February 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Have you ever wondered how a shift towards servant leadership could revolutionize your team's performance?
Let's take that thought further and explore the compelling world of high-performing teams with the guidance of Andy Wilson and guest Celia Swanson, whose wisdom is rooted in her book's powerful insights.
Together, Celia and Andy unravel the core elements of leadership—impact, influence, and inspiration—and their indispensable role in nurturing a successful team dynamic. Their conversation spans the globe, inviting listeners to exchange experiences and learn from the diverse narratives that illustrate the spectrum of team environments, from the most harmonious to those fraught with challenges.
Reflecting on the lasting influence of Don Soderquist's tenure at the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics, the discussion underscores the significance of purpose, clarity, and psychological safety in laying the foundation for a legacy that continues to guide businesses today.
Soderquist's legacy provides a backdrop to our examination of what it truly means to empower rather than control, and how inspiring leadership can catalyze a team’s potential.
Celia and Andyalso dissect Howard Guttman's high-performing team model, prompting you to identify your team's development stage and equip you with actionable strategies to nurture accountability, drive high performance, and celebrate collective victories.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to Leadership Today.
My name is Andy Wilson and myco-host Celia Swanson.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello Andy, Great to be with all of you today.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I will tell you, celia, it's so good to see you,
as always, I'm glad you're back.
Wow, what we have to talk abouttoday, I will tell you all I
can tell our viewers is buckleup, because this is going to be
great.
Celia Swanson, we have had suchwonderful conversations over
the last months, right, and somuch focused on servant
(00:37):
leadership and, of course, yourgreat book.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
No.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
You know, and we just boy, it's been so rich.
Today, I will tell you, Celia,I think what you're going to
share today will be some of themost important content we've
shared, and it's all beenimportant.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's all been important, so thank you for that
.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
But this is going to be great, Celia.
And again, thank you all somuch.
You know, Celia, it's beenwonderful, our viewership, and
you know, I was just told by ouranalytical team that we're now
viewed in 22 countries, and sothank you everyone.
Yes, thank you, yeah, it's forsharing that and for all the
(01:20):
wonderful We'd love to hear fromyou.
So feel free to reach out onsocial media and respond to us.
We'd love to hear your comments.
That's amazing.
Yeah, it is, isn't it?
Yes, yeah, such a wonderfulthing.
So again, okay, we're going toget started.
Cecilia, why don't youintroduce our session today?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And then we'll get into the content.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So our topic today is going to be around
high-performing teams, and theconcept of high-performing teams
, I think, is best captured in aquote that I use in my book,
Chapter 9, from Robin Sharma,and the quote goes leadership is
(02:02):
not about a title or adestination.
It's about impact, influenceand inspiration.
Impact involves getting results.
Influence is about spreadingthe passion you have for your
work, and you have to inspireteammates, customers and all
(02:25):
leaders around you.
I think that sets theexpectation for what I believe
the result of creating andsustaining a high-performing
team is all about, Andy Right.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You know, and we're going to get into as we talk
about these high-performingteams, and if you're on a
high-performing team now, youget it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And you're there.
You're like, okay, I'm leaningin, because how do I take this
high-performing team to the nextlevel?
How do I aspire that, if you'renot, we're going to give you
guidance on how you navigatethat Right right, that space.
And so there's two options herefor you You're going to learn
(03:12):
more and even more productive,or we're going to teach you how
to really get into that spaceand where you're happy and
you're absolutely excelling.
Yes, yes, the highest levelpossible as a leader.
So okay, great.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
You know, andy, I had two conversations this week
with individuals that I'mcoaching and that are in my
circle, and the firstconversation was with an
individual who just joined theWalmart home office campus
design team.
She's an architect, and whatshe said is this is the best
(03:52):
team I've ever had the privilegeto work for in my career.
They are smart people.
We are all passionate andpassionate about creating the
same vision on the new Walmartcampus, and we're bringing our
best work, our best selves, towork every day.
(04:14):
I had been aspiring to be onsuch a team, but once I got on
this team, I didn't know howawesome it felt and how
energized I am.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Right, you know, because you're inspired.
Yes, the people around youinspire you because of the
commitment and dedication toexcellence.
Yes, that's right, so you know.
So it's no different.
When you and I worked atwalmart or other places, we were
around great leaders and theyinspired us, and they that you,
(04:53):
you, you went home at night andlike okay, tomorrow, how do I
step up my game?
right how do I lean in on this?
What research do I do?
What I need to read, what book,what individual I need to talk
to or podcast to watch?
Yeah, exactly right, and it'snothing like it.
It's nothing like it, andthat's how your friend felt.
(05:15):
Yes, you know, that's awesome,that's a great story yes.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Well then I had another person that I happened
to have the privilege ofcoaching and she was working on
a project team to bring asolution to the organization
that she works for and theproject team.
(05:41):
She had gotten so frustratedthat she said I'm done, I'm out,
I will perform my part in thepresentation, but I'm not going
to do anything beyond that.
And I said to her you know thatstill will reflect on you, so
there's a lesson in that.
But how frustrating she hadbecome.
(06:01):
Frustrated she'd had becomebecause of working in an
environment where people weren'tlistening, people were not
taking her feedback seriouslyand she just she was going to go
through the motions and not doanything more.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You know.
Here's what I'd like to sayabout that.
If you are one of thoseindividuals, I want to encourage
you for a moment, because it'snever too late to make the
change and change personally,professionally.
You have to look in the mirroron that and say am I the problem
?
Sometimes I've looked in themirror and said I'm looking at
(06:42):
Right at the problem, sometimesin the wrong place and maybe
you're on the wrong team.
Maybe you're in the mirror andsaid I'm looking at Right At the
problem, sometimes you're inthe wrong place and maybe you're
on the wrong team, maybe in thewrong company.
But what I want to encourage youis this it's not too late for
you to look at yourself and sayI need now to do this.
And what is this?
Well, it could be correctingyour behavior, it could be going
(07:03):
back to school, it could bewatching podcasts, it could be
getting a coach, it could bemultiple things.
Go do it now, don't wait, don'tallow yourself to waste your
time and energy because you'retoo good for that Great point.
And if it's another company, goResearch those companies, find
(07:25):
that right company, find thatright team and go apply yourself
there.
So don't stay there.
That's my encouragement.
Do something about it.
Because here's the thing, celia, I've seen in my career as
working with individuals andthings like that is sometimes we
(07:46):
stay in this place, this wrongplace, too long and and what I
and and we?
We feel like we can't get outof that spot.
Well, it's never too late tomake those changes.
Because you stay in that placetoo long, you will develop
(08:09):
really poor habits.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And you want to get yourself out of that.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, you'll take on a bit of the sense of the
environment that you're in.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
And you know, when we start in our career, celia, we
get.
