Minding Your Own Brand - Is Your Team Ready To Win?
I had the privilege to hear Red Sox skipper Terry Francona speak about the 2004 championship Red Sox. He talked about how their historic and odds defying wins were as much about team chemistry and off the field team bond as it was about on the field talent and heroics.
Companies can learn from this. When building their team, they need to examine how the talent they hire fits the culture they wish to build. It is hard to change individuals because most people don't want to critically look at themselves and they hate change. Therefore, instead of just hiring for talent, companies must examine candidates for attitude and team fit.
The entire team must be on the same page and working as a unit. An organization will fail if people are acting as individuals and in their own best interest, just like a baseball team may lose if the hitter tries to boost his batting average rather than hit a sacrifice and move the runner closer to home plate. When everyone is aligned, the organization is aligned and heading in the same direction.
Traditional business thinking aims to control situations, but companies must avoid the temptation to try to set the culture by force. Companies should stop focusing on controlling employee interactions and focus on matching up people with similar expectations who will build and deliver the desired culture. When you recruit based on shared expectations, less effort will be required to attain success. This is due to the fact that the team will shape their own culture based on these expectations and they will be inspired to advocate for the organization. Because of this, companies will find it easier to recruit and retain other loyal internal and external advocates.
If you want to win, hire for attitude and team fit, create an environment where extraordinary things can happen, give your team the power to shape the organization, the resources to get it done, and the guidance to keep it moving forward. If you follow these steps, your team will create an extraordinary culture that builds long-term advocacy, the organization will succeed, and you will have a strong and winning brand.
Related Tags: team building, organizational development, recruitment, brand strategy, brand culture, team dynamics
Dave Lubelczyk is president of IMAGEidentity, LTD which helps organizations achieve success by building advocacy through brand development and organizational development. He can be reached by phone: 508-259-9016 or at http://www.imageidentity.com
Archives of Minding Your Own Brand articles are available at http://www.mindingyourownbrand.com
© 2005 Dave Lubelczyk, All rights reserved.
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