Finding your common purpose

Matrix Key: Relationships - Staff and Colleagues -

Common Interest

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” - Patrick Lencioni

Back in the day when I owned a sheet metal fabrication shop, I received a cold call from a business coach.  The woman at the other end of the phone asked "How would you like your employees to operate as a high performance team?"  My response was "Team? I would just like them to work together and to stop wanting to claw each other's eyes out!"  And so began my journey of transformation and coaching.  

One of the most important elements of balance and stability at work is to share common interests with your colleagues.  You do not all need to be friends, but is is critical that all employees be in agreement on several key elements.

In the WholeLife Matrix we define those elements as:

1. Vision and Mission
2. Projects
3. Workability
4. Meeting Deadlines

Consider for a moment an orchestra, and the many subtle and not so subtle refinements required to produce the sound that lifts and carries the audience.  The musicians need the same musical score; they must play in the same key and at the same tempo; each individual instrument must be in tune; every musician has to be committed to the performance from beginning to end; and everyone needs to pay attention to the conductor.  If any one of these factors is out of place or missing, it is obvious to the listener that something is wrong.

Likewise, for a group of colleagues to work together effectively, they need to share the same vision (purpose and values) and mission (mechanism for success).  Once these two items are in place, it is much easier for the group to align on the chosen project, work together in an effective manner, and agree to meet common deadlines.  Aligning on a common interest results with everyone being on the right bus in the right seat headed to that same destination.


Are you ready to win?

Career Comeraderie

Matrix Key:  Relationships - Staff and Colleagues

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." - Henry Ford

Some of the most undervalued and overlooked relationships people have are with their colleagues or staff at work.  Because we are all thrown together in an environment outside our personal lives, we tend to not view these interactions so much as relationships but rather as necessary tasks.  Over the past several years, companies have come to recognize the importance of nurturing relationship between co-workers.  Business owners realize that an investment in team building and communication pays off in higher productivity and commitment to success.

High performance teams prioritize working relationships that are built on:

1. Respect
2. Accountability and Responsibility
3. Common Interests
4. Communication

Like everything else in the WholeLife Matrix, you must invest time and energy into these concepts in order to reap the rewards.  If you are a business owner, make sure you schedule events outside of work for employees to have fun together and get to know one another.  If you are an employee, ask a close colleague to lunch so that you can find out what motivates him or her.  The more you have invested in each other, the more likely you are to succeed.

Are you ready to win? 

Relationships

Matrix Key:  WholeLife Matrix - Relationships

"We are not put on Earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other." - Anonymous

It goes without saying that Relationships are essential to a well-balanced, fulfilling and happy life.  This quadrant of the WholeLife Matrix will get a lot of our attention, because relationships are demanding of our attention every day.  

What is important to note about relationships is that they are not all the same, and we must react and behave differently given the type of relationship we have with someone.  Here are the four key kinds of relationships:

1. Significant Other
2. Friends
3. Family
4. Staff and Colleagues

Take a few moments to identify the 20 most important people in your life.  Consider which type of relationship you have with each of them.  As we delve deeper into how to manage relationships, you will be able to see what's working and not working with each of these people and what you can do to make the relationship more fulfilling.  A broad network of good relationships makes all the difference in the game of life.

Are you ready to win?