Our leaders are pouring into us, they're helping us, they're
guiding us, we're learning byour mistakes and we're
correcting and we're learningjust how to navigate.
You know, being a leader, amanager, a leader at that point,
so it's, we get feedback.
Sometimes you may be in thisplace where you've been there
(08:44):
for a while.
You don't get a lot of feedbacknow because you're expected to
know these things, but you nowunfortunately develop some bad
habits or whatever.
As I said earlier, make achange.
I'm encouraging, we'reencouraging you.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yes, we are encouraging you.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That's exactly right, don't just settle there and
you're and Celia's going to giveyou such great.
Just stay tuned, you're aboutto get a lot of help here.
Okay, if you're in that space.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So have you ever worked in an environment like
the first person described,where you were, you know,
working at your best and youwere bringing your best to that
team and to the project.
Have you ever worked in thatkind of environment, andy?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
You know I won't give the Walmart example.
I could, but it happened againwhich I had such a wonderful
career at Walmart and surroundedwith great leaders and we could
just stop there and go downthis path, but I won't.
But I had the opportunity tomeet a man at Walmart and Don
Soderquist, who was the vicechair at Walmart, and one day in
(09:52):
his office he said he wastalking about his retirement and
we were.
We were dealing with some issueand I had to get his advice and
guidance on it and we got intothis retirement conversation.
He said, said you know, I'mgoing to be leaving at some
point and I have his vision.
And he said but I'm notrecruiting you, but you know
(10:14):
Don's ethical way he would saythat because he wasn't.
But he said when and if youretire, I'd like you to have a
conversation with me about myvision.
Well, I had a conversation withhim about his vision later, a
couple years later actually, andhe shared with me his vision
about the Sotoquist Center forLeadership and Ethics and he was
(10:34):
located at John BrownUniversity, which is a
phenomenal university and haveimpact around the world.
And Don shared his vision andhe was in Colorado, his house,
and back then we were faxingback and forth.
So, anyway, the thing was, whenhe shared his vision to you, I
(10:58):
thought I want to be part ofthis.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Oh yes.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Because here's what Don did we gathered our small
team, very small team.
Then it became much larger, buta very small team, and I
remember we sat around and Icould tell you so many stories
and maybe later we can talkabout all this, but he shared it
.
What I just leaned in as hetalked about his vision and his
(11:27):
expectations and how the impacthe wanted to have in the world.
I mean, I was sitting in thechair and I just kept leaning in
, leaning in, and I went I wantto be part of this, what part of
that?
And we did it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
We did it and it was one of the greatest times in my
career working for an individuallike Don, and we traveled the
world together.
We had intimate conversationson planes and trains and
automobiles, yes, and you know,and no matter where we were we
could be in Japan, or we couldbe somewhere in Europe, or we
(12:06):
could be somewhere in the US andI would just sit and listen to
him talk about leadership.
And the thing I'll close with Ilearned that day I learned many
times that time with him isthat great leaders inspire
people.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yes, they do, that's what he did to all of us.
What you all built with theSutterquist Leadership Center is
still thriving and impactingbusinesses and individuals
across the world.
I know, and that's prettyfantastic, that's making an
(12:50):
impact.
That was Don's legacy.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yes, that's what he wanted.
That was his legacy.
That's a great point.
It was his legacy, that's whathe wanted to do and he did it.
But you know, we just ran to itevery day.
Whatever it was, we just ran toit.
That's great, and so I'll come.
Thanks for asking that question.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, I want to dissect that story a little bit
for our audience, because Andyjust referenced the three
pillars of a high-performingteam.
And the first pillar is purposeor mission.
Same thing, and you saw thevision.
You all had a mission.
(13:33):
It was explained and describedby Don every single day, but it
was clear what you were allfocused on.
The second and I just hit onthat, it was clear, it's called
clarity.
You spent time talking about itand deep diving into what did
(13:53):
that.
Look like, what did it feellike, what was the impact you
wanted to leave on individualsand teams?
And then the third was Doncreated psychological safety on
that team and psychologicalsafety was your point about.
He inspired us.
We came in, we iterated, wetalked about how we might
(14:19):
execute or bring this to life,and then he got out of the way
and just let us go develop,design, implement and you know,
worldwide impact wasaccomplished.
Those are the three pillars ofa high performing team.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
You said something I want to circle back to, because
as leaders, sometimes we thinkwe have to micromanage and we've
got to have our hands oneverything.
And Don had an office here inRogers, arkansas, and he did not
office on the campus with us,and so we built the center on
the campus and so it was a greatcenter and our team was there.
(15:00):
The business division wasunderneath, so we had access to
students and other leaders onthe campus.
But you know, don, he wouldcall me up and I could picture
him right now sitting at hisdesk, probably feet up on his
desk, and his phone in his hand,saying, sitting at his desk,
probably feet up on his desk,and his phone in his hand,
(15:21):
saying, okay, how's things going, and he'd let me talk.
He said, you know, and he'd askquestions about it, not probing
questions, nothing that wouldsay he's trying to lead or take
over, just informationalquestions.
And then he would say anythingI can help you with.
He always said that and I wouldsay, hey, yeah, I need what.
(15:42):
Do you think about this?
Well, what he did?
He opened the door for me to bevery relaxed, not threatened,
but just have a very a businessconversation with him and get
his advice.
He never said you should go dothis.
He said you should think aboutit, what that did.
Then, when I got off, I said Ihave a new idea.
Now I have.
I have what I'm thinking aboutthis, but he's giving me more
(16:05):
information to think deeper orbroader about it.
And then I would go to the teamand guess how I guess I did the
team just like he did me.
I'd say what do you think?
And'd say, hey, I talked to Donand he suggested this idea or
something.
And then we'd come in, we'dcollaborate with a team.
Then we would set thatdirection and we'd go execute it
(16:27):
Because that team, because theywere all leaning in, it was
their ideas, it was their.
I was just duplicating what Dondid for me.
I was trying to inspire themlike he inspired me.
Then we all were inspiredbecause of Don's comment.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yes, exactly To your point.
Well, that's creatingpsychological safety Exactly,
and psychological safety hasbeen defined by Berkman as an
environment where team membersfeel safe to take risks and be
vulnerable in front of eachother.
So critical, and that componentbecame even more important in
(17:10):
high-performing team developmentwhen the world shut down and we
all started workingindependently, virtually
individually, and thispsychological safety environment
was all of a sudden.
A bright light was shown on howimportant that is, because you
(17:33):
had to create an environmentwhere individuals felt still
inspired to work, even thoughthey weren't coming in and
interacting with the team.
You had to create anenvironment where you were
getting, generating ideas andtogether coming up with the best
way to operate in thiscircumstance and then creating
(17:58):
vulnerable opportunities forpeople to share.
This isn't working for me orI'm thriving in this environment
.
When we come back to work, canwe do a blend of some of this
individual, virtual and team,and that's what Don did.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, I love that, you know.
