The spring is a great time to be a sports fan in the United States as:
- March Madness crowns the annual collegiate basketball champion.
- Professional basketball and hockey leagues start the most interesting segments of their seasons with their extensive 16 team playoff tournaments in the NBA and NHL.
- All Major League Baseball teams are in first place as April’s Opening Day kicks off the quest to become this year’s World Series Champion.
As the focus moves towards crowing champions in professional sports its perfect time to look inside your small business work environment to assess if your team of employees is performing at a championship caliber.
For small business workplaces to generate championship caliber results their are of five traits the leader of those small businesses should expect from their employees and workplace teams, while also incorporating the same five traits within the overall context of the workplace culture and their own behavior.
Those five traits spell the word C.H.A.M.P.:
C = Commitment: It takes a deep commitment from every team member to consistently perform at the highest level every day to win a championship. Are the employees in your small business committed to achieving that level of success, and is an inspiring “championship game” vision in place to foster that commitment? (What is your small business’ World Series, Super Bowl or Stanley Cup?)
H = Humility: Humility is a trait that is often in short supply in small business work environments. Small business leaders must foster the trait of humility within their company’s culture, and lead with it themselves, so that team members are also open to feedback, always looking for ways to improve. Athletes know they have to get better on the path towards the championship as the competition continues to get tougher every step of the way.
A = Accountability: The only way championship caliber performance is created and maintained is through accountability. Individual team members must be open to being held accountable to their performance and the small business leader must create a culture of accountability with systems in place to make it work.
M = Motivated with High Morale: Championship caliber team members are motivated for all the right reasons that include both personal and team rewards and want to contribute to a high morale team. Championship small business owners understand that rewards for team success must be part of the incentive package for achieving results that take a cohesive group or team effort and have in place processes that maintain high levels of morale.
P = Proactive & Positive: Team members committed to contributing to a championship effort know they must be proactive in fulfilling their role because their role impacts all others on the team, and the group’s ability to achieve desired results. Because they understand that high morale is important, all team members show up with a positive mindset and approach that supports the team’s collective efforts.
Imagine if the employees in your small business brought the five traits of a championship team member to the work environment every day.
Make it an expectation of everyone on your staff, and commit to it yourself to be the role model, and you and your employees will achieve great things together.
If you’d like other tips to transform your company, including my latest white paper report “The Missing Ingredient to Improving Employee Performance” go to www.WorkplaceCommunicationExpert.com/missingingredient
