The ten-year anniversary of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City is being celebrated today. I have many great memories of the 2002 Winter Olympics. I lived in Salt Lake at the time of the Olympics and enjoyed the excitement, energy and camaraderie the games brought to the city. Because of my work, I was fortunate enough to meet a few athletes, attend some of the sporting events, and even see victory medals presented to winning athletes at the downtown Medals Plaza.
Interestingly, one of my most memorable Olympic experiences didn’t begin in Salt Lake City. I had just wrapped up a business trip and after boarding my flight at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, bound for my then-hometown of Salt Lake City, UT, I started searching for my seat. The plane was not very crowded so the flight attendant told me I could sit anywhere I wanted. Since I’m 6’4”, I moved back in the plane, hoping to find a spot with some extra leg room near an emergency exit.
What is a mistake? It depends on who you ask. Stefon Harris defines it as a creative opportunity. Harris leads a jazz ensemble with a collaborative sound built on a collective inspiration.
For Harris, when one of his band mates makes a seeming “mistake,” it is up to the other three members to creatively react and continue on. He believes the best way to inspire is through listening to his band members. “If I want the music to get to a certain level of intensity, the first step for me is to be patient, to listen to what’s going on around me,” says Harris. “When you do that, you engage and inspire the other musicians and they give you more, and gradually it builds.”
We can learn a lot from Harris’ approach. The ability to listen and react positively to the actions of our coworkers can make all the difference in how the team works together. Harris points out that jazz music can’t be micromanaged–it limits artistic possibilities. We’re taking a note from this leader to learn to listen, react and inspire. Hear more in Harris’ TED talk.
Teams that click don’t fall from the sky. It takes time and focused effort, but keep going and your consistency will pay off. Enjoy our weekly tips for powerful team building ideas to inspire, develop and challenge your team. Click to read more for this week’s teamwork tip, founded in the research from O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and get your team on track to breakthrough performance.
Hurricane-force winds. Widespread damage. In December 2011, Northern Utah experienced a wind storm unlike anything it’d seen in generations. Powerful winds uprooted trees, plucked power lines from the ground, knocked down fences, shattered windows and peeled shingles off roofs.
Homes, businesses and communities were in need of major repair, and in the midst of that chaos was a woman who needed help. She works as an accounts receivable specialist for an outdoor recreation company and her fence blew down in the storm. Her husband was set for major surgery in a matter of weeks and she needed that fence repaired in order to keep the lid on a busy household of kids and pets. Her co-workers knew she couldn’t do it alone and instinctively jumped in to help.
Teams that click don’t fall from the sky. It takes time and focused effort, but keep going and your consistency will pay off. Enjoy our weekly tips for powerful team building ideas to inspire, develop and challenge your team. Click to read more for this week’s teamwork tip, founded in the research from O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and get your team on track to breakthrough performance.
Recently, I listened to a radio ad that highlighted Sir Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion to make a point about momentum. What struck me as I listened was how closely related the dynamic laws of physics were to employee engagement, and how that drives employee recognition and appreciation.
The First Law of Motion states that “a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted on by an external force. And, a body in motion tends to remain in motion, again, unless acted upon by an external force.” In the area of employee management, we have all had people who fit nicely into the first category: “a body at rest”. When at rest, they take little or no action beyond the bare minimum, and seldom, if ever, add value.
It’s official – I just wrote my 800th thank-you note! At an average of three minutes per note, that’s an entire work week of saying thanks.
I used to hate writing thank-you notes. I’d buy a lovely set of cards from Thanks, take a crisp envelope out of its crinkly packaging and begin to write out the address in my neatest handwriting. I’d stamp the return address on the top-left corner, making sure it was nice and straight, then I’d affix the stamp on the top right so that everything was ready to go…except for the whole writing-the-note part.
Teams that click don’t fall from the sky. It takes time and focused effort, but keep going and your consistency will pay off. Enjoy our weekly tips for powerful team building ideas to inspire, develop and challenge your team. Click to read more for this week’s teamwork tip, founded in the research from O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and get your team on track to breakthrough performance.
