Team Connectiveness - Part Two

Tuesday's BLOG prompted some interesting emails and phone calls. I always appreciate hearing from my readers and having an opportunity to exchange ideas and strategies. So please keep 'em coming!

One of the interesting questions came from Chris a CEO of a mid-sized software company in California. Chris asked the question "So how do you know when your team isn't connected?"

Chris you must have been reading my mind as that was exactly what I was going to discuss in part two of this series.

How do you know if your team is connected or not?

I would suggest you look, listen and feel.

Look at...

How your people interact with one another.

• Do they show respect to one another especially when things are emotionally charged?
• Do you see people actively present and engaged with one another?
  
• Do you see people spending time with each other outside of work; going out to lunch, grabbing coffee, making plans to see each other for the big game?

Listen to....

How your team talks to one another.

• Do they communicate openly without sarcasm or judgment?
• Do they ask with genuine interest about each other's weekends, kids, outside work activities?
• Do they avoid talking about the tough topics when they come up?

Feel....

The kind of energy that resonates around the office.

• Are people genuinely warm/cold close/distant to one another?
• Does the energy rise or fall when certain team members enter or leave a work area?
• Do you feel tension during staff meetings or anytime various departments or teams have to interact?

Obviously there are literally hundreds of questions I could ask you here that could better qualify or disqualify whether team connectiveness might be a problem for your company. The bottom line is whether you are a business leader or simply an employee, you know from your own personal experience if any of these statements resonate. You probably also know that when any of these questions are answered with a less than positive response that may be a sign there is trouble in paradise.

In my next post we will talk about the revealing impact the lack of team connectiveness can have on a company. In the mean time, I want to hear from you. I want to hear if any of the above questions resonate with you and your team and just how it is affecting you and ultimately your company. Please email me at steve@ripplecentral.com or give me a call 512-577-3700.

Until next time....

Ripple On!

Steve

P.S. Our next 8 Minute Ripple is only days away. If you are in Austin and you want to experience the true power of connection, please consider joining us! You will be glad you did! Email me for more information.

Team Connectiveness - Part One

How connected is your team?

No, I mean seriously.

Do you know how engaged your folks are at work?

If you are the business owner, executive or team lead, you might be saying to yourself, "why do I care if my people are engaged or like one another?"

To which I would politely respond "you better care of else!"

A company who does nothing to actively encourage or assist employee engagement may really be missing the boat. They may be losing untold dollars from the company's coffers as well as encouraging core talent to defect.

The Gallup Poll recently reported in their semi-annual Employee Engagement Index that a mere 29% of employees are actively engaged on the job. A big indicator of how engaged an employee is on the job comes from how connected they feel with the people they work with and for. No connectiveness often means less effort and productivity and as you can imagine the negative Ripples extend from there.

It has been reported that employees that are disengaged are costing the U.S. economy nearly $300 Billion a year. Yes...a Billion! If you are in a leadership or ownership capacity for your company, what percentage of that enormous number is your organization responsible for?

This has become a very important focus as of late for my Ripple work because I believe connectiveness, especially in a team environment, requires a Ripple-centric approach to all aspects of team interaction; especially when it comes to individual and team connectiveness.

When I talk to companies of all sizes it has become increasingly obvious that they are finding that "team building" and rah rah sessions are short on substance, high on cost and lack sustainable results. So what is a company to do if traditional team building, which is so obviously needed, isn't delivering what is needed to help company employees cooperate, communicate and interact?

Well it may be time to learn to Ripple.

Stay tuned for Team Connectiveness - Part Two.


Ripple On!!!

Steve Harper

P.S. Can't wait for part two? Give me a shout at 512-577-3700 and let's talk about your company and team connectiveness.

P.S.S. Come experience connectiveness at our next 8 Minute Ripple happening on January 31, 2007 - email me for more information at steve@ripplecentral.com

Ripple Connection Question of The Week

"How has the word Can't stopped you
from really achieving what you
really want in life?"

This morning I was writing in my journal and for some reason the word "can't" kept spinning around in that head of mine.

I can't make it work at XYZ Corporation because they are too big.

I can't possibly get national press for my book because I am no Malcolm Gladwell.

I can't get the impact that I want out there in the world because who am I and why would anyone want to listen to me?

I can't get my BLOG read by thousands of people.

Well can someone say negative self-talk? I don't really focus on these statements mind you but rather I believe they get implanted in my brain from some higher (or perhaps lower) force to vet my real desires of achievement. They come up regularly and I believe when I let the "can'ts" get the upper hand, I am on the back side of failure.

I believe there is no "can't" but rather can or won't. Someone people who claim they "can't" do something are either afraid of or unwilling to put in the work that it will take to make "it" happen. Can't is a word someone came up with to make it simple for us to choose the path of least resistance. A path littered with broken dreams, promising careers, better relationships and happier lives.

The reason I choose this Ripple Connection Question of The Week is because I believe that when you ask people about their self-perceived limitations you gain some extremely valuable insight into them as a person. Their "can't" may be just be waiting for you to ask that question and to provide the "can and let me help."

Just think of the connection that you will make......

Now here's my request to help me with my "can't."

Answer this Ripple Connection Question this week. Post a comment here and share with us a time that "can't" held you back. Share this BLOG with people whom you think might benefit from it.

Help me spread the word of the Ripple and drive the word "can't" forever from my vocabulary and hopefully from yours as well!

DEATH TO CAN'T!

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Steve