December 23, 2024 • 35 mins
As we close out the year, we're revisiting our most popular episode from 2024: 3 Things for Teams to Build Positive Team Culture. Originally released at the start of the year, this episode resonated deeply with leaders looking for actionable ways to improve their team dynamics.
What You'll Learn:
In this rebroadcast, Nathan Freeburg, along with Dr. Linda and Brian Schubring, explore three foundational strategies to elevate team culture:
- Foster Inclusive and Diverse Practices – Go beyond surface-level DEI efforts by truly integrating diverse perspectives into team processes.
- Invest in Growth – Whether personal or team-wide, growth starts with curiosity and intentional effort.
- Encourage Work-Life Alignment – Shift the focus from "balance" to alignment with personal values and goals.
Key Takeaway for 2025:
Start small. Implement incremental changes to foster a more positive, inclusive, and generative team culture.
Why Listen Again?
This episode provides timeless advice for leaders gearing up for the challenges and opportunities of a new year. Whether listening for the first time or revisiting these strategies, you'll find practical insights you can implement immediately.
Additional Resources:
- Visit Leadership Vision Consulting for articles, tools, and curriculum to help your team thrive.
- Connect with us at connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com for personalized support.
🎧 Don’t miss this encore presentation as you prepare for a successful 2025!
-
Read the full blog post here!
CONTACT US
- email: connect@leadershipvisionconsulting.com
- Leadership Vision Online
ABOUT
The Leadership Vision Podcast is a weekly show sharing our expertise in discovering, practicing, and implementing a Strengths-based approach to people, teams, and culture. Contact us to talk to us about helping your team understand the power of Strengths.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, it's Nathan, and real quick here.
As we wrap up the year, wewanted to just revisit, reshare
our most popular episode withyou.
We are taking a break from newepisodes We'll be back after the
first of the year but this onehere is called Three Things to
Build Positive Team Culture in2024.
But you can apply it to nextyear.
(00:21):
It was actually the very firstepisode that we released this
year, but it's about exploringthree actionable strategies to
enhance team culture, and thoseare number one, fostering
inclusive and diverse practices.
Number two, investing in growth, both personally and
collectively.
And number three, encouragingwork life alignment over more
(00:42):
elusive balance.
And one takeaway, I think, fromthis episode that I'd like you
to think about is to start smallnext year, whether that's
asking team members for feedbackor aligning work with personal
values.
Just start small.
Incremental changes can drivemore meaningful impact,
sometimes in some gigantic, hugegesture.
So please listen and enjoy thisepisode, and we'll see you in
(01:04):
2025.
What do you wish for your teamin the year ahead?
When you think of the team thatyou lead, or a team you're on,
what comes to mind for 2024?
Resolutions, goals, action,steps and intentions might
surface.
The more people we talk to, themore we are hearing about the
(01:25):
longing for better quality teamsand better team dynamics.
We've heard stories of progressor wanting more progress.
We've heard stories of how wellteams are connecting and how
others feel a sense of longingor even loneliness on teams.
We've heard stories of gearingup for a year of more change and
possibly more polarization.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Friberg and you are
(01:47):
listening to the LeadershipVision Podcast, our show helping
you build a positive teamculture.
Our consulting firm has beendoing this for the past 25 years
so that people are mentallyengaged and emotionally healthy.
Happy New Year, everyone, orjust hello, depending on when
you are listening to this.
(02:07):
Today's podcast is going to besharing some of the insights and
wisdom that we have learnedfrom our clients.
After listening to theseclients and partners over the
last several months, we wantedto share with you, dear listener
, a few strategies to encourageyou to elevate your team culture
in the next year.
Brian and Dr Linda Schubringwelcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Happy New Year to you as well.
We're actually recording thisin the past, in 2023.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Isn't that how all recordings work?
They happen with the listener.
Technically, that's right.
Technically't that how allrecordings work?
They happen with the listener.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Technically, that's right.
Technically, that is true.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Everything is the past and technically you can
count down anything.
So if we want it to be 2024 infive, four, three, two, one.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Happy New Year.
That's true, and depending onwhen our listeners are listening
to this, you know it could be Imean, they could be have found
this in some sort of like timecapsule in the year 3028 or
something, when we're living onother planets, but I think the
point that we're trying to makehere is that it is the start of
(03:25):
something new.
So, whether you're listening tothis in July or January 1st 2024
, when it is released, it is thestart of something new.
Anything can be the start ofsomething new, I guess is the
point, and so what we want to dohere, to focus on the intention
, is to focus on the beginningof this year and not share an
exhaustive list or give you themust do things with your team
(03:48):
this year to create positiveteam culture, but rather to
share, like, what are some ofthe things that we've been
hearing and learning from theclients that we've been working
with about, like what they'redoing or what's been working
really well for them.
Linda, do you want to share?
I don't know?
A little bit more of anintroduction than that before we
jump in.
I think we've got three mainitems here, but what would you
(04:10):
add to my herky-jerkyintroduction to match our video
streaming at the moment?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
The herky-jerky meets my pre-ramble.
As we've been listening to ourclients over the last couple
months, some of the things thatwe have learned is almost
everything is new, every day isnew, every opportunity is
similar, but also very different.
We find that the teams that weare working with they're always
(04:38):
in some state of flux andthey've never really they never
really arrive at an ultimatestate of.
This is what positive teamculture is, and then that's how
they stay there, because usuallyafter a big win or a
culminating event, there'susually the next day that could
bring a change of dynamics andone person maybe being added to
(04:59):
the team.
And we have just heard teamsbending and flexing in some new,
different ways.
And so when we were talking tosome of the leaders that we were
interacting with in these lastcouple of months, we've told
them we are seeking to help youcreate and build positive team
(05:19):
culture.
And so what are some of thecomponents that you see really
benefiting your positive teamculture?
And we weren't just asking foraccolades to like, hey, you guys
do great work, which is nice,but it's not just that.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Work with leadership.
Vision is number one on thelist, so one of the things.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That became clear to us and was one of those clarity
moments, nathan, that you know.
It was clear right in front ofour face.
We just didn't see it, becausewhen clients meet us and they
talk to us about how they wanthelp or what they're looking for
, they begin by explainingwhat's happening in that team
dynamic, and that's not anythingthat's abnormal.
(05:59):
But one of the things that webegan doing about halfway
through the year was we began toask our clients well, what do
you want this team to actuallylook like or feel like or sound
like?
Like?
Paint for us a picture of whatyou think this team would look
like if they were all healthyand they were all engaged and
they were like you know, theywere just performing or behaving
(06:22):
or acting in alignment withwhat you're thinking.
And we just began hearing atheme, and that is the leaders
wanted their teams to simply bemore positive or be more
productive, and so we began toput some of the pieces together
that we were hearing and wethought they're actually asking
for a positive team culture,because what they're frustrated
(06:44):
with, or what they don't knowhow to solve, is what's the
current team culture.
They want help taking that,recognizing it and then doing
something positive with it.
So we began to kind of cointhis vocabulary of positive team
culture as a way to encourageleaders and team members to
begin to align themselves on avery simple vision for their
(07:07):
team, and that is what doespositivity on this team actually
look like?
What does it feel like when weare making positive decisions?
