Every morning, do your teams come to work ready to perform their creative best? Do they have a game plan in mind?
This morning each team member is gearing up for the day ahead. Some of the sales team are passionately ready to go, others are busy chatting away while others are deeply engrossed on one of their screens. Every person has their morning ritual, but does it really prepare them for the day ahead? How about adding a quick morning meeting designed to start the day and help each team member focus on what they will accomplish?
Before outlining our rousing morning agenda, let’s look at some brain research.
Really smart people have proven that small daily wins offer our brains similar rewards to winning a six-figure bid. It’s also said that any defeat is twice as powerful as any win. Yes, people can land a good quote in the morning, then have their day trashed by an ultra-picky complaint from a customer. The sooner you can talk out the negative incident and celebrate the win, the better your team members will feel. Plus, this venting will free their mind to create a positive focus for the day ahead. People are so much more creative when they are in a positive frame of mind.
“But it isn’t just the person who shows up to tell their story most often who wins. It’s the person who has the patience and empathy to understand the story they tell must serve the people they want to matter to.” - Bernadette Jiwa from The Story of Telling
It takes a clear, attentive mind to comprehend and process a customer as they describe their vision for their dream room. A brief, focused meeting every morning will help alleviate lingering negative feelings, celebrate the positive and get the team primed for the day ahead.
“Positive feedback is a signal to the brain to do more of something. When we acknowledge, we highlight the behaviors we want to see more of, and at the same time, we build the other person’s confidence and certainty around what they are doing well.” - David Rock, founder of the Neuroleadership Institute
There are many ways to organize these meetings. One simple way is to first ask each team member individually to share one negative thing that stands out from yesterday (or their last shift). Once all have processed their individual bad juju, ask each member for a positive event from the day. Now you have replaced any negative feelings with positive ones. To kick off the day, ask each person for one task they want to accomplish today. Simple and quick. Now they all are leaning more positive and focused on the opportunity-rich day ahead.
These start-the-day meetings also offer managers quality insight into each member of their team, as well as what is happening in their department. Take the time to note who needs an individual attaboy, who deserves a big high-five for a good effort, or who might need help on a large project.
Everyone will start the day having vented and been applauded. Not a bad way to prepare your team to be at its creative best for the day ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment