David Novak Leadership

How do you build a winning team?

Have you noticed how great leaders always praise the people who helped them succeed? How did these leaders build a winning team, and what makes a team great?

Goals can’t be met when teams are disjointed, or lack the skills needed to get the job done. Simply put, a talented team who works well together wins.

A winning team needs four kinds of people:

Promoter
A promoter has plenty of drive. Their strength lies in growing others’ ideas and contributing to their team. They are passionate and energetic.

Supporter
The supporter is the backbone of the team. They are givers who seek to help their team members. They thrive on recognition and value respect.

Controller
The controller is the “doer” of the team. Controllers are decisive, confident, and focused. They get the job done.

Analytic
Analytics are the problem-solvers. They are goal-oriented, detailed, and logical. Their disciplined and systematic approach ensures great results.

Does your team meet all of these categories? If not, you might need to think about rounding out your team’s skill sets. Why is this important? Say you have a team full of ideas-people but no implementers, how would anything get done? An imbalanced team can’t win.

Once you’ve built a winning team, the next step is to lead them according to their strengths. Are you the kind of leader people want to follow? Find out by taking our FREE online leadership assessment.

Imagine the worst has happened. The credibility of your business is on the line. Social media is slamming your organization and you’ve lost goodwill with your customers. Morale is down. People are murmuring negative comments at every team meeting. You’re even wondering if maybe the time has come to call it quits.

Okay, so this example is pretty extreme, but you probably know what it feels like when the chips are down.

When times are hard, maintaining a positive culture can be difficult. How can leaders defy being dragged into negativity?

The answer is simple: you must let your cultural values guide you through the tough times.

People will feel more confident when your values are a main factor in the decision-making, especially when the situation looks bleak. For example, when Yum! was being formed, the executive team hired someone who ended up not being a good fit for their culture. The team had to decide between letting that person go, which would lead to a dive in stocks, or keeping him, and consequently communicating to their staff that culture wasn’t as important as they had claimed.

The executive team at Yum! chose culture, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions they ever made.

Another way you can maintain positive culture is to recognize people who are already doing the things you want to see more of. What are they doing right? Be specific. By recognizing those who bring value to your organization, you encourage others to do the same, and in effect, you promote your goals among the team in a positive way.

Want more great leadership tips? Check out our leadership course, which gives in-depth advice on culture, recognition, and how to become a better leader.

Leaders are like anyone else in the sense that they are human and imperfect. Some leaders are impatient, others are too critical or non-confrontational. Everyone has places where they could use some help.
How do you overcome your leadership shortcomings?
The first thing you need to do is identify your weaknesses. Do you have trouble articulating what you want; are you easily overwhelmed, or just not into details? That’s okay! When you know your weak spots, they are easier to address.
For some leaders, their biggest strength is also their biggest weakness. For instance, you may be very passionate; however, when it comes to working with a team, you come across so passionate that people don’t feel comfortable disagreeing with you. Or perhaps you are very creative and you’re always coming up with new ideas, yet you have trouble completing them because you’re constantly itching to move to the next thing. Is this the case with you?
Once you’ve identified your weaknesses, use these two tools to help you manage them:

By: Gregg Dedrick, President & Co-Founder of David Novak Leadership

When was the last time you felt overwhelmed with all the things you needed to accomplish? Did stress settle in as you worried about how to juggle all the tasks on your list? Did you wonder what would happen if you dropped something? Would you lose your job? Would a relationship become broken? Would you have a second chance? Learning to set your priorities effectively helps you overcome the fear and worry tied to juggling lots of tasks.

A Lesson in Setting Priorities Effectively

My boss at Pepsi taught me a unique way to set my priorities effectively with a crystal ball vs. rubber ball analogy. Let me explain. My first job out of school was with Pepsi and I quickly learned their approach to discovering the best was rooted in a sink or swim mentality. You were automatically thrown into the deep end when you started, and the management team watched to see who would sink and who would swim. Fifty percent of new hires didn’t survive year one and 50% of year one survivors sank in year two.

I was blessed with a boss who set realistic expectations for me right out of the gate. My boss invited me to lunch at an expensive restaurant and shared advice on how to swim and survive. Here’s how the conversation went:

There are two types of companies you can join: ones where you eat well and ones where you sleep well.  As you can see, Pepsi is a company where you eat well. Here’s the deal: you will always have more work than you can EVER get done. You will constantly juggle lots of balls at work, so it’s important to identify what balls you’re juggling: crystal balls or rubber balls. If you drop a rubber ball, you can come back and pick it up later. However, if you drop a crystal ball, it will shatter and it’s all over for you. Make sure you understand the difference so you can effectively manage your priorities, Gregg.

Because of this experience at Pepsi, I developed a crystal ball vs. rubber ball mindset. I always juggle crystal balls and rubber balls in my life – whether personally or professionally. The challenge is to properly label each ball and then use that information to effectively manage my time. I identified my daughters as crystal balls when they were young, and I turned down jobs with travel during this time. My daughters needed my presence during those formative years and I didn’t want to miss out on something I could never get back.

When I retired from Yum! Brands, my dad had serious surgery. For two years, he was in and out of hospitals, and I spent significant time with him during this part of his life journey. This crystal ball moment with my dad required me to say no to some things. When my dad passed away, I was incredibly thankful that I saw him as a crystal ball, because I would have regretted missing out on the time we shared.

Setting Your Priorities:

What about you? Have you taken time to consider what’s a crystal ball or a rubber ball in your relationships? Professional life? Personal life? If you need some help setting your priorities, then download this guide. It includes an activity to help you think through your priorities and identify each one as a crystal ball or a rubber ball. Goethe provides us with a powerful reminder when it comes to setting priorities: Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least. Let’s identify what matters most so the cherished crystal balls in our lives maintain their beauty and get the attention they deserve.

Were you inspired to make a change based on what you read? Do you know someone who would benefit from understanding the difference between crystal balls and rubber balls? I’d like to invite you to pay it forward by giving the gift of effective time management. Who will you invest in today by sharing this blog and the guide?