What does that look like whenwe're building healthy
relationships on this team?
What does that look like?
And that's really the genesisfor this conversation today.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It's not always smiley and it's not always the
confetti and it's not always thenew year's celebration.
There were things that we werehearing from team members and
that was the importance of ashared vision, the importance of
having a direction, which wasgreat, and I think that can
provide a North Star and aguiding light.
(07:47):
We know that teams need goalsand they need better
communication always, and alsosome kind of action.
In fact, one of the women wetalked to earlier in the month,
she just said there's threethings I care about on this team
.
I was like oh well, what arethey?
She said action, action, action.
I think that's one thing, Great,great.
(08:08):
But to her when she woulddefine what a positive team
culture was, it was a culture ofaction, putting things, not
just talking about them, butputting them into play or into
being.
And so the clarity wasimportant, the communicating
about how they wereunderstanding the positive team
culture.
That was really that wasimportant to us.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So when we say the word positive, we first go to a
word that we've been using fordecades and that is generative.
Like is the culture life-giving?
Is the culture life-supporting?
Another way to look at positiveis you know, are you investing
in your people in a way that'sactually for that person's
development?
That's, you know, byproduct ofa positive culture.
(08:51):
Are you listening to people?
Are you accepting people andtheir perspectives?
That's a positive maneuver and,like Linda hinted to,
positivity also comes throughany opportunity, comes through
any opportunity and some ofthose opportunities to build a
positive team.
Culture comes through whencollaboration breaks down or
when there is a strongmiscommunication.
(09:11):
Positivity could look likedealing with the conflict
instead of like brushing it away.
And when people go off intotheir splinter cells and do
their own thing, positiveculture actually addresses that
and invites people back in andasks them what is really the
struggle here?
So positivity is embedded ineach opportunity, but it's also
(09:33):
embracing the opportunity,whether that's negative,
conflictual or just a struggle.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
So we sifted through all of our data.
We did a little bit ofreflection, brian and I, on what
we're hearing.
We triangulated all thatresearch and we started to
realize that there are threethings that teams wanted to
either strategize about or takeaction or practice in this new
season, new year, new quarter,whatever would be new.
(10:00):
The first one has to do withfostering inclusive and diverse
practices.
The second has to do withinvesting in growth.
And the third has to do withencouraging work-life alignment,
that you are whole people.
You are human doing the work.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
What I like about these is that there's a lot, as
we'll get to, there's a lot ofroom within each one of them to
contextualize what they mean tothe organization, and I also
appreciate that you started withthat idea of, like shared
vision and good communicationkind of sets the table to really
put some of these things intopractice.
So the first one here,fostering inclusive and diverse
(10:39):
practices that sounds like anentire department's job.
Yeah, all by itself, is thatwhere we're going with this one?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It is a department's job and it's also everybody's
job and the perspectives andpractice of fostering inclusive
and diverse practices isn't justabout DEIB the belonging or
adding the justice.
Deij the belonging or addingthe justice, deij.
We really believe in diversityand equity, inclusion movements
(11:17):
and you do need an officesometimes to drive, to remind
the whole organization that thisis important, that the
organization values aninvestment in this way, but in
some ways being a part of apositive team culture, everyone
contributes.
This is not just somethingfarmed out to someone else.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
We believe that one of the most important
fundamental elements in buildinga positive team culture is in
respecting and understandingeach person's unique perspective
, and that is primarily what wemean by fostering an inclusive
and diverse practice, orinclusive and diverse team, is
(11:55):
that we begin by realizing thateach person comes to the team
with a vast history of livedexperiences, meaningful
relationships, wisdom that theybring that comes from their
unique culture, their places oforigin, their family system, and
there really isn't anythingthat we can do on a team to
change that.
But what we can do is we canrespect their opinions and their
(12:19):
backgrounds and theirperspective.
We can ask more questions aboutthat and we believe that when
we begin to fully embrace eachperson's unique perspective,
then we begin to practice whatinclusivity and diversity
actually means strategies couldyou share that could maybe make
(12:46):
it very practical.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And again, this isn't necessarily earth shattering
brand new stuff, but sometimeswe just need to be reminded,
more often than taught, I think.
So talk a little bit aboutstrategies for accomplishing
this more inclusive and diverseworkplace.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well, the first thing that I want to say is
appreciating is just the firststep.
It's truly integrating aperson's perspective into the
decision-making or into theconflict managing.
That's what I'm asking peopleto do is to not just appreciate,
like in a very collegial kindof way, but professionally being
(13:21):
curious as to what thisperson's perspective or how this
person's perspective or howthis person's perspective might
shape how we're approaching achallenge.
And the first thing I want tosay is ask and listen, like
actually ask a person what areyou thinking, what are you
seeing, what are we missing?
And then listen to what they'resaying.
A lot of people or a lot ofteams that we work with, they
(13:42):
ask questions without listeningto what the person's actually
saying, and so we're sayinglet's do a little bit of both.
So sometimes the listening partcomes in, you asking for
something else to be explainedand then echoing back what you
think you're hearing or what youthink the person is meaning,
(14:03):
and then they can add some moreto that and that just deepens
the question.
But to ask questions and listento the different perspectives
of each individual, that's onthe team.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Because sometimes, when we are working with teams
and we hear different peopleshare different parts of their
life, people are saying, oh soyou're on this stellar team and
someone might offer the reframe.
Yes, but we were the bad newsbears.
We didn't have the top of theline equipment, we didn't have
anything working for us, we werejust a bunch of ragtag people
(14:39):
put together and asked to dosomething.
And so understanding wherepeople grew up, where they came
from, what county is reallyimportant to them, why the city
that they grew up in issignificant, or the city that
they live in now, or the zipcode it is all fodder to
(15:01):
understand people's perspectiveand how their context has really
shaped who they are, how theyshow up, how they ask questions,
how they listen and maybe howthey'll be a teammate.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
And this may not happen easily, because a key to
creating this kind of dynamic,this kind of conversation, comes
through the creation of a teamculture that's actually safe,
where a person feels that theycan actually express themselves
and not be criticized, not beframed in by someone's
assumptive bias or anythingcritical like that, because
(15:36):
we're asking people to shareabout their past, and that past
may be great, it may besomething that's vulnerable to
them.
So to create a place or a teamenvironment where there's safety
, there's respect, there'srelational protection happening
there.
That's the type of environmentwhere people can actually feel
free to express where they camefrom and what were those
(15:57):
relationships that shaped theway they're thinking today.
So it's not just asking andlistening, it's creating the
place, creating that emotionalfeel on the team where people
know that, no matter what I say,I'm going to be accepted and
I'm going to be valued for myunique perspectives.
We take turns, sometimes oneopinion will be dominant,
(16:20):
sometimes another opinion willbe put to the side for the
moment, but by having this kindof dialogue, we're familiarizing
ourselves with each person'svoice, each person's background,
their unique perspective andultimately, we're deepening our
relationship with our teammembers so that these kinds of
questions and answers andlistening can be easier down the
(16:40):
road, but it takes somepractice, like everything else
that happens.
