sticky one, because it encourages you to be humble. Yes! Humility must be the hardest part of life however that’s really the unsung hero in the room and the best way to make it to the top of the ladder!
Audacity to honour simply is giving honour to everyone even to the least among you. This means to give or show respect to all team members whether you are the Boss or not! This builds trust and camaraderie (mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together) amongst team members. Audacity to honour also means outside of the team, your key stakeholders within the project scope must be accorded respect and recognition- most especially if your project will affect their operations in specific ways.
Some ways to honour team members:
- Celebrate the small wins
- Remember and celebrate birthdays
- Celebrate their special wins; examinations, birth of a child etc and be there during the time of a loss
- Give surprise presents
- Communicate actions
Remember that all members of your team – even the office assistant, security guard etc must be honoured- start today and watch their confidence grow! It makes for a better workplace.
Let Go
Offenses will always happen however your reaction to them determines your level of maturity and willingness to grow as an individual. I have heard this often and not sure who said it;
“if you stop to rant at everyone who throws a stone at you, you will never make it to your destination on time or at all.”
You must learn how to Let Go!!! I always say don’t take things personal, you will live longer! You really shouldn’t be focused on what people think you are. Be focused on achieving. Cultivate a trust relationship with your bosses. Let them know your capabilities and your ability. Be faithful in what you do and always aspire to shine brighter. That way you are consumed with becoming the best and authentic version of you and a better individual to those around you. The naysayers shouldn’t bother you! Let go, once you start to carry all the unnecessary heavy burdens of gossip, malice, bitterness etc, your become too burdened to move forward. Learn to forgive without even an apology from the offender in sight. You have too much ahead of you to bother about opinions and perceptions.
Remember that sometimes offenders have no idea that they have just offended you- smile and correct the offense if need be.
So, I do hope we can start to practise and sharpen our interpersonal skills to make the team work and our successes grow.
Go for it!