I love life on two wheels, especially a bicycle.
Since I travel extensively with my bicycles in tow, my bikes are the perfect way for me to get exercise, explore, and discover all at the same time.
I am always envious of the groups I see riding together on the new trails I am exploring.
I miss my group of riding friends, and, unfortunately, I’m never in an area long enough to make new riding friends.
Humans are, at their core, pack animals.
Successful business owners recognize and commit considerable energy to building their team of leaders, their pack, and their tribe.
The characteristics of a high-performance team can be compared to a three-legged stool where each leg of the stool stands for one critically important characteristic. Take any leg away from the stool and it collapses. Take any of these characteristics away from the team and its effectiveness collapses.
The characteristics, the three legs of the stool, are Communication, Edification, and Loyalty.
Each characteristic requires further definition to be fully understood.
Let’s examine Loyalty.
In the business world, Loyalty in a team means that the team members are loyal to each other and the leader by telling them what they need to hear.
This is oftentimes confused with a definition that says to tell the other person what they want to hear. This is not loyalty.
Of course telling the other person what they need to hear, requires not only skill, but a culture supporting and rewarding open communication.
An easy example is an employee telling her supervisor that it’s not a good idea to lead the staff meeting with broccoli in his teeth. While somewhat simple and perhaps silly, this is a good example of understanding Loyalty.
Starting with the simple things this builds a culture of openness and understanding for the larger, and much more sensitive issues.
If your team tells you what you need to hear, and it’s often a bit uncomfortable, they are Loyal, to the mission, the purpose, and you. Most teams need work here.
As leaders, it’s incumbent on us to share this operating philosophy by creating a culture that makes Loyalty safe and welcome.
A little time invested here pays huge dividends down the road and paves the path for a high-performance team.
Remember you get results if you take immediate action on your idea!