Creating positive team culturewith this idea of inclusivity
and diversity, that takespractice.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Now, sometimes there are checkbox items, or they
start to feel like checkboxitems, like bias training or,
you know, making sure that youhave diverse hiring practices,
or, oh, have we done this onlinetraining to be aware of this or
that?
That's.
Those are all important things,but what we find is there are
(17:12):
people that that just want to beknown and not not known like.
Your family knows you, but theyknow where you come from, your
teammates know what's expected.
Um, they, they can push you tosay you know, weren't you in
this place and didn't you learnsomething from there?
And can you bring that to thetable?
(17:33):
Can you bring that to thesolution?
We find that it isn't just aone session event where, all of
a sudden, you're like and nowI'm enlightened, and now we all
know, and now we cried a littlebit and we understand each other
and we can experience oneanother with a little more
(17:55):
softness.
What we're inviting people tois the unfolding of diverse
perspectives so that, in a moreinclusive culture, can be
cultivated.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I want to move us along here, but I feel like this
topic alone this first pointhere could be.
I mean, this is several otherpodcast episodes but what
strikes me is just the idea thatin order to create a positive
team culture where people feelknown and valued and it's
generative, it starts with justunderstanding and knowing these
(18:31):
people that you're working withon a daily basis and developing
some level of appreciation fortheir backgrounds.
And I think a lot of times whenyou talk about diverse
practices, people automaticallythink of these vast cultural
differences and we have a greatepisode coming out about that
later this month or the nextcouple months.
(18:51):
But also it's justunderstanding, like different
work ethics and just everyone'sso different, and I think that's
where the language of strengthscan really help.
So just kind of starting fromthat place is super important.
But I want to move us on tothese next two.
So much could be more could besaid about that.
The second one is investing ingrowth, and one thing that I
wanted to mention here that youtouched on a bit at the
(19:15):
beginning, but just toreemphasize, is that creating a
positive team culture I thinkstarts with a team leader, I
think it starts with theindividuals, I think it starts
with the organization.
My point is, everybody'sinvolved in this.
So when you hear about, whenyou hear us talking about these
things like investing in growth.
It's not just you know, ifyou're a team member with, maybe
(19:36):
out without traditionalleadership, just you know, if
you're a team member with, maybeout without traditional
leadership.
Quote unquote power or role,you still have a role to play in
this.
So talk about investing ingrowth talking, talk about what
this means.
There's several bullet pointshere.
I'm going to let you take itaway, though.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
All people are contributors to positive team
culture.
So when we are talking aboutthese three things that we've
learned, the practices orstrategies, it isn't just yet
pointing the fingers like, well,I wish my boss would do this.
This is starting with us.
What can we do?
What can I do to be a betterteam member?
What can I do to be a betterfamily member, a better
(20:15):
contributor to my you knowvolunteer group or whatever it
is?
So when, when, nathan, when yousay investing in growth I think
this is our challenge Make thisyear the year that you ask for
help.
How can you be a better teammember and what is it that you
need?
(20:35):
And sometimes you may havesomething that you need that's
very specific, and so maybe youwere already making this year
that you're asking for help andgrowing.
But how do you do more of that?
How do you grow in a skill?
How do you?
Maybe this is the year thatyou're gonna get therapy.
This is the year that you'regonna get professional coaching.
This is the year where you'renot just gonna to find a mentor,
(20:59):
but you're going to mentorsomewhere, someone else.
We find that that's wheregrowth really happens, when
you're being mentored andmentoring someone else.
Maybe this is the year whereyou find the right training and
workshop.
And you find a variety ofworkshops and one of them just
clicks for you.
But sometimes the act ofsigning up is the act of asking
(21:22):
for help.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
And the reason why we think this is so important that
in this being that individualslearn to ask for help, because
we know that positive teamculture, like Linda said, is
comprised of all the individualmembers of the team contributing
to the health of the culture,and so healthy people create
healthy cultures, and I thinkeach person maybe has an
(21:48):
invitation to ask for help forthemselves so that they can show
up in a healthier way to theirteam.
So there's that first part ofthe investment.
The second part of theinvestment is maybe asking for
help on how you can be a betterteam member, and who better to
ask that question of than yourteam members?
(22:09):
Because we read one time that astranger is often the best
mirror for who you are in thisuniverse, and I think that
sometimes the people that arenear to us in our teams are
perhaps the best reflection wehave of how we are a team member
the generative side, thevulnerable side, the things we
(22:30):
have to offer and the thingsthat we don't.
So investing in growth.
Ask some of your trusted teammembers how can I be a better
team member this year?
What are some of the assetsthat I bring to our team that
without me it wouldn't be thesame and also ask what are some
things I could improve on, Like,what are the areas of change
(22:51):
that I can lean into so that Ican be a more conscientious,
positive contributor to our teamculture?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And when that environment of growth is
cultivated.
Obviously, that leads to higherengagement and better retention
rates.
But it's also answering thequestion that some of our
clients are saying, and that iswhere are the next leaders?
Like you got to build them?
Where are the next leaders wegot got to build them?
(23:19):
Where are the next leaders?
We got seats to fill?
How do we do successionplanning?
How do we do all thesedifferent things?
Those people that intend togrow this year maybe build
capacity in a skill or, you know, invest in their heart in a
different way, or their soul ortheir mind, invest in their
(23:40):
heart in a different way, ortheir soul or their mind.
They're the ones that are goingto be ahead and ready for the
new roles and the kinds ofleaders that we will need in the
future.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
This might sound obvious to our listeners,
because I have this sense thatif you're listening to a podcast
about leadership, you'reprobably already investing in
growth Like you're not.
We're a little bit preaching tothe choir here, but it's
surprising to me how manyleaders that I know even friends
and relatives and just peoplein my circle it's not that they
(24:08):
don't believe in this, but theyperhaps don't feel like, oh, I
don't need therapy, I don't needa coach, I don't need this,
that I don't have time to read abook that's somehow connected
to my area of expertise or myindustry or whatever.
But it is remarkable how muchcan happen when you do invest in
this, even as simple as, like,I'm going to read a book that's
(24:31):
relevant to what I'm doing, orlisten to a podcast or some
things that are basically free.
And so my challenge, myencouragement, just kind of
reiterating what the two of youhave said but not only invest in
your own growth, but how do youhelp your teammates to do that?
You know to say, like you know,hey, team, I found this really
interesting book.
(24:51):
What if we read it together?
Or here's a really interestingpodcast by Leadership Vision
Consulting.
Maybe we should listen to ittogether or whatever it is.
I think you know, when a leader,like a leader of the group,
says we're all doing this, it'sone thing.
When a member of the team saysI'm finding value in this, maybe
others can share in it, thenit's there's a more collective
investment, I think, in growingand changing and, you know, even
(25:15):
setting new habits.
So I'm excited not in thispodcast, but I'm excited to talk
with the two of you more abouthow we're going to be doing this
as a team later.
And the third one here.
I'm also excited to talk to youabout work life alignment.
Why not work life balance?
What's?
What's the specificity there inthe word alignment and not
(25:35):
balance?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Cause.
Is there really ever balance?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
No.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
I mean ask any parent of young children, or on the
holidays, there's, there's justnever.
There's never quite balancethat looks 50 50.
