Excellence University Journal

WATER Tip: Team-building

by Dr. Brian Higley

December 26th, 2010

Another critical component of Execution Excellence is the ability to surround oneself with the sort of people who will be supportive of the achievement of the most important SMART goals.  The ability to do so begins with an understanding that we all deserve to be around supportive people, is strengthened by becoming clear about how to bring supportive people into our lives, and is further fortified by learning ways to decrease time spent with unsupportive others (rather than believing that we have to spend a lot of time with people who do not support important SMART goals for one reason or another).

For example, Team-building to support the goal “Take out all trash every Wednesday before 9AM” can be facilitated by the following:

1. affirming that there are people who can appreciate the value of this goal (and of doing it well on a consistent basis),
2. actively seeking out these people and spending more time with them, and
3. minimizing time spent with those who ridicule this goal (or attack us personally for working to achieve the goal).

On the other hand, if the goal is pursued without these critical components, it is less likely to be achieved regularly with enjoyment, recognition, and/or in an increasingly effective/high-quality way.  Furthermore, if one such goal is not achieved regularly (and/or properly recognized as important to an individual or a group), it becomes much more acceptable to fail to achieve other goals.  Failure to properly team-build can quickly spread the Execution Crisis throughout your life and the lives of those around you (in the form of low morale, motivation, and/or productivity).  The ability to team-build for success and satisfaction is a critical skill associated with spreading Execution Excellence.  On the other hand, inability to do so effectively on a regular basis is another powerful contributor to the Execution Crisis.

• NOTE TO THOSE ON THE MISSION FULFILLMENT SYSTEM: An common indicator of strong team-building is a combination of (a) more SMART Goals achieved that one is truly proud of and/or excited about and (b) fewer instances of feeling as though goals are impossible to achieve or not very important/worthwhile.  For instance, if one consistently achieves the SMART Goal “Take out all trash every Wednesday before 9AM” and is surrounded by supportive others, that person is more likely to be proud of his work and to receive more praise in relation to regular achievement (indicating Execution Excellence).  Obviously, a lack of strong team-building is a major block to Execution Excellence.  It is critical that people be able to achieve their SMART Goals with the support of others that they deserve; an inability to do so contributes greatly to The Execution Crisis.
• FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT ON THE MISSION FULFILLMENT SYSTEM: Click here to for more information and click here to sign up.

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Article Filed under: 1. WATER Game Scorecard Tips