I want to underline somethingyou said during the cut time of
COVID and you know, us workforce, they do a poll each year and
they talk about three criticalpoints, about engagement you're
engaged, unengaged anddisengaged.
And we, because of the way weworked, our engagement really
(18:42):
went down those couple years asa workforce.
But back to what Don heunderstood these components very
well and I remember one time hesaid something we were
presenting to an organizationsomewhere I think it was in
Japan actually and we weretalking about disengagement and
(19:07):
we were at that point using notthe US but the world status, you
know, information at that point.
And so he and I were actuallyon a flight over to Japan
talking, and he, you know, said,hey, talk to me, we'd sit
beside each other.
And he said so, talk to meabout what you're thinking about
.
He, you know, said hey, talk tome, we'd sit beside each other.
And he said so, talk to meabout what you're thinking about
.
You know, what can I do?
How can I help when I get there?
You know we were so we woulddiscuss this on the plane going
over.
And again, that showed you hewas not micromanaging all.
(19:30):
He said, hey, what we'retalking about you know.
So we'd go back through andwe'd walk through it.
And he said something to me on aplane trip.
He said he said here's the goal, andy.
He said the goal is get thehighest possible engagement with
your people.
He said that's what drives theorganization, that's what drives
(19:54):
the teams, he said you know.
He said whatever the number was, you know, recently in the US
it was around 30%, just abovethat.
But what Don was saying?
Let's get to 90%.
Right, let's go get the 100%,but let's go get the 90.
Yes, because with 90, look athow productive your organization
(20:17):
or your team is.
Right, and as a leader, that'swhat you want to do.
You want to operate, lead in away to create the engagement.
Yes, when you have a number, agreat high number, you have less
not engaged and much lessdisengaged.
Right, because the disengagedare done.
Right, they're like that person.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
The second story.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I'm done.
I'm done with that team.
Pull it, make it.
That's exactly where I wasgoing, just like your second
story.
That person's done, okay,they're not engaged, they're
disengaged and they need toleave, or?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
make a change, or make a change or something
that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
And if you find yourself not engaged in an
organization?
If you're, you know.
If you're not engaged, how doyou get to engage Right?
If don't?
That's what I was talking about.
You know bad habits and allthat earlier You're disengaged.
At that point, that's when youneed to go find something to
inspire yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Right, right, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And it might be doing multiple things and not
something you're doing today.
Yeah, but that's okay.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know.
Back to your point onengagement.
What were those numbers, thosenational Gallup poll numbers on
engagement?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Well, the latest status I have is the Gallup poll
.
Us workforce is engaged was 33percent.
Engaged.
Engaged 33 percent.
Not engaged 51.
Not engaged what that is,that's where you're just
borderline and you can go up ordown.
You know you're just and youcan go up or down.
(21:57):
You know you're just, you'remore than there, but you're not
much more than there.
It's not like story one thatyou told that person's talk.
That is engagement Right,because they're saying I got to
bring my A game because this isan A game group, yes, and I want
to be better, and that personwill grow and develop in that
(22:20):
group.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And then if you're disengaged that's around 16% in
the latest poll Okay, that'swhen you just need to go find
engagement.
Right, that's right, do it, doit.
Don't wait.
That's right, go do it.
That's my encouragement,because life is just too short
to feel that way.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yes, you know, but that 51% disengaged.
That's an opportunity.
Now I know I see the worldthrough rose-colored glasses, I
understand that, but that Idon't see them as being, oh,
(23:01):
let's not go put effort intothem.
I absolutely see them as thegroup we need to go pour into
and aspire to use in our otherstories and get them into the
engaged.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
And, as a leader, you should know where your group is
.
You should know your peoplewell enough, your direct reports
, you should know them wellenough to know where they are.
Listen, it comes to leader ofsetting down and I will tell you
, I had great leaders in mycareer at Walmart and other
places where they would pointout to me, not annually, but as
(23:33):
needed, where.
Okay, andy, this is some thingsyou really need to work on.
Those are great productiveconversations that you and your
leader have together.
And, as I said earlier and I'mgoing to underline this one more
time as we mature in businessand age, we have these habits we
(23:58):
create that are sometimes notgood.
I would want a leader becauseat Walmart I'll give you this
example when I was promoting anofficer company, I was about
half the age of some of thepeople reported to me.
I was 30 years old and some ofthem people reported to me I was
30 years old and some of themare older, much older, 20 years
at least.
(24:18):
And in their career, celia,people had some of the leaders.
They'd not sit with them andsaid let's talk about your
leadership.
I did that because I didn'tknow not to do it.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Right, that's how you were taught.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And I would have conversations with people 20
years older than me about here'ssome things.
I see that you really you know,and I remember this one
particular time I had thisconversation and it's a story, I
won't take it long, but thisperson was at least 20 years
older than me and I sat downwith him and I had this
conversation and I said here's acouple things you, you really
(25:04):
need to work on.
And then I looked at him.
I said I called his name.
I said we'll just call it Mikeand that's not his name, but and
sorry, mike's, but anyway Isaid we'll just call it Mike and
that's not his name and sorryMike, but anyway.
I looked at him and I said youhave forgotten more about retail
than I know.
(25:24):
Now here's my question to youwhy are you not doing these
things?
Why are you not doing thesethings?
And I remember he looked at meand he said no one said that to
me before.
And I said well, you know whatour expectation is.
(25:46):
You know how we want to leadour teams and the expectation we
have of leaders here.
So why aren't you doing thatwork?
And that's why I said earlier,as we age sometimes and all we
create these bad habits here.
I was 20 years younger, bringingthat bad habit in front of him.
(26:09):
I will tell you.
We became friends, we respectedeach other and I remember after
he retired, we had greatconversations and he would
always say to me this young guythen, thank you for being so
honest with me.
(26:29):
That's what you're talkingabout.
That's right.
That's what leaders you have todo.
You got you.
You can't ignore this rightbecause you're doing that
individual disservice not onlythe company or your team, but
you're doing a good service.
And let me tell you he taughtme so much more in the field
(26:49):
after that conversation aboutretail that I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
That is the best example of being vulnerable, yes
, and therefore open to hear thefeedback that is purely meant
for you to be better at whatyou're doing.
I mean, it's just a beautifulexample, yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
I could tell you so much more about our relationship
as it went through the years,but I will tell you I learned so
much that day and I rememberthat day like it was yesterday.
This morning that's the impactyes, but that's your role as a
leader.
Yeah, that is your role.
And the six or seven years Ispent with Donna Serkis at the
(27:34):
Sarkis Center, I just heard thisevery day, which was so awesome
, you know, from a guy that justwould talk about it and talk
about it and lead it by example.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You know that reinforces the second pillar, so
we started on the third pillarpsychological safety.
The second pillar is clarity,and what you're saying and I I
was able to experience it aswell with dawn um was water on
stone.