But I think there are timeswhen our work and our life are
aligned aligned to our values,aligned to our goals, that it's
(26:00):
okay if it's 80-20.
It's okay if it's 60-40.
That, that is, it's not justwork is 50 and life is 50.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Sometimes they're better, they're seasoned to what
we have to invest in.
Right, you have to work.
You know, I think we alwaysthink of like children this
often.
Right, you have to work.
You know, I think we alwaysthink of like children this
often.
But it's like, okay, I'm gonnawork really hard now so that I
can be present and home later,and that's just kind of ebbs and
flows.
But, Brian, you were about tosay something before I cut you
(26:32):
off.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
The word balance is an often overused word that
people can easily go after forits negative connotations, like
I'm out of balance.
Balance can be used as a wordto indicate one area of
measurement that points to areyou aligned in the right
direction?
I was talking to my doctor thismorning and he was talking
(26:56):
about the insignificance ofweight and people who are on the
scale every single day, and soour conversation was about how
you know, weighing yourself is ameasure.
It's one measure, but itdoesn't really give us a whole
picture of are you living inalignment towards your health
goals, you know, are you moving,are you eating nutritious meals
(27:19):
, are you having healthy snacks,things like that, and so one of
the points we just made wasit's important to have measures,
as long as they're congruentwith other measures, that help
you understand that we're livingin alignment, and alignment, I
believe, is another way ofinviting people into greater
(27:39):
mindful awareness of reallywhat's going on in their life,
because they aren't just lookingat one thing Am I balanced?
Because when you have awork-life alignment mentality
and you're more mindfully aware,then I believe you're more open
to the one or two things youcan change that are incremental,
that could be steady over timethan making some drastic change
(27:59):
because you're saying I'm out ofbalance.
I have to get in balancebecause I believe that being the
whole person that you are ispart of the growth like we
talked about earlier.
It's part of you being a bettermember of society, which we
also talked about earlier.
We were meeting with anexecutive the other day and
let's just say she's reallysuccessful.
You wouldn't think that shestruggles with alignment and we
(28:23):
were having this coffee with herand talking about her company
and all these great things.
And then she said I just don'tpractice mindful awareness that
much.
Like I really could use, youknow, some more time to meditate
.
And it's like it just took meby surprise, like you're just
like admitting to us this onearea of your life where I really
need to invest more time,because in the midst of all the
(28:45):
success, you just assume thatthings were all aligned.
But my point is she just tookthe opportunity to name one
thing, without any shame or anylike you know oh, what was me?
It was just like oh, I see I'vehad an invitation here, a
reminder that I could improve inthis one area, and I believe
it's that type of invitationwe're asking people to consider
(29:05):
is when we encourage work-lifealignment, when we're actually
making suggestions to thosepeople that we're working with.
We're just asking people toincrease a level of
participation in one or twoareas of your life that can
further contribute to youroverall health.
Because, remember, the scale isjust one measure of someone
(29:26):
who's on a nutritional journey.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
And sometimes it's hard to name or it's hard to
count for or it's hard to countfor.
So, just as positive teamculture can feel like a vibe,
you either have it or you don't.
You can tell when you have alot of it or a little of it.
Similar to work-life alignment,we're learning a lot from
(29:50):
Generation Z.
I happen to believe deeply inthis generation that will lead
us in in the future and maybe isalready leading us now.
I am meeting a lot of members ofGeneration Z who are making
decisions toward a work lifealignment the things that they
enjoy, working to have the moneyto do the things, or saying no
(30:12):
to certain things like, yep, Idon't need that and I don't need
this, but I need community, Ineed an artistic outlet and vibe
is in.
That is so important.
Obviously, you want to make aliving, but, to remember, when
you have work-life alignment itis kind of like a vibe.
Is the vibe good?
Is it bad?
Same thing.
(30:33):
How do you bring then that,that sense of alignment to, to
the team cultures that you are apart of?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
That's something I got from James Clear, who is the
author of Atomic Habits.
Sometimes, when, if we realizeour life is out of alignment, we
(31:02):
try to drastically, you know,yank it, you know 180 degrees in
the other direction, and thenyou know maybe that's not
sustainable and so we fail andgo right back to ground zero.
But when you try to just kindof think small, make little
adjustments, it's probably goingto take longer than you think
it is.
To think small, make littleadjustments, it's probably going
to take longer than you thinkit is.
But I think the point thatwe're driving at here is like to
do something like move theneedle one degree towards
(31:23):
something that more aligns withyour values, towards something
that's more in alignment with,maybe, who you want to be.
Brian and Linda, do you haveany final thoughts or ways to
kind of tie a nice little NewYear's bow around these three
points here?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Well, I'm sure that there are listeners out there
who just found themselves kindof caught up in this idea of
what would a positive teamculture look like on my team.
So I kind of want to give justsome suggestions, like a DIY,
you know, like how do you dothis on your own?
You don't need to call us.
Or, like you know, seek how doyou do this on your own, you
don't need to call us.
Or, like you know, seek out aconsultant or something or some
coach.
(31:59):
Like what can you do?
Because if your team isn'tquite functioning the way that
you want it to, maybe one easyway is to just look around and
find a team that you think isworking well and ask them like
what are you doing?
And we had a great lesson ofthis this year where we were
(32:19):
working with a team and theywere asking for help, but it
seemed like their team was doingreally, really well and we
simply asked this leadershipcluster of this team what you
were doing, and they gave veryquick, readily available answers
to how they made smalladjustments to just increase the
capacity.
So my point is look around atteams that you think are getting
(32:43):
it right and just ask what areyou doing?
What adjustments have you made,what seems to be going well and
what are you still strugglingwith?
Because you'll find that otherpeople who are close to you,
especially in the sameorganization, may have some
really quick tips or insightsthat you may be just overlooking
.
That could really help Because,remember, your team culture is
(33:04):
a subset of the largerorganizational culture and if
you see some other team in yourorganization that's getting it
right, ask them what they'redoing, because they're working
within the same ecosystem, thesame environment that you are,
and they may have the best helpfor you and they're right near
you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So ask for help, listen and ask some follow up
questions you know, pickingsomething small in each one of
these categories of how am Igoing to be more curious so that
I can accept and integratediverse and be more inclusive in
(33:43):
my perspective or approach.
What small way can I experiencegrowth in this week, in this
month, in this year, and whatways can I come back into
alignment or stay in alignment?
And that's a challenge for it'sa challenge for us too.
So I am looking forward to ourteam conversation.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I know it'll be another soul bearing
conversation here pretty, prettysoon, but, brian Linda, thank
you so much.
I appreciate the.
I mean, even though we sort ofworked on the outline together,
it's still given me a bunch ofthings to think about as we are
frantically trying to wrap up2023 before the holidays here
(34:26):
and then I feel like we're goingto get launched out of a cannon
into 2024 with just everythingthat's on the plate.
So thank you Game on.
Thank you Game on.
Thank you, nathan, and thankyou, listeners, for listening to
the Leadership Vision Podcast.
We have a bunch of resources onour website.
If you go toleadershipvisionconsultingcom
and just click on the resourcestab, you'll see things there.
(34:47):
We have a blog with a ton ofarticles.
We have some curriculum.
If you want to do some stuffwith your team, we've got an
online community.
