Recognize This! – Building strong teams strengthens the individual as much as the unit.
Continuing on this week’s theme of company culture, Siemens AG President and CEO Peter Löscher was the featured interview in a recent New York Times “Corner Office” column.
Mr. Loscher speaks to three important lessons a wise leader will learn and apply in any global organization.
Trust and Teamwork
A classic approach to teamwork, it’s always important to remember the virtuous circle of a high-functioning, trusting team:
1. A true team helps all members function at their individual best.
2. When each team member is performing well, the team as a whole delivers greater results.
Diversity
Your people are all different. This is much more obvious in global organizations, but no less true if you have operations domestically only. Wise leaders seek to understand the different motivators, concerns and cultural expectations of all employees because they know doing so leads to more trusting teams.
Company Culture
Celebrating success, encouraging others, and recognizing achievements is only half the relationship equation in high-functioning teams. As with any performance management, appropriate corrective feedback needs to also be given. However, building a relationship of trust and appreciation lays the groundwork for mutual respect that makes both giving and receiving constructive feedback easier and far more effective.
Do you work in a team? What is the dynamic – one of trust and helpfulness, or one of dysfunction and self-preservation?