Whilst I was at home last night I decided it would be a good time to start reading a book I have been aiming to get to for a long time. One of the small pleasures I have not been able to get to with 3 kids under 7. This particular book however ‘Dauntless’ by Rach Ranton discusses lessons in leadership from a military and corporate perspective. It got me thinking about a few other books and articles I had read and how they matter in a practical sense within the workplace. Workplaces today are different from where they were in the past, and in 2020 our workplaces are having hurdles like we’ve never seen before, our success in the workplace hinges on the fundamentals of teamwork and leadership. For me it comes down to three core principals;
Inclusion – During Rach’s book she discusses team input and how the traditional method of leadership which tended to veer on the notion of dictatorship at times, needs to be re-thought. By providing input from the bottom up and turning mistakes into ‘lessons learned’ rather than opportunities to chastise can change the complete cohesion of a team and ensure that everyone feels valued. Within our workplace at Effective People we harness this philosophy in its truest form. We have hired from outside of industry in order to create an inclusive environment where input is key and our mistakes serve as the foundation for growth (But never make the same mistake twice!).
Culture – Strong Culture = Trust = Autonomy + Efficiency. This little equation is something I love, I think it speaks volumes and works both from a bottom up and top down perspective. At Effective People we promote a truly great culture. But the beauty of ‘culture’ is that its not the company that defies the culture but those that work within it. You cant just slap a table tennis table in the middle of an office and subsequently promote a great culture. Creating culture is something that is truly hard to do; its honestly identifying where you are now Vs where you want to be and having the strength as a leader to never waiver from the values that will create that culture. Culture takes time, its intangible.
Values – Values go hand in hand with the above (culture) in fact I believe that the values a company and a person have is the single biggest factor in developing culture…….both good and bad. Along with beliefs, attitudes and shared behaviours of a team. A great saying is ‘values decide our culture and culture decides our values’. They go hand in hand. I have always operated on the principal of 3 as it reminds me of a triangle which is the strongest shape in the world. Every company should have 3 absolute non-negotiable core values or ‘pillars’ as I call them, due to them being the foundation of the business. Everything that is done within the walls of that business has to align with one, if not all of those values. Otherwise it is not in line with what we as a company are trying to achieve.
Leadership and teamwork are not easy, but through taking a methodical approach to analysing how your team is set up and how it functions and creating an environment that fosters continual improvement it can be somewhat less complex.
Account Executive