We've got several courses, ofcourse, this podcast and some
other training opportunities.
If you want help with anythingrelated to what you heard on
(35:08):
this podcast with getting yourteam into alignment, working on
culture, building individualstrengths and helping with you
know leadership identity pleasereach out to us.
You can send us an email atconnect at
leadershipvisionconsultingcom.
We would love to be part ofyour team's journey here in this
new year and, of course, youcan subscribe to our podcast
wherever you get your podcast,or sign up for our free email
(35:29):
newsletter where we send outweekly and monthly updates on
all things leadership to helpyou and your team just really
thrive.
So thank you for listeningagain.
I'm Nathan Freeberg.
I'm Linda Shubring.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
And I'm Brian Shubring.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
And on behalf of our entire team, thanks for
listening.
Hey everyone, it's Nathan, and real quick here.
As we wrap up the year, wewanted to just revisit, reshare
our most popular episode withyou.
We are taking a break from newepisodes We'll be back after the
first of the year but this onehere is called Three Things to
Build Positive Team Culture in2024.
But you can apply it to nextyear.
(00:21):
It was actually the very firstepisode that we released this
year, but it's about exploringthree actionable strategies to
enhance team culture, and thoseare number one, fostering
inclusive and diverse practices.
Number two, investing in growth, both personally and
collectively.
And number three, encouragingwork life alignment over more
(00:42):
elusive balance.
And one takeaway, I think, fromthis episode that I'd like you
to think about is to start smallnext year, whether that's
asking team members for feedbackor aligning work with personal
values.
Just start small.
Incremental changes can drivemore meaningful impact,
sometimes in some gigantic, hugegesture.
So please listen and enjoy thisepisode, and we'll see you in
(01:04):
2025.
What do you wish for your teamin the year ahead?
When you think of the team thatyou lead, or a team you're on,
what comes to mind for 2024?
Resolutions, goals, action,steps and intentions might
surface.
The more people we talk to, themore we are hearing about the
(01:25):
longing for better quality teamsand better team dynamics.
We've heard stories of progressor wanting more progress.
We've heard stories of how wellteams are connecting and how
others feel a sense of longingor even loneliness on teams.
We've heard stories of gearingup for a year of more change and
possibly more polarization.
Hello everyone, my name isNathan Friberg and you are
(01:47):
listening to the LeadershipVision Podcast, our show helping
you build a positive teamculture.
Our consulting firm has beendoing this for the past 25 years
so that people are mentallyengaged and emotionally healthy.
Happy New Year, everyone, orjust hello, depending on when
you are listening to this.
(02:07):
Today's podcast is going to besharing some of the insights and
wisdom that we have learnedfrom our clients.
After listening to theseclients and partners over the
last several months, we wantedto share with you, dear listener
, a few strategies to encourageyou to elevate your team culture
in the next year.
Brian and Dr Linda Schubringwelcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Happy New Year to you as well.
We're actually recording thisin the past, in 2023.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Isn't that how all recordings work?
They happen with the listener.
Technically, that's right.
Technically't that how allrecordings work?
They happen with the listener.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Technically, that's right.
Technically, that is true.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Everything is the past and technically you can
count down anything.
So if we want it to be 2024 infive, four, three, two, one.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Happy New Year.
That's true, and depending onwhen our listeners are listening
to this, you know it could be Imean, they could be have found
this in some sort of like timecapsule in the year 3028 or
something, when we're living onother planets, but I think the
point that we're trying to makehere is that it is the start of
(03:25):
something new.
So, whether you're listening tothis in July or January 1st 2024
, when it is released, it is thestart of something new.
Anything can be the start ofsomething new, I guess is the
point, and so what we want to dohere, to focus on the intention
, is to focus on the beginningof this year and not share an
exhaustive list or give you themust do things with your team
(03:48):
this year to create positiveteam culture, but rather to
share, like, what are some ofthe things that we've been
hearing and learning from theclients that we've been working
with about, like what they'redoing or what's been working
really well for them.
Linda, do you want to share?
I don't know?
A little bit more of anintroduction than that before we
jump in.
I think we've got three mainitems here, but what would you
(04:10):
add to my herky-jerkyintroduction to match our video
streaming at the moment?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
The herky-jerky meets my pre-ramble.
As we've been listening to ourclients over the last couple
months, some of the things thatwe have learned is almost
everything is new, every day isnew, every opportunity is
similar, but also very different.
We find that the teams that weare working with they're always
(04:38):
in some state of flux andthey've never really they never
really arrive at an ultimatestate of.
This is what positive teamculture is, and then that's how
they stay there, because usuallyafter a big win or a
culminating event, there'susually the next day that could
bring a change of dynamics andone person maybe being added to
(04:59):
the team.
And we have just heard teamsbending and flexing in some new,
different ways.
And so when we were talking tosome of the leaders that we were
interacting with in these lastcouple of months, we've told
them we are seeking to help youcreate and build positive team
(05:19):
culture.
And so what are some of thecomponents that you see really
benefiting your positive teamculture?
And we weren't just asking foraccolades to like, hey, you guys
do great work, which is nice,but it's not just that.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Work with leadership.
Vision is number one on thelist, so one of the things.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
That became clear to us and was one of those clarity
moments, nathan, that you know.
It was clear right in front ofour face.
We just didn't see it, becausewhen clients meet us and they
talk to us about how they wanthelp or what they're looking for
, they begin by explainingwhat's happening in that team
dynamic, and that's not anythingthat's abnormal.
(05:59):
But one of the things that webegan doing about halfway
through the year was we began toask our clients well, what do
you want this team to actuallylook like or feel like or sound
like?
Like?
Paint for us a picture of whatyou think this team would look
like if they were all healthyand they were all engaged and
they were like you know, theywere just performing or behaving
(06:22):
or acting in alignment withwhat you're thinking.
And we just began hearing atheme, and that is the leaders
wanted their teams to simply bemore positive or be more
productive, and so we began toput some of the pieces together
that we were hearing and wethought they're actually asking
for a positive team culture,because what they're frustrated
(06:44):
with, or what they don't knowhow to solve, is what's the
current team culture.
They want help taking that,recognizing it and then doing
something positive with it.
So we began to kind of cointhis vocabulary of positive team
culture as a way to encourageleaders and team members to
begin to align themselves on avery simple vision for their
(07:07):
team, and that is what doespositivity on this team actually
look like?
What does it feel like when weare making positive decisions?
What does that look like whenwe're building healthy
relationships on this team?
What does that look like?
And that's really the genesisfor this conversation today.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It's not always smiley and it's not always the
confetti and it's not always thenew year's celebration.
There were things that we werehearing from team members and
that was the importance of ashared vision, the importance of
having a direction, which wasgreat, and I think that can
provide a North Star and aguiding light.
(07:47):
We know that teams need goalsand they need better
communication always, and alsosome kind of action.
In fact, one of the women wetalked to earlier in the month,
she just said there's threethings I care about on this team
.
I was like oh well, what arethey?
She said action, action, action.
I think that's one thing, Great,great.
(08:08):
But to her when she woulddefine what a positive team
culture was, it was a culture ofaction, putting things, not
just talking about them, butputting them into play or into
being.
