BUILDING A STRONG TEAM CULTURE Lessons learned by a guy who made lots of mistakes along the way
Oct 21, 2014
BUILDING A STRONG TEAM CULTURELessons learned by a guy who made lots of mistakes along the way
©2012 Central Desktop
WHO AM I?
Mark Fordhamsinging cockroach, vp services @ centraldesktop
©2012 Central Desktop
What I hope to…
• Do • Not Do
Mark
©2012 Central Desktop
Some things I’ve learned….
Business is personal Work can be fun People want to
win
©2012 Central Desktop
What I (try) to do (and no, I didn’t pull this out of some leadership book)
Alignment
Acknowledge-ment
AccountabilityAppreciation
Amusement
Strong Team
Culture
Ambition
©2012 Central Desktop
Alignment
Goals:• Right players in the right roles• Team oriented to the way they’ll
work together both in word and deed
• Everyone pointed in the same direction and the right direction
Why:• Malignancy spreads• Misalignment breeds hostility
and personal agendas
How:• Feedback loop• Buy-in on the big stuff – frequent
check-ins• Leadership retreats to get
feedback on direction with rotating members
• Remove players that aren't aligned with the vision
• Propose specific new roles suited to strengths of individuals and making those roles central to the direction on the department
©2012 Central Desktop
Appreciation
Goals:• A great place to work• Foster greater cross-team
collaboration
Why:• Valued team members value
their work and others• Higher retention• Measureable productivity
gains
How:• Shut up and listen• Be random
• Random notes• Be specific• Be consistent• Senior leadership email –
managing up• Viral value recognition – team-
wide contests• Starbuck’s anyone?• End of day bell ringing
©2012 Central Desktop
Acknowledgement
Goals:• Transparency to the good, the bad, and
the controllable• A team open to change
Why:• Team members respect and trust who
they work for and where they’re headed• We’re all grown ups
How:• Publish weekly management meeting
notes• Open ear + open mind• Honest and respectful notifications
around personnel changes• Sharing financials• Admission of mistakes• Explain the “why’s”
©2012 Central Desktop
Accountability
Goals:• Individual empowerment• Individual contribution to the
mission – everyone has a stake• A safe place to grow
Why:• Most people want to be measured
– “How am I doing? Am I making a difference?”
• Team members want a chance to shine
How:• 1:1 passion pow wow’s• Set the direction, define the
measurements for success and get out of the way
• Change it up – realign constantly• Career pathing• Every initiative should be
measured• Options
*Accountability can be shared.
©2012 Central Desktop
Ambition
Goals:• A culture of learning• Winning
Why:• Maximized potential is never
realized playing it safe
• How:• Iterate• BHAG • TBO (team based objectives)
©2012 Central Desktop
Amusement
Goals:• Team ‘thrival’ versus survival• Dare I say make work a place you
don’t loathe?
Why:• We all work way too much not to
protect the very thing that humans crave – laughter and good cheer
• We spend more time at work than we do with our significant others (friends, family)
How:• Wine Fridays (depending
on the day, sometimes its Wine Everydays!)
• Random guitar sessions• Ring the bell• Impromptu joke telling
sessions (some call it cringe sessions)
• Cockroach outfit-wearing sing a long
©2012 Central Desktop
One more thing….
To do this right….• This has to be intentional.
• This has to be authentic.
• This has to be a priority.
©2012 Central Desktop
ANY QUESTIONS?WE DON’T BITE!
626.372.4552 centraldesktop.com