Clarity, it's reinforcement.
(28:08):
Your behavior is exactly likewhat you're asking others to do,
and and so they don't just hearwords, they see it demonstrated
, but it's very clear and it'sreinforced.
That's the second pillarclarity, and aligning people
around a common vision.
And then the first pillar isaround purpose and mission.
(28:33):
We've talked a lot aboutpurpose and mission, so I'm not
going to delve any further intothat, but those are the three
pillars of every high-performingteam.
The research here is deep onwhat distinguishes and
determines a sustainablehigh-performing team, and those
(28:56):
are the three components.
But now I want to flip into atool that I discovered when,
actually, we were trying tobring together all the human
resource executives at Walmartand we were being guided by
corporate Walmart and the visionand the way we were going to
(29:25):
interface with each of ourdifferent divisions in the
organization and we were notperforming well.
Hr was viewed as verypaperwork-oriented,
policy-oriented, and we broughtin a gentleman whose name is
Howard Guttman and he has books,a wealth of books, written on
(29:51):
high-performing teams and highperforming team behavior.
But he left us with the toolthat I have used so many times
now, andy, and it's called thehigh performing team behaviors
and there are four behaviorsthat he's called out in his
model, called out in his modeland that it's testing in
(30:22):
fighting, getting organized andhigh performance.
The reason this tool and we willpost it on the website, yes, um
, or you can go on to celiaswansoncom and it's posted there
as.
But the reason this is such apowerful tool for me is twofold.
It describes, in quadrant four,exactly what the behaviors are
(30:48):
of a high-performing team, andthey are clear team goals, the
right players in place, clearroles and responsibilities, a
commitment to winning for thebusiness over self-interest.
Agreed upon protocols fordecision making and conflict
(31:09):
resolution, a sense of ownershipand accountability.
Confronting comfort sorry, butconfronting is the first step to
creating comfort in dealingwith conflict, and then a
periodic self-assessment.
Those are the eight specificbehaviors that define a
(31:34):
high-performing team.
Well, how many of us are workingon a high-performing team right
now?
It's very hard to get into thathigh-performance quadrant.
But it also goes back and givesyou the behaviors that exist
under stage three, and that'sgetting organized and that's
(31:58):
clarifying.
You're in the process ofcreating clarity for roles and
goals.
You're developing skills thatare needed for the team
performance, you're establishingprocedures, you're giving
feedback and you're confrontingissues, not people.
That's the getting organizedstage.
(32:23):
The infighting stage ispersonalization of issues,
individuals and members of theteam feeling attacked and
frustrated, um, finger pointing,tension or control issues.
That's in the infighting stage.
In the testing stage, where ateam just gets formed, is the
(32:48):
air is thick.
Um, some team members arecoming in with a maintaining a
facade, fear of confrontingindividuals and issues a denial
of conflict, and team memberswary of one another, wanting to
really understand.
Okay, why are you here and whyam I here and how do I create an
(33:13):
understanding of the politicallandscape?
When you're in a highperforming team, you're not
looking at the politicallandscape.
It has no impact on you, right,absolutely because you know yeah
where you stand, why you'rethere, and you are all there for
the same purpose of excellence.
So my challenge when I dohigh-performing team workshops
(33:34):
is I give people a copy of thismodel and I say where is your
team Right, the team that youare working on today?
What are the behaviors?
Speaker 1 (33:45):
What stage are you in ?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Or you could be in multiple stages.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
You could be in between stages, yeah, in between
stages you could betransitioning Right, either
forward or stages.
Yeah, in between stages youcould be transitioning either
forward or back.
Once you get to thehigh-performing stage, which is
very hard to get to, it's prettyeasy if there's a change in
scope, a change in the leader, achange in a team member, you
(34:09):
can fall back into those otherthree stages.
But really taking time toidentify and use the language
around these behaviors thatyou're seeing on your team, from
your team, is a criticallyhelpful tool to then saying is
(34:32):
that really what we want tostand for?
Is that how we want to beperceived?
Are we achieving this ultimateperformance excellence goal?
If you're not, then assessingwhere you are and then
consciously moving yourselfforward into what are those
(34:55):
behaviors that we need to adoptin order to shift into,
hopefully, that gettingorganized team, getting
organized stage and then movingto high performance.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
I love this model.
That is so good.
I love the model too.
It's great and I had a chanceto see it earlier and when I was
reviewing it after our visitrecently.
Quite frankly, the thoughtsthat I've shared today around
Dinosaur, dequist, your modelhelped remember model, help
(35:35):
remember my mind.
You know remember, okay, when Iwas looking at these high
performing teams that's themodel, the things, the comments
I said about sort of our center,others that's where they come
from yeah because?
that's because, when I readthose eight points, what did I
think about the one of the bestteams I was on?
right right you know, one of thebest teams I was part of Then,
a leader that inspired to be thebest you know, and I would say
(36:02):
to you this take this podcastand go someplace where you can
just listen to it and thinkabout you yourself as a leader
and then spend some timethinking about your team with
(36:24):
Celia's.
And you know, download themodel, or you can see it on our
website, grab it, but downloadthat model and think about it.
Spend some time thinking aboutthis.
And then set your course youknow what do you have to do to
(36:44):
be ready, what do you have to doto help get this team of yours
ready?
And then don't hesitate toreach out, reach to you know,
message us on linkedin orwhatever.
But but but go, do this.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
it will change your life it absolutely will change
your life because it will changehow you're showing up and it
will change no matter what seaton that team you hold.
You'll be showing up every daywith a commitment to move that
team's performance forward forno individual benefit of yours
(37:26):
other than working on ahigh-performing team, and that's
it.
But it's a constant assessment,andyy, and that's why I love
your challenge.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Well I'm bored this please.
I hear gracious and strong.
I'll recommend it um.
And we've had Celia six or moregreat podcasts right here.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Yes, yes, we have.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
And what the future holds for Celia and I is that
we're going to continue to behere with Servant Leadership
podcast and, like today, we'regoing to go deeper and deeper
and deeper into this with youand we're going to share not
(38:19):
only just our experience andinsights but, just like today,
where Celia brings anotherinstrument and introduces it to
the table and all it's going tobe Celia, thank you.
Thank you for the past, celia,thank you, thank you for the
past.
But I will tell you, as Iglance back, I am looking
excitedly for the future of whatyou and I are going to talk
(38:40):
about with our audience in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I am too, andy.
I think we've I'm proud of whatwe've put into place with these
podcasts and I'm encouraged, toyour point, forward looking,
that there's so much more thatwe can tackle in our podcasts,
(39:05):
and I'm grateful for youreaching out to me and saying,
hey, do you?
Speaker 1 (39:09):
want to do this with me.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
I'm like, yes, I'm thrilled.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
But thank you so much for our viewers and our
listeners.
