When a medal is placed around a Paralympian’s neck, it’s a culmination of an athlete’s hard work and sacrifice. It marks a high point in a journey rife with heartache and success, with struggle and victory.
Unfortunately, that moment doesn’t come for every Paralympian. Many will leave the Games without a medal, but O.C. Tanner employees still hope to capture that sense of accomplishment for all U.S. athletes who compete in the Paralympics.
What is team building? There’s a common thread found in breakthrough teams: managers lead them with great team building skills. They share a common cause and are focused on overcoming barriers. These teams exceed expectations and produce exceptional results together. Each employee practices the Basic 4: goal-setting, communication, trust and accountability. And, they achieve a heightened level of “esprit de corps” through frequent employee recognition. Click below to read 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. Find out how improving your teamwork in the workplace will improve your corporate culture.
Ask a dozen managers whether they believe in the power of employee recognition, and you’ll get a dozen answers ranging from “not sure” to “it’s the most important thing I do.” But ask if they recognize their people as often as they should, and every one of them will say “no.”
We met with groups of managers about this, and the consistency was striking. Even most of the hardened skeptics think they should be recognizing their people more often than they do.
Many of us have spent the last couple of years hoping for business to return to normal. We’ve waited for something to rescue us from the challenges we’re facing on a daily basis. We’ve wondered where the next big breakthrough is that will snap us out of the doldrums and set our organizations back onto the path of prosperity.
Great leaders figured out that breakthrough would come from someone, not something. These leaders tapped the resources of their employees and encouraged them to help navigate the storm. They also weathered the bumps better than most and positioned themselves advantageously for better economic days. They knew the solution to more innovation, cost savings, increased profitability, organizational growth, and more satisfied and loyal customers was under their noses all along.
Extraordinary corporate team building is founded on the Rule of 3: Wow, No Surprises and Cheer. The world’s most successful companies strive to WOW team members and customers with world-class performance. Accountability and open communication ensure there are NO SURPRISES. CHEERing each other on by showing support and employee appreciation builds camaraderie and esprit de corps. Incorporating the “Rule of 3” is critical to team-building success. Find out more in O.C. Tanner’s New York Times bestseller The Orange Revolution by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, and take your team-building ideas to a new level. And, don’t forget to check out this week’s Orange Revolution teamwork tip:
Great work. We all saw it for 17 days during the 2012 Summer Games in London. The Olympics never disappoint, and this year, Team USA didn’t, either. The U.S. Olympic Team will return to American soil with 104 medals, and we can thank four athletes for quite a few of them. Michael Phelps, Aly Raisman, Ryan Lochte and Gabby Douglas together snagged 16 of America’s Olympic medals in London.
These elite swimmers and gymnasts have more in common than their medals, countries and sports. Each has a ferocious hunger for great work, and not only co-exists with a key competitor, but thrives with that competitor on the same team. These athletes work seamlessly together to achieve greatness—the kind of greatness that resulted in multiple gold medals.
Are you concerned about employee engagement and the productivity of your team members? Interested in developing employee morale, improving communication or changing your corporate culture? How about your own focus or productivity? If any of these questions are pertinent to you, and I imagine they are to most, then might I suggest being more positive?
After recently reading a magazine article about the power of positive thinking, I came away with something of an epiphany: I personally spend too much time thinking negatively or worrying about things out of my control, even though I consider myself a generally positive person! How many times do you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts? How many of those occur during your workday? It’s silly, really! I could stand to heed what my loving wife posted on my bathroom mirror a year ago: “Don’t let what you can’t do, interfere with what you can do.”