And so the clarity wasimportant, the communicating
about how they wereunderstanding the positive team
culture.
That was really that wasimportant to us.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So when we say the word positive, we first go to a
word that we've been using fordecades and that is generative.
Like is the culture life-giving?
Is the culture life-supporting?
Another way to look at positiveis you know, are you investing
in your people in a way that'sactually for that person's
development?
That's, you know, byproduct ofa positive culture.
(08:51):
Are you listening to people?
Are you accepting people andtheir perspectives?
That's a positive maneuver and,like Linda hinted to,
positivity also comes throughany opportunity, comes through
any opportunity and some ofthose opportunities to build a
positive team.
Culture comes through whencollaboration breaks down or
when there is a strongmiscommunication.
(09:11):
Positivity could look likedealing with the conflict
instead of like brushing it away.
And when people go off intotheir splinter cells and do
their own thing, positiveculture actually addresses that
and invites people back in andasks them what is really the
struggle here?
So positivity is embedded ineach opportunity, but it's also
(09:33):
embracing the opportunity,whether that's negative,
conflictual or just a struggle.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
So we sifted through all of our data.
We did a little bit ofreflection, brian and I, on what
we're hearing.
We triangulated all thatresearch and we started to
realize that there are threethings that teams wanted to
either strategize about or takeaction or practice in this new
season, new year, new quarter,whatever would be new.
(10:00):
The first one has to do withfostering inclusive and diverse
practices.
The second has to do withinvesting in growth.
And the third has to do withencouraging work-life alignment,
that you are whole people.
You are human doing the work.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
What I like about these is that there's a lot, as
we'll get to, there's a lot ofroom within each one of them to
contextualize what they mean tothe organization, and I also
appreciate that you started withthat idea of, like shared
vision and good communicationkind of sets the table to really
put some of these things intopractice.
So the first one here,fostering inclusive and diverse
(10:39):
practices that sounds like anentire department's job.
Yeah, all by itself, is thatwhere we're going with this one?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It is a department's job and it's also everybody's
job and the perspectives andpractice of fostering inclusive
and diverse practices isn't justabout DEIB the belonging or
adding the justice.
Deij the belonging or addingthe justice, deij.
We really believe in diversityand equity, inclusion movements
(11:17):
and you do need an officesometimes to drive, to remind
the whole organization that thisis important, that the
organization values aninvestment in this way, but in
some ways being a part of apositive team culture, everyone
contributes.
This is not just somethingfarmed out to someone else.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
We believe that one of the most important
fundamental elements in buildinga positive team culture is in
respecting and understandingeach person's unique perspective
, and that is primarily what wemean by fostering an inclusive
and diverse practice, orinclusive and diverse team, is
(11:55):
that we begin by realizing thateach person comes to the team
with a vast history of livedexperiences, meaningful
relationships, wisdom that theybring that comes from their
unique culture, their places oforigin, their family system, and
there really isn't anythingthat we can do on a team to
change that.
But what we can do is we canrespect their opinions and their
(12:19):
backgrounds and theirperspective.
We can ask more questions aboutthat and we believe that when
we begin to fully embrace eachperson's unique perspective,
then we begin to practice whatinclusivity and diversity
actually means strategies couldyou share that could maybe make
(12:46):
it very practical.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
And again, this isn't necessarily earth shattering
brand new stuff, but sometimeswe just need to be reminded,
more often than taught, I think.
So talk a little bit aboutstrategies for accomplishing
this more inclusive and diverseworkplace.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Well, the first thing that I want to say is
appreciating is just the firststep.
It's truly integrating aperson's perspective into the
decision-making or into theconflict managing.
That's what I'm asking peopleto do is to not just appreciate,
like in a very collegial kindof way, but professionally being
(13:21):
curious as to what thisperson's perspective or how this
person's perspective or howthis person's perspective might
shape how we're approaching achallenge.
And the first thing I want tosay is ask and listen, like
actually ask a person what areyou thinking, what are you
seeing, what are we missing?
And then listen to what they'resaying.
A lot of people or a lot ofteams that we work with, they
(13:42):
ask questions without listeningto what the person's actually
saying, and so we're sayinglet's do a little bit of both.
So sometimes the listening partcomes in, you asking for
something else to be explainedand then echoing back what you
think you're hearing or what youthink the person is meaning,
(14:03):
and then they can add some moreto that and that just deepens
the question.
But to ask questions and listento the different perspectives
of each individual, that's onthe team.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Because sometimes, when we are working with teams
and we hear different peopleshare different parts of their
life, people are saying, oh soyou're on this stellar team and
someone might offer the reframe.
Yes, but we were the bad newsbears.
We didn't have the top of theline equipment, we didn't have
anything working for us, we werejust a bunch of ragtag people
(14:39):
put together and asked to dosomething.
And so understanding wherepeople grew up, where they came
from, what county is reallyimportant to them, why the city
that they grew up in issignificant, or the city that
they live in now, or the zipcode it is all fodder to
(15:01):
understand people's perspectiveand how their context has really
shaped who they are, how theyshow up, how they ask questions,
how they listen and maybe howthey'll be a teammate.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
And this may not happen easily, because a key to
creating this kind of dynamic,this kind of conversation, comes
through the creation of a teamculture that's actually safe,
where a person feels that theycan actually express themselves
and not be criticized, not beframed in by someone's
assumptive bias or anythingcritical like that, because
(15:36):
we're asking people to shareabout their past, and that past
may be great, it may besomething that's vulnerable to
them.
So to create a place or a teamenvironment where there's safety
, there's respect, there'srelational protection happening
there.
That's the type of environmentwhere people can actually feel
free to express where they camefrom and what were those
(15:57):
relationships that shaped theway they're thinking today.
So it's not just asking andlistening, it's creating the
place, creating that emotionalfeel on the team where people
know that, no matter what I say,I'm going to be accepted and
I'm going to be valued for myunique perspectives.
We take turns, sometimes oneopinion will be dominant,
(16:20):
sometimes another opinion willbe put to the side for the
moment, but by having this kindof dialogue, we're familiarizing
ourselves with each person'svoice, each person's background,
their unique perspective andultimately, we're deepening our
relationship with our teammembers so that these kinds of
questions and answers andlistening can be easier down the
(16:40):
road, but it takes somepractice, like everything else
that happens.
Creating positive team culturewith this idea of inclusivity
and diversity, that takespractice.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Now, sometimes there are checkbox items, or they
start to feel like checkboxitems, like bias training or,
you know, making sure that youhave diverse hiring practices,
or, oh, have we done this onlinetraining to be aware of this or
that?
That's.
Those are all important things,but what we find is there are
(17:12):
people that that just want to beknown and not not known like.
Your family knows you, but theyknow where you come from, your
teammates know what's expected.
Um, they, they can push you tosay you know, weren't you in
this place and didn't you learnsomething from there?
And can you bring that to thetable?
(17:33):
Can you bring that to thesolution?
We find that it isn't just aone session event where, all of
a sudden, you're like and nowI'm enlightened, and now we all
know, and now we cried a littlebit and we understand each other
and we can experience oneanother with a little more
(17:55):
softness.