It means so much to us.
Servant Leadership Today is somuch about you and we want to
hear from you.
So reach out to us on socialmedia and message us, and we'd
love to hear your thoughts andcomments as we begin to develop
(39:36):
the infrastructure for our nextsessions together.
So, again, thank you so much.
It's just wonderful to be hereagain, celia Swanson, thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Thank you, andy, thank you everyone for all your
listening and feedback.
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
I'm Andy Wilson.
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
Well, hello everyone and welcome to Leadership Today.
My name is Andy Wilson and myco-host Celia Swanson.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello Andy, Great to be with all of you today.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
I will tell you, celia, it's so good to see you,
as always, I'm glad you're back.
Wow, what we have to talk abouttoday, I will tell you all I
can tell our viewers is buckleup, because this is going to be
great.
Celia Swanson, we have had suchwonderful conversations over
the last months, right, and somuch focused on servant
(00:37):
leadership and, of course, yourgreat book.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
No.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
You know, and we just boy, it's been so rich.
Today, I will tell you, Celia,I think what you're going to
share today will be some of themost important content we've
shared, and it's all beenimportant.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's all been important, so thank you for that
.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
But this is going to be great, Celia.
And again, thank you all somuch.
You know, Celia, it's beenwonderful, our viewership, and
you know, I was just told by ouranalytical team that we're now
viewed in 22 countries, and sothank you everyone.
Yes, thank you, yeah, it's forsharing that and for all the
(01:20):
wonderful We'd love to hear fromyou.
So feel free to reach out onsocial media and respond to us.
We'd love to hear your comments.
That's amazing.
Yeah, it is, isn't it?
Yes, yeah, such a wonderfulthing.
So again, okay, we're going toget started.
Cecilia, why don't youintroduce our session today?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And then we'll get into the content.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So our topic today is going to be around
high-performing teams, and theconcept of high-performing teams
, I think, is best captured in aquote that I use in my book,
Chapter 9, from Robin Sharma,and the quote goes leadership is
(02:02):
not about a title or adestination.
It's about impact, influenceand inspiration.
Impact involves getting results.
Influence is about spreadingthe passion you have for your
work, and you have to inspireteammates, customers and all
(02:25):
leaders around you.
I think that sets theexpectation for what I believe
the result of creating andsustaining a high-performing
team is all about, Andy Right.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
You know, and we're going to get into as we talk
about these high-performingteams, and if you're on a
high-performing team now, youget it.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
And you're there.
You're like, okay, I'm leaningin, because how do I take this
high-performing team to the nextlevel?
How do I aspire that, if you'renot, we're going to give you
guidance on how you navigatethat Right right, that space.
And so there's two options herefor you You're going to learn
(03:12):
more and even more productive,or we're going to teach you how
to really get into that spaceand where you're happy and
you're absolutely excelling.
Yes, yes, the highest levelpossible as a leader.
So okay, great.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
You know, andy, I had two conversations this week
with individuals that I'mcoaching and that are in my
circle, and the firstconversation was with an
individual who just joined theWalmart home office campus
design team.
She's an architect, and whatshe said is this is the best
(03:52):
team I've ever had the privilegeto work for in my career.
They are smart people.
We are all passionate andpassionate about creating the
same vision on the new Walmartcampus, and we're bringing our
best work, our best selves, towork every day.
(04:14):
I had been aspiring to be onsuch a team, but once I got on
this team, I didn't know howawesome it felt and how
energized I am.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Right, you know, because you're inspired.
Yes, the people around youinspire you because of the
commitment and dedication toexcellence.
Yes, that's right, so you know.
So it's no different.
When you and I worked atwalmart or other places, we were
around great leaders and theyinspired us, and they that you,
(04:53):
you, you went home at night andlike okay, tomorrow, how do I
step up my game?
right how do I lean in on this?
What research do I do?
What I need to read, what book,what individual I need to talk
to or podcast to watch?
Yeah, exactly right, and it'snothing like it.
It's nothing like it, andthat's how your friend felt.
(05:15):
Yes, you know, that's awesome,that's a great story yes.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Well then I had another person that I happened
to have the privilege ofcoaching and she was working on
a project team to bring asolution to the organization
that she works for and theproject team.
(05:41):
She had gotten so frustratedthat she said I'm done, I'm out,
I will perform my part in thepresentation, but I'm not going
to do anything beyond that.
And I said to her you know thatstill will reflect on you, so
there's a lesson in that.
But how frustrating she hadbecome.
(06:01):
Frustrated she'd had becomebecause of working in an
environment where people weren'tlistening, people were not
taking her feedback seriouslyand she just she was going to go
through the motions and not doanything more.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You know.
Here's what I'd like to sayabout that.
If you are one of thoseindividuals, I want to encourage
you for a moment, because it'snever too late to make the
change and change personally,professionally.
You have to look in the mirroron that and say am I the problem
?
Sometimes I've looked in themirror and said I'm looking at
(06:42):
Right at the problem, sometimesin the wrong place and maybe
you're on the wrong team.
Maybe you're in the mirror andsaid I'm looking at Right At the
problem, sometimes you're inthe wrong place and maybe you're
on the wrong team, maybe in thewrong company.
But what I want to encourage youis this it's not too late for
you to look at yourself and sayI need now to do this.
And what is this?
Well, it could be correctingyour behavior, it could be going
(07:03):
back to school, it could bewatching podcasts, it could be
getting a coach, it could bemultiple things.
Go do it now, don't wait, don'tallow yourself to waste your
time and energy because you'retoo good for that Great point.
And if it's another company, goResearch those companies, find
(07:25):
that right company, find thatright team and go apply yourself
there.
So don't stay there.
That's my encouragement.
Do something about it.
Because here's the thing, celia, I've seen in my career as
working with individuals andthings like that is sometimes we
(07:46):
stay in this place, this wrongplace, too long and and what I
and and we?
We feel like we can't get outof that spot.
Well, it's never too late tomake those changes.
Because you stay in that placetoo long, you will develop
(08:09):
really poor habits.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And you want to get yourself out of that.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, you'll take on a bit of the sense of the
environment that you're in.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
And you know, when we start in our career, celia, we
get.
Our leaders are pouring into us, they're helping us, they're
guiding us, we're learning byour mistakes and we're
correcting and we're learningjust how to navigate.
You know, being a leader, amanager, a leader at that point,
so it's, we get feedback.
Sometimes you may be in thisplace where you've been there
(08:44):
for a while.
You don't get a lot of feedbacknow because you're expected to
know these things, but you nowunfortunately develop some bad
habits or whatever.
As I said earlier, make achange.
I'm encouraging, we'reencouraging you.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Yes, we are encouraging you.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That's exactly right, don't just settle there and
you're and Celia's going to giveyou such great.
Just stay tuned, you're aboutto get a lot of help here.
