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Develop_a_We_Focus_And_Not_a_Me_Focus
| Develop a We Focus And Not a Me Focus
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"There’s only one thing more contagious than a good attitude –
and that’s a bad attitude…Most bad attitudes are the result of
selfishness.” -John Maxwell – The 17 Indisputable Laws of
Teamwork "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small
bundle." - Benjamin Franklin
____________________________________________ Great leaders know
how to focus on the team ahead of themselves. They do this by
developing a "We" focus.
Consider an exercise I often run with seminar participants. I
call it the Best/Worst Supervisor exercise.
I’m going to ask you to reflect on two specific
supervisor-employee relationships you have experienced from the
employee side. As you read the rest of this article, stop for a
moment and carefully think about these relationships with your
supervisors - either past or present.
Relationship Number 1:
Think about the person you worked for that you would be willing
to help anytime. Someone who you would willingly come in early,
stay late, or work through lunch for just because they asked.
The key phrase is, “just because they asked.” The person we are
considering got extra effort from you because of who they were
and not from the position of authority they held over you.
You might write down the answers to the following questions as
you reflect on this experience:
- What specifically did they do?
- How did they behave towards you and others to create this
feeling in you?
- How much fear did you feel associated with working for them?
- Did you feel controlled or influenced by them? In other words,
did they have an indirect effect on your behavior, or did they
directly regulate your behavior?
My personal experience, verified by discussions with thousands
of business people across the country, is that most people
report a positive, influence type relationship with this person.
We’ll call this person the Best Supervisor.
Relationship Number 2:
Now, think about a supervisor you hated to do anything for. The
supervisor who kept checking your progress, criticizing your
work, and threatening to punish you in some way if you didn’t
perform to standard.
Now, reconsider these questions with regard to this person.
- What specifically did they do?
- How did they behave towards you and others to create this
feeling in you?
- How much fear did you feel associated with working for them?
- Did you feel controlled or influenced by them? In other words,
did they have an indirect effect on your behavior, or did they
directly regulate your behavior?
We’ll call this person the Worst Supervisor.
Most people say that the Best Supervisor got more voluntary
effort and better long-term performance and relationship results
from their team. I have yet to meet the person who says the
Worst Supervisor got great performance from their team.
Now consider this question for a moment: Who do you think these
two people thought/think about first? Most people say that the
Best Supervisor tends to keep their focus on others. Most people
also say that the Worst Supervisor tends to think only of
themselves and their interests.
The question for leaders becomes – How do I want the people on
my team to view me?
The answer lies in how we, the leaders, think.
Our thoughts become words or actions that influence the behavior
of the people around us. When I focus on my personal desires, I
act in selfish ways. When I act in selfish ways, I inspire
mediocre performance in my team. When I focus on the team, I act
in the team’s best interest. When I act in the team’s best
interest, I inspire high-level performance in my team.
As I close this article, my mind is racing with possible
questions and qualifying statements. Due to space and time
constraints, I haven’t even begun to address some of the issues
that come to mind:
- How does this apply to team members who don’t want to play
nice?
- How do you preserve the integrity of your vision while working
with people who see things differently? etc.
These issues are too big to consider all at once. I'll address
these related issues at a different time. So for now, I
encourage you to remember this one tip . . . Develop a “we”
focus and not a “me” focus.
About the author:
Guy Harris is the Chief Relationship Officer with Principle
Driven Consulting. He helps entrepreneurs, business managers,
and other organizational leaders build trust, reduce conflict,
and improve team performance. Learn more at
http://www.principledriven.com Register for Guy's monthly
newsletter at http://www.principledriven.com/newsletter.htm
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