What we're inviting people tois the unfolding of diverse
perspectives so that, in a moreinclusive culture, can be
cultivated.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I want to move us along here, but I feel like this
topic alone this first pointhere could be.
I mean, this is several otherpodcast episodes but what
strikes me is just the idea thatin order to create a positive
team culture where people feelknown and valued and it's
generative, it starts with justunderstanding and knowing these
(18:31):
people that you're working withon a daily basis and developing
some level of appreciation fortheir backgrounds.
And I think a lot of times whenyou talk about diverse
practices, people automaticallythink of these vast cultural
differences and we have a greatepisode coming out about that
later this month or the nextcouple months.
(18:51):
But also it's justunderstanding, like different
work ethics and just everyone'sso different, and I think that's
where the language of strengthscan really help.
So just kind of starting fromthat place is super important.
But I want to move us on tothese next two.
So much could be more could besaid about that.
The second one is investing ingrowth, and one thing that I
wanted to mention here that youtouched on a bit at the
(19:15):
beginning, but just toreemphasize, is that creating a
positive team culture I thinkstarts with a team leader, I
think it starts with theindividuals, I think it starts
with the organization.
My point is, everybody'sinvolved in this.
So when you hear about, whenyou hear us talking about these
things like investing in growth.
It's not just you know, ifyou're a team member with, maybe
(19:36):
out without traditionalleadership, just you know, if
you're a team member with, maybeout without traditional
leadership.
Quote unquote power or role,you still have a role to play in
this.
So talk about investing ingrowth talking, talk about what
this means.
There's several bullet pointshere.
I'm going to let you take itaway, though.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
All people are contributors to positive team
culture.
So when we are talking aboutthese three things that we've
learned, the practices orstrategies, it isn't just yet
pointing the fingers like, well,I wish my boss would do this.
This is starting with us.
What can we do?
What can I do to be a betterteam member?
What can I do to be a betterfamily member, a better
(20:15):
contributor to my you knowvolunteer group or whatever it
is?
So when, when, nathan, when yousay investing in growth I think
this is our challenge Make thisyear the year that you ask for
help.
How can you be a better teammember and what is it that you
need?
(20:35):
And sometimes you may havesomething that you need that's
very specific, and so maybe youwere already making this year
that you're asking for help andgrowing.
But how do you do more of that?
How do you grow in a skill?
How do you?
Maybe this is the year thatyou're gonna get therapy.
This is the year that you'regonna get professional coaching.
This is the year where you'renot just gonna to find a mentor,
(20:59):
but you're going to mentorsomewhere, someone else.
We find that that's wheregrowth really happens, when
you're being mentored andmentoring someone else.
Maybe this is the year whereyou find the right training and
workshop.
And you find a variety ofworkshops and one of them just
clicks for you.
But sometimes the act ofsigning up is the act of asking
(21:22):
for help.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
And the reason why we think this is so important that
in this being that individualslearn to ask for help, because
we know that positive teamculture, like Linda said, is
comprised of all the individualmembers of the team contributing
to the health of the culture,and so healthy people create
healthy cultures, and I thinkeach person maybe has an
(21:48):
invitation to ask for help forthemselves so that they can show
up in a healthier way to theirteam.
So there's that first part ofthe investment.
The second part of theinvestment is maybe asking for
help on how you can be a betterteam member, and who better to
ask that question of than yourteam members?
(22:09):
Because we read one time that astranger is often the best
mirror for who you are in thisuniverse, and I think that
sometimes the people that arenear to us in our teams are
perhaps the best reflection wehave of how we are a team member
the generative side, thevulnerable side, the things we
(22:30):
have to offer and the thingsthat we don't.
So investing in growth.
Ask some of your trusted teammembers how can I be a better
team member this year?
What are some of the assetsthat I bring to our team that
without me it wouldn't be thesame and also ask what are some
things I could improve on, Like,what are the areas of change
(22:51):
that I can lean into so that Ican be a more conscientious,
positive contributor to our teamculture?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And when that environment of growth is
cultivated.
Obviously, that leads to higherengagement and better retention
rates.
But it's also answering thequestion that some of our
clients are saying, and that iswhere are the next leaders?
Like you got to build them?
Where are the next leaders wegot got to build them?
(23:19):
Where are the next leaders?
We got seats to fill?
How do we do successionplanning?
How do we do all thesedifferent things?
Those people that intend togrow this year maybe build
capacity in a skill or, you know, invest in their heart in a
different way, or their soul ortheir mind, invest in their
(23:40):
heart in a different way, ortheir soul or their mind.
They're the ones that are goingto be ahead and ready for the
new roles and the kinds ofleaders that we will need in the
future.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
This might sound obvious to our listeners,
because I have this sense thatif you're listening to a podcast
about leadership, you'reprobably already investing in
growth Like you're not.
We're a little bit preaching tothe choir here, but it's
surprising to me how manyleaders that I know even friends
and relatives and just peoplein my circle it's not that they
(24:08):
don't believe in this, but theyperhaps don't feel like, oh, I
don't need therapy, I don't needa coach, I don't need this,
that I don't have time to read abook that's somehow connected
to my area of expertise or myindustry or whatever.
But it is remarkable how muchcan happen when you do invest in
this, even as simple as, like,I'm going to read a book that's
(24:31):
relevant to what I'm doing, orlisten to a podcast or some
things that are basically free.
And so my challenge, myencouragement, just kind of
reiterating what the two of youhave said but not only invest in
your own growth, but how do youhelp your teammates to do that?
You know to say, like you know,hey, team, I found this really
interesting book.
(24:51):
What if we read it together?
Or here's a really interestingpodcast by Leadership Vision
Consulting.
Maybe we should listen to ittogether or whatever it is.
I think you know, when a leader,like a leader of the group,
says we're all doing this, it'sone thing.
When a member of the team saysI'm finding value in this, maybe
others can share in it, thenit's there's a more collective
investment, I think, in growingand changing and, you know, even
(25:15):
setting new habits.
So I'm excited not in thispodcast, but I'm excited to talk
with the two of you more abouthow we're going to be doing this
as a team later.
And the third one here.
I'm also excited to talk to youabout work life alignment.
Why not work life balance?
What's?
What's the specificity there inthe word alignment and not
(25:35):
balance?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Cause.
Is there really ever balance?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
No.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
I mean ask any parent of young children, or on the
holidays, there's, there's justnever.
There's never quite balancethat looks 50 50.
But I think there are timeswhen our work and our life are
aligned aligned to our values,aligned to our goals, that it's
(26:00):
okay if it's 80-20.
It's okay if it's 60-40.
That, that is, it's not justwork is 50 and life is 50.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Sometimes they're better, they're seasoned to what
we have to invest in.
Right, you have to work.
You know, I think we alwaysthink of like children this
often.
Right, you have to work.
You know, I think we alwaysthink of like children this
often.
But it's like, okay, I'm gonnawork really hard now so that I
can be present and home later,and that's just kind of ebbs and
flows.
But, Brian, you were about tosay something before I cut you
(26:32):
off.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
The word balance is an often overused word that
people can easily go after forits negative connotations, like
I'm out of balance.
Balance can be used as a wordto indicate one area of
measurement that points to areyou aligned in the right
direction?