Okay, if you're in that space.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So have you ever worked in an environment like
the first person described,where you were, you know,
working at your best and youwere bringing your best to that
team and to the project.
Have you ever worked in thatkind of environment, andy?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
You know I won't give the Walmart example.
I could, but it happened againwhich I had such a wonderful
career at Walmart and surroundedwith great leaders and we could
just stop there and go downthis path, but I won't.
But I had the opportunity tomeet a man at Walmart and Don
Soderquist, who was the vicechair at Walmart, and one day in
(09:52):
his office he said he wastalking about his retirement and
we were.
We were dealing with some issueand I had to get his advice and
guidance on it and we got intothis retirement conversation.
He said, said you know, I'mgoing to be leaving at some
point and I have his vision.
And he said but I'm notrecruiting you, but you know
(10:14):
Don's ethical way he would saythat because he wasn't.
But he said when and if youretire, I'd like you to have a
conversation with me about myvision.
Well, I had a conversation withhim about his vision later, a
couple years later actually, andhe shared with me his vision
about the Sotoquist Center forLeadership and Ethics and he was
(10:34):
located at John BrownUniversity, which is a
phenomenal university and haveimpact around the world.
And Don shared his vision andhe was in Colorado, his house,
and back then we were faxingback and forth.
So, anyway, the thing was, whenhe shared his vision to you, I
(10:58):
thought I want to be part ofthis.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Oh yes.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Because here's what Don did we gathered our small
team, very small team.
Then it became much larger, buta very small team, and I
remember we sat around and Icould tell you so many stories
and maybe later we can talkabout all this, but he shared it
.
What I just leaned in as hetalked about his vision and his
(11:27):
expectations and how the impacthe wanted to have in the world.
I mean, I was sitting in thechair and I just kept leaning in
, leaning in, and I went I wantto be part of this, what part of
that?
And we did it.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
We did it and it was one of the greatest times in my
career working for an individuallike Don, and we traveled the
world together.
We had intimate conversationson planes and trains and
automobiles, yes, and you know,and no matter where we were we
could be in Japan, or we couldbe somewhere in Europe, or we
(12:06):
could be somewhere in the US andI would just sit and listen to
him talk about leadership.
And the thing I'll close with Ilearned that day I learned many
times that time with him isthat great leaders inspire
people.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yes, they do, that's what he did to all of us.
What you all built with theSutterquist Leadership Center is
still thriving and impactingbusinesses and individuals
across the world.
I know, and that's prettyfantastic, that's making an
(12:50):
impact.
That was Don's legacy.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yes, that's what he wanted.
That was his legacy.
That's a great point.
It was his legacy, that's whathe wanted to do and he did it.
But you know, we just ran to itevery day.
Whatever it was, we just ran toit.
That's great, and so I'll come.
Thanks for asking that question.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Well, I want to dissect that story a little bit
for our audience, because Andyjust referenced the three
pillars of a high-performingteam.
And the first pillar is purposeor mission.
Same thing, and you saw thevision.
You all had a mission.
(13:33):
It was explained and describedby Don every single day, but it
was clear what you were allfocused on.
The second and I just hit onthat, it was clear, it's called
clarity.
You spent time talking about itand deep diving into what did
(13:53):
that.
Look like, what did it feellike, what was the impact you
wanted to leave on individualsand teams?
And then the third was Doncreated psychological safety on
that team and psychologicalsafety was your point about.
He inspired us.
We came in, we iterated, wetalked about how we might
(14:19):
execute or bring this to life,and then he got out of the way
and just let us go develop,design, implement and you know,
worldwide impact wasaccomplished.
Those are the three pillars ofa high performing team.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
You said something I want to circle back to, because
as leaders, sometimes we thinkwe have to micromanage and we've
got to have our hands oneverything.
And Don had an office here inRogers, arkansas, and he did not
office on the campus with us,and so we built the center on
the campus and so it was a greatcenter and our team was there.
(15:00):
The business division wasunderneath, so we had access to
students and other leaders onthe campus.
But you know, don, he wouldcall me up and I could picture
him right now sitting at hisdesk, probably feet up on his
desk, and his phone in his hand,saying, sitting at his desk,
probably feet up on his desk,and his phone in his hand,
(15:21):
saying, okay, how's things going, and he'd let me talk.
He said, you know, and he'd askquestions about it, not probing
questions, nothing that wouldsay he's trying to lead or take
over, just informationalquestions.
And then he would say anythingI can help you with.
He always said that and I wouldsay, hey, yeah, I need what.
(15:42):
Do you think about this?
Well, what he did?
He opened the door for me to bevery relaxed, not threatened,
but just have a very a businessconversation with him and get
his advice.
He never said you should go dothis.
He said you should think aboutit, what that did.
Then, when I got off, I said Ihave a new idea.
Now I have.
I have what I'm thinking aboutthis, but he's giving me more
(16:05):
information to think deeper orbroader about it.
And then I would go to the teamand guess how I guess I did the
team just like he did me.
I'd say what do you think?
And'd say, hey, I talked to Donand he suggested this idea or
something.
And then we'd come in, we'dcollaborate with a team.
Then we would set thatdirection and we'd go execute it
(16:27):
Because that team, because theywere all leaning in, it was
their ideas, it was their.
I was just duplicating what Dondid for me.
I was trying to inspire themlike he inspired me.
Then we all were inspiredbecause of Don's comment.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yes, exactly To your point.
Well, that's creatingpsychological safety Exactly,
and psychological safety hasbeen defined by Berkman as an
environment where team membersfeel safe to take risks and be
vulnerable in front of eachother.
So critical, and that componentbecame even more important in
(17:10):
high-performing team developmentwhen the world shut down and we
all started workingindependently, virtually
individually, and thispsychological safety environment
was all of a sudden.
A bright light was shown on howimportant that is, because you
(17:33):
had to create an environmentwhere individuals felt still
inspired to work, even thoughthey weren't coming in and
interacting with the team.
You had to create anenvironment where you were
getting, generating ideas andtogether coming up with the best
way to operate in thiscircumstance and then creating
(17:58):
vulnerable opportunities forpeople to share.
This isn't working for me orI'm thriving in this environment
.
When we come back to work, canwe do a blend of some of this
individual, virtual and team,and that's what Don did.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, I love that, you know.
I want to underline somethingyou said during the cut time of
COVID and you know, us workforce, they do a poll each year and
they talk about three criticalpoints, about engagement you're
engaged, unengaged anddisengaged.
And we, because of the way weworked, our engagement really
(18:42):
went down those couple years asa workforce.
But back to what Don heunderstood these components very
well and I remember one time hesaid something we were
presenting to an organizationsomewhere I think it was in
Japan actually and we weretalking about disengagement and
(19:07):
we were at that point using notthe US but the world status, you
know, information at that point.
And so he and I were actuallyon a flight over to Japan
talking, and he, you know, said,hey, talk to me, we'd sit
beside each other.
And he said so, talk to meabout what you're thinking about
.
He, you know, said hey, talk tome, we'd sit beside each other.
And he said so, talk to meabout what you're thinking about
.
You know, what can I do?
How can I help when I get there?
You know we were so we woulddiscuss this on the plane going
over.
And again, that showed you hewas not micromanaging all.
(19:30):
He said, hey, what we'retalking about you know.
So we'd go back through andwe'd walk through it.
And he said something to me on aplane trip.
He said he said here's the goal, andy.
He said the goal is get thehighest possible engagement with
your people.
He said that's what drives theorganization, that's what drives
(19:54):
the teams, he said you know.
He said whatever the number was, you know, recently in the US
it was around 30%, just abovethat.
But what Don was saying?
Let's get to 90%.
Right, let's go get the 100%,but let's go get the 90.
Yes, because with 90, look athow productive your organization
(20:17):
or your team is.
Right, and as a leader, that'swhat you want to do.
You want to operate, lead in away to create the engagement.
Yes, when you have a number, agreat high number, you have less
not engaged and much lessdisengaged.
Right, because the disengagedare done.
Right, they're like that person.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
The second story.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
I'm done.
I'm done with that team.
Pull it, make it.
That's exactly where I wasgoing, just like your second
story.
That person's done, okay,they're not engaged, they're
disengaged and they need toleave, or?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
make a change, or make a change or something
that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
And if you find yourself not engaged in an
organization?
If you're, you know.
If you're not engaged, how doyou get to engage Right?
If don't?
That's what I was talking about.
You know bad habits and allthat earlier You're disengaged.
At that point, that's when youneed to go find something to
inspire yourself.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Right, right, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And it might be doing multiple things and not
something you're doing today.
Yeah, but that's okay.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
You know.
Back to your point onengagement.
What were those numbers, thosenational Gallup poll numbers on
engagement?
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Well, the latest status I have is the Gallup poll
.
Us workforce is engaged was 33percent.
Engaged.
Engaged 33 percent.
Not engaged 51.
Not engaged what that is,that's where you're just
borderline and you can go up ordown.
You know you're just and youcan go up or down.
(21:57):
You know you're just, you'remore than there, but you're not
much more than there.
It's not like story one thatyou told that person's talk.
That is engagement Right,because they're saying I got to
bring my A game because this isan A game group, yes, and I want
to be better, and that personwill grow and develop in that
(22:20):
group.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And then if you're disengaged that's around 16% in
the latest poll Okay, that'swhen you just need to go find
engagement.
Right, that's right, do it, doit.
Don't wait.
That's right, go do it.
That's my encouragement,because life is just too short
to feel that way.
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Yes, you know, but that 51% disengaged.
That's an opportunity.
Now I know I see the worldthrough rose-colored glasses, I
understand that, but that Idon't see them as being, oh,
(23:01):
let's not go put effort intothem.
I absolutely see them as thegroup we need to go pour into
and aspire to use in our otherstories and get them into the
engaged.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
And, as a leader, you should know where your group is
.
You should know your peoplewell enough, your direct reports
, you should know them wellenough to know where they are.
Listen, it comes to leader ofsetting down and I will tell you
, I had great leaders in mycareer at Walmart and other
places where they would pointout to me, not annually, but as
(23:33):
needed, where.
Okay, andy, this is some thingsyou really need to work on.
Those are great productiveconversations that you and your
leader have together.
And, as I said earlier and I'mgoing to underline this one more
time as we mature in businessand age, we have these habits we
(23:58):
create that are sometimes notgood.
I would want a leader becauseat Walmart I'll give you this
example when I was promoting anofficer company, I was about
half the age of some of thepeople reported to me.
I was 30 years old and some ofthem people reported to me I was
30 years old and some of themare older, much older, 20 years
at least.
(24:18):
And in their career, celia,people had some of the leaders.
They'd not sit with them andsaid let's talk about your
leadership.
I did that because I didn'tknow not to do it.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Right, that's how you were taught.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
And I would have conversations with people 20
years older than me about here'ssome things.
I see that you really you know,and I remember this one
particular time I had thisconversation and it's a story, I
won't take it long, but thisperson was at least 20 years
older than me and I sat downwith him and I had this
conversation and I said here's acouple things you, you really
(25:04):
need to work on.
And then I looked at him.
I said I called his name.
I said we'll just call it Mikeand that's not his name, but and
sorry, mike's, but anyway Isaid we'll just call it Mike and
that's not his name and sorryMike, but anyway.
I looked at him and I said youhave forgotten more about retail
than I know.
(25:24):
Now here's my question to youwhy are you not doing these
things?
Why are you not doing thesethings?
And I remember he looked at meand he said no one said that to
me before.
And I said well, you know whatour expectation is.
(25:46):
You know how we want to leadour teams and the expectation we
have of leaders here.
So why aren't you doing thatwork?
And that's why I said earlier,as we age sometimes and all we
create these bad habits here.
I was 20 years younger, bringingthat bad habit in front of him.
(26:09):
I will tell you.
We became friends, we respectedeach other and I remember after
he retired, we had greatconversations and he would
always say to me this young guythen, thank you for being so
honest with me.
(26:29):
That's what you're talkingabout.
That's right.
That's what leaders you have todo.
You got you.
You can't ignore this rightbecause you're doing that
individual disservice not onlythe company or your team, but
you're doing a good service.
And let me tell you he taughtme so much more in the field
(26:49):
after that conversation aboutretail that I didn't know.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
That is the best example of being vulnerable, yes
, and therefore open to hear thefeedback that is purely meant
for you to be better at whatyou're doing.
I mean, it's just a beautifulexample, yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
I could tell you so much more about our relationship
as it went through the years,but I will tell you I learned so
much that day and I rememberthat day like it was yesterday.
This morning that's the impactyes, but that's your role as a
leader.
Yeah, that is your role.
And the six or seven years Ispent with Donna Serkis at the
(27:34):
Sarkis Center, I just heard thisevery day, which was so awesome
, you know, from a guy that justwould talk about it and talk
about it and lead it by example.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
You know that reinforces the second pillar, so
we started on the third pillarpsychological safety.
The second pillar is clarity,and what you're saying and I I
was able to experience it aswell with dawn um was water on
stone.
Clarity, it's reinforcement.
(28:08):
Your behavior is exactly likewhat you're asking others to do,
and and so they don't just hearwords, they see it demonstrated
, but it's very clear and it'sreinforced.
That's the second pillarclarity, and aligning people
around a common vision.
And then the first pillar isaround purpose and mission.
(28:33):
We've talked a lot aboutpurpose and mission, so I'm not
going to delve any further intothat, but those are the three
pillars of every high-performingteam.
The research here is deep onwhat distinguishes and
determines a sustainablehigh-performing team, and those
(28:56):
are the three components.