I was talking to my doctor thismorning and he was talking
(26:56):
about the insignificance ofweight and people who are on the
scale every single day, and soour conversation was about how
you know, weighing yourself is ameasure.
It's one measure, but itdoesn't really give us a whole
picture of are you living inalignment towards your health
goals, you know, are you moving,are you eating nutritious meals
(27:19):
, are you having healthy snacks,things like that, and so one of
the points we just made wasit's important to have measures,
as long as they're congruentwith other measures, that help
you understand that we're livingin alignment, and alignment, I
believe, is another way ofinviting people into greater
(27:39):
mindful awareness of reallywhat's going on in their life,
because they aren't just lookingat one thing Am I balanced?
Because when you have awork-life alignment mentality
and you're more mindfully aware,then I believe you're more open
to the one or two things youcan change that are incremental,
that could be steady over timethan making some drastic change
(27:59):
because you're saying I'm out ofbalance.
I have to get in balancebecause I believe that being the
whole person that you are ispart of the growth like we
talked about earlier.
It's part of you being a bettermember of society, which we
also talked about earlier.
We were meeting with anexecutive the other day and
let's just say she's reallysuccessful.
You wouldn't think that shestruggles with alignment and we
(28:23):
were having this coffee with herand talking about her company
and all these great things.
And then she said I just don'tpractice mindful awareness that
much.
Like I really could use, youknow, some more time to meditate
.
And it's like it just took meby surprise, like you're just
like admitting to us this onearea of your life where I really
need to invest more time,because in the midst of all the
(28:45):
success, you just assume thatthings were all aligned.
But my point is she just tookthe opportunity to name one
thing, without any shame or anylike you know oh, what was me?
It was just like oh, I see I'vehad an invitation here, a
reminder that I could improve inthis one area, and I believe
it's that type of invitationwe're asking people to consider
(29:05):
is when we encourage work-lifealignment, when we're actually
making suggestions to thosepeople that we're working with.
We're just asking people toincrease a level of
participation in one or twoareas of your life that can
further contribute to youroverall health.
Because, remember, the scale isjust one measure of someone
(29:26):
who's on a nutritional journey.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
And sometimes it's hard to name or it's hard to
count for or it's hard to countfor.
So, just as positive teamculture can feel like a vibe,
you either have it or you don't.
You can tell when you have alot of it or a little of it.
Similar to work-life alignment,we're learning a lot from
(29:50):
Generation Z.
I happen to believe deeply inthis generation that will lead
us in in the future and maybe isalready leading us now.
I am meeting a lot of members ofGeneration Z who are making
decisions toward a work lifealignment the things that they
enjoy, working to have the moneyto do the things, or saying no
(30:12):
to certain things like, yep, Idon't need that and I don't need
this, but I need community, Ineed an artistic outlet and vibe
is in.
That is so important.
Obviously, you want to make aliving, but, to remember, when
you have work-life alignment itis kind of like a vibe.
Is the vibe good?
Is it bad?
Same thing.
(30:33):
How do you bring then that,that sense of alignment to, to
the team cultures that you are apart of?
Speaker 1 (30:39):
That's something I got from James Clear, who is the
author of Atomic Habits.
Sometimes, when, if we realizeour life is out of alignment, we
(31:02):
try to drastically, you know,yank it, you know 180 degrees in
the other direction, and thenyou know maybe that's not
sustainable and so we fail andgo right back to ground zero.
But when you try to just kindof think small, make little
adjustments, it's probably goingto take longer than you think
it is.
To think small, make littleadjustments, it's probably going
to take longer than you thinkit is.
But I think the point thatwe're driving at here is like to
do something like move theneedle one degree towards
(31:23):
something that more aligns withyour values, towards something
that's more in alignment with,maybe, who you want to be.
Brian and Linda, do you haveany final thoughts or ways to
kind of tie a nice little NewYear's bow around these three
points here?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Well, I'm sure that there are listeners out there
who just found themselves kindof caught up in this idea of
what would a positive teamculture look like on my team.
So I kind of want to give justsome suggestions, like a DIY,
you know, like how do you dothis on your own?
You don't need to call us.
Or, like you know, seek how doyou do this on your own, you
don't need to call us.
Or, like you know, seek out aconsultant or something or some
coach.
(31:59):
Like what can you do?
Because if your team isn'tquite functioning the way that
you want it to, maybe one easyway is to just look around and
find a team that you think isworking well and ask them like
what are you doing?
And we had a great lesson ofthis this year where we were
(32:19):
working with a team and theywere asking for help, but it
seemed like their team was doingreally, really well and we
simply asked this leadershipcluster of this team what you
were doing, and they gave veryquick, readily available answers
to how they made smalladjustments to just increase the
capacity.
So my point is look around atteams that you think are getting
(32:43):
it right and just ask what areyou doing?
What adjustments have you made,what seems to be going well and
what are you still strugglingwith?
Because you'll find that otherpeople who are close to you,
especially in the sameorganization, may have some
really quick tips or insightsthat you may be just overlooking
.
That could really help Because,remember, your team culture is
(33:04):
a subset of the largerorganizational culture and if
you see some other team in yourorganization that's getting it
right, ask them what they'redoing, because they're working
within the same ecosystem, thesame environment that you are,
and they may have the best helpfor you and they're right near
you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So ask for help, listen and ask some follow up
questions you know, pickingsomething small in each one of
these categories of how am Igoing to be more curious so that
I can accept and integratediverse and be more inclusive in
(33:43):
my perspective or approach.
What small way can I experiencegrowth in this week, in this
month, in this year, and whatways can I come back into
alignment or stay in alignment?
And that's a challenge for it'sa challenge for us too.
So I am looking forward to ourteam conversation.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I know it'll be another soul bearing
conversation here pretty, prettysoon, but, brian Linda, thank
you so much.
I appreciate the.
I mean, even though we sort ofworked on the outline together,
it's still given me a bunch ofthings to think about as we are
frantically trying to wrap up2023 before the holidays here
(34:26):
and then I feel like we're goingto get launched out of a cannon
into 2024 with just everythingthat's on the plate.
So thank you Game on.
Thank you Game on.
Thank you, nathan, and thankyou, listeners, for listening to
the Leadership Vision Podcast.
We have a bunch of resources onour website.
If you go toleadershipvisionconsultingcom
and just click on the resourcestab, you'll see things there.
(34:47):
We have a blog with a ton ofarticles.
We have some curriculum.
If you want to do some stuffwith your team, we've got an
online community.
We've got several courses, ofcourse, this podcast and some
other training opportunities.
If you want help with anythingrelated to what you heard on
(35:08):
this podcast with getting yourteam into alignment, working on
culture, building individualstrengths and helping with you
know leadership identity pleasereach out to us.
You can send us an email atconnect at
leadershipvisionconsultingcom.
We would love to be part ofyour team's journey here in this
new year and, of course, youcan subscribe to our podcast
wherever you get your podcast,or sign up for our free email
(35:29):
newsletter where we send outweekly and monthly updates on
all things leadership to helpyou and your team just really
thrive.
So thank you for listeningagain.
I'm Nathan Freeberg.
I'm Linda Shubring.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
And I'm Brian Shubring.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
And on behalf of our entire team, thanks for
listening.
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