But now I want to flip into atool that I discovered when,
actually, we were trying tobring together all the human
resource executives at Walmartand we were being guided by
corporate Walmart and the visionand the way we were going to
(29:25):
interface with each of ourdifferent divisions in the
organization and we were notperforming well.
Hr was viewed as verypaperwork-oriented,
policy-oriented, and we broughtin a gentleman whose name is
Howard Guttman and he has books,a wealth of books, written on
(29:51):
high-performing teams and highperforming team behavior.
But he left us with the toolthat I have used so many times
now, andy, and it's called thehigh performing team behaviors
and there are four behaviorsthat he's called out in his
model, called out in his modeland that it's testing in
(30:22):
fighting, getting organized andhigh performance.
The reason this tool and we willpost it on the website, yes, um
, or you can go on to celiaswansoncom and it's posted there
as.
But the reason this is such apowerful tool for me is twofold.
It describes, in quadrant four,exactly what the behaviors are
(30:48):
of a high-performing team, andthey are clear team goals, the
right players in place, clearroles and responsibilities, a
commitment to winning for thebusiness over self-interest.
Agreed upon protocols fordecision making and conflict
(31:09):
resolution, a sense of ownershipand accountability.
Confronting comfort sorry, butconfronting is the first step to
creating comfort in dealingwith conflict, and then a
periodic self-assessment.
Those are the eight specificbehaviors that define a
(31:34):
high-performing team.
Well, how many of us are workingon a high-performing team right
now?
It's very hard to get into thathigh-performance quadrant.
But it also goes back and givesyou the behaviors that exist
under stage three, and that'sgetting organized and that's
(31:58):
clarifying.
You're in the process ofcreating clarity for roles and
goals.
You're developing skills thatare needed for the team
performance, you're establishingprocedures, you're giving
feedback and you're confrontingissues, not people.
That's the getting organizedstage.
(32:23):
The infighting stage ispersonalization of issues,
individuals and members of theteam feeling attacked and
frustrated, um, finger pointing,tension or control issues.
That's in the infighting stage.
In the testing stage, where ateam just gets formed, is the
(32:48):
air is thick.
Um, some team members arecoming in with a maintaining a
facade, fear of confrontingindividuals and issues a denial
of conflict, and team memberswary of one another, wanting to
really understand.
Okay, why are you here and whyam I here and how do I create an
(33:13):
understanding of the politicallandscape?
When you're in a highperforming team, you're not
looking at the politicallandscape.
It has no impact on you, right,absolutely because you know yeah
where you stand, why you'rethere, and you are all there for
the same purpose of excellence.
So my challenge when I dohigh-performing team workshops
(33:34):
is I give people a copy of thismodel and I say where is your
team Right, the team that youare working on today?
What are the behaviors?
Speaker 1 (33:45):
What stage are you in ?
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Yes, that's right.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
Or you could be in multiple stages.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
You could be in between stages, yeah, in between
stages you could betransitioning Right, either
forward or stages.
Yeah, in between stages youcould be transitioning either
forward or back.
Once you get to thehigh-performing stage, which is
very hard to get to, it's prettyeasy if there's a change in
scope, a change in the leader, achange in a team member, you
(34:09):
can fall back into those otherthree stages.
But really taking time toidentify and use the language
around these behaviors thatyou're seeing on your team, from
your team, is a criticallyhelpful tool to then saying is
(34:32):
that really what we want tostand for?
Is that how we want to beperceived?
Are we achieving this ultimateperformance excellence goal?
If you're not, then assessingwhere you are and then
consciously moving yourselfforward into what are those
(34:55):
behaviors that we need to adoptin order to shift into,
hopefully, that gettingorganized team, getting
organized stage and then movingto high performance.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
I love this model.
That is so good.
I love the model too.
It's great and I had a chanceto see it earlier and when I was
reviewing it after our visitrecently.
Quite frankly, the thoughtsthat I've shared today around
Dinosaur, dequist, your modelhelped remember model, help
(35:35):
remember my mind.
You know remember, okay, when Iwas looking at these high
performing teams that's themodel, the things, the comments
I said about sort of our center,others that's where they come
from yeah because?
that's because, when I readthose eight points, what did I
think about the one of the bestteams I was on?
right right you know, one of thebest teams I was part of Then,
a leader that inspired to be thebest you know, and I would say
(36:02):
to you this take this podcastand go someplace where you can
just listen to it and thinkabout you yourself as a leader
and then spend some timethinking about your team with
(36:24):
Celia's.
And you know, download themodel, or you can see it on our
website, grab it, but downloadthat model and think about it.
Spend some time thinking aboutthis.
And then set your course youknow what do you have to do to
(36:44):
be ready, what do you have to doto help get this team of yours
ready?
And then don't hesitate toreach out, reach to you know,
message us on linkedin orwhatever.
But but but go, do this.
Speaker 2 (36:59):
it will change your life it absolutely will change
your life because it will changehow you're showing up and it
will change no matter what seaton that team you hold.
You'll be showing up every daywith a commitment to move that
team's performance forward forno individual benefit of yours
(37:26):
other than working on ahigh-performing team, and that's
it.
But it's a constant assessment,andyy, and that's why I love
your challenge.
Speaker 1 (37:37):
Well I'm bored this please.
I hear gracious and strong.
I'll recommend it um.
And we've had Celia six or moregreat podcasts right here.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
Yes, yes, we have.
Speaker 1 (37:56):
And what the future holds for Celia and I is that
we're going to continue to behere with Servant Leadership
podcast and, like today, we'regoing to go deeper and deeper
and deeper into this with youand we're going to share not
(38:19):
only just our experience andinsights but, just like today,
where Celia brings anotherinstrument and introduces it to
the table and all it's going tobe Celia, thank you.
Thank you for the past, celia,thank you, thank you for the
past.
But I will tell you, as Iglance back, I am looking
excitedly for the future of whatyou and I are going to talk
(38:40):
about with our audience in thefuture.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
I am too, andy.
I think we've I'm proud of whatwe've put into place with these
podcasts and I'm encouraged, toyour point, forward looking,
that there's so much more thatwe can tackle in our podcasts,
(39:05):
and I'm grateful for youreaching out to me and saying,
hey, do you?
Speaker 1 (39:09):
want to do this with me.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
I'm like, yes, I'm thrilled.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
But thank you so much for our viewers and our
listeners.
It means so much to us.
Servant Leadership Today is somuch about you and we want to
hear from you.
So reach out to us on socialmedia and message us, and we'd
love to hear your thoughts andcomments as we begin to develop
(39:36):
the infrastructure for our nextsessions together.
So, again, thank you so much.
It's just wonderful to be hereagain, celia Swanson, thank you.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Thank you, andy, thank you everyone for all your
listening and feedback.
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
I'm Andy Wilson.
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
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