by Jason Treu | Jun 13, 2019
How healthy are the relationships at your office? The stats on this are scary, ugly and worrying. We are really bad at developing relationships at work despite being the place we spend almost a third of our life. It’s hurting productivity and it’s hurting the bottom line. But worst of all it’s hurting us. Especially our mental health. It’s a terrible state of affairs. We are so bad at developing healthy workplace relationships that it is making us disengaged and bad at our jobs.
Listen here to the podcast interview: http://www.teams.guru/podcast/080-hate-co-workers-jason-treu/
The good news is that it’s not that hard to fix and doing so won’t cost a cent. Creating psychological safety at work is a passion for my guest this week. Jason Treu is an Executive Coach who has made it his mission to solve this workplace crisis. He’s the author of the book Social Wealth and the creator of the team building game Cards Against Mundanity. He’s a team building and culture development expert.
Lessons Learned
Disengaged workers cost money
The statistics about disengaged workers are startling. 70% of American workers describe themselves are disengaged. The cost to American business is on the order of $550 billion. Most people who quit their job do so because of their boss. Innovation in the economy is at an all time low. 86% of executives say collaboration isn’t working. The problem is at an epidemic proportion and very few businesses are doing anything about it.
Cliques are the enemy
There’s a real danger of cliques developing in every office. A small group of high energy players can come across as ‘exclusive’ to those who are less socially confident. There is a unique dynamic at work. We know that having friends is important for workplace engagement. But we’re asking people to be friends with people who might not ever have met in their personal lives. But each worker needs to understand that the only way for you to succeed is for your co-workers to succeed.
Really get to know your co-workers
People tend to know very little about their co-workers. But there is tons of research that reveals that more psychologically safe a person feels the better they perform. In 1997 a team of researchers developed a series of questions for strangers to ask one another. They were questions like “What kind of superpower would you like?” and “What makes you feel alive?”. Then the group was asked how close they felt to each person in the room. Many answered that they felt closer to these people than anyone else in their life. The experiment reveals how important empathy is in human relationships. Jason has replicated those questions in his own card game he calls Cards Against Mundanity.
by Jason Treu | Jun 13, 2019
Want to be a great manager? Do this one simple thing to increase employee engagement by 3X (and their performance).
It’s essential that employees and managers build a great relationship. If an employee doesn’t trust their manager, their performance decreases and they are significantly more likely to quit their job.
Remember: People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers.
And what’s one of the most important things managers can do? Gallup has found that people whose managers meet with them weekly are 3X as likely to be engaged. It may seem obvious, but most managers don’t do it.
by Jason Treu | Jun 12, 2019
Soft skills are key to a successful career no matter your field or industry. Without them, you’ll fail.
Client, team, manager & company-wide relationships can make/break your success, performance and impact. Up your soft skills game (especially teamwork)—it will make a massive difference in your career trajectory.
The two key areas that are the root cause for 100% of your next career challenge are rooted in soft skills: self-awareness and teamwork (or team building).
Proactively focuses on these areas and you’ll significant results in 90 days or less. You’ll get promoted and stand out in your career because these areas are the most overlooked and least developed skills.
Here’s just a few data points behind it.
- 95% of people think these are self-aware, but only 10-15% are.
- 75% of work is done collaboratively. But 70%+ are dysfunctional. 86% of executives say project failure is due to two main reasons: poor communication and teamwork.
by Jason Treu | Jun 11, 2019
70% of Employees Report Lack of Mastery of Skills Required in Their Current Job. That should indicate both hard and soft skills need attention and focus.
Typically, soft skills are a much higher priority. Teamwork is the number one soft skill that is the least understood and has the most impact day-to-day. 75% of work is done through collaboration, but 70% of teams are dysfunctional. 86% of the project/goal failures are due to lack of communication and collaboration.
When I sit down with organizations to develop and implement training it’s amazing how quickly you see results and increased performance, teamwork, engagement along with a reduction in conflict and turnover.
What’s your training and development plan for 2019-2020?
Are focusing on the right areas? (Here are five key areas: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/guid/7FFEFEA8-12EB-11E9-BDC3-ED774D018C33)
How are you measuring it? Engagement surveys are helpful, but that’s just one small step. There are other methods that are more critical and informative.
There is a reason 99% of organizations are underperforming. The above is one reason why.
You can take quick steps to increase bottom line metrics without breaking the bank.
PS: If you have any training and development, I help organizations build out their plan, process and conduct training. Feel free to reach out for a quick consultation.
PS PS: Get my brand new playing cards for the #1 team building and performance game, Cards Against Mundanity. More than 12,000 employees are using it to increase teamwork, communication, performance, engagement and satisfaction. They also use it with customers, prospects and other key 3rd parties. Get it here: https://www.drivethrucards.com/m/product/272383
by Jason Treu | Jun 4, 2019
How does trust between team members translate to better communication and higher performance? And how can you translate your trust-building skills to your sales calls in order to build rapport quickly?
Listen to me discuss how to build it quickly with team members and in sales with prospects (and customers) on the Predictable Prospecting Podcast:
http://predictableprospecting.libsyn.com/episode-136-building-trust-jason-treu
To explore these questions and more, Jason Treu joins today’s podcast episode. Jason is an executive coach who works with teams to help them build trust and communication skills and increase performance. He’s also the author of the book Social Wealth. Listen in to hear what Jason has to say about the top issues in the sales industry today, how to turn a team into a cohesive unit, and how to build rapport in the first few minutes of a phone call.
Episode Highlights:
- The top issues Jason sees in the industry today
- The importance of hiring
- Whether any type of team can be turned into a cohesive team
- Where to start in building a trust mindset
- The trust-building process
- Building rapport in the first few minutes of a call
- Jason’s book, Social Wealth: How to Build Extraordinary Relationships By Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Lead and Network
- What can be done to start getting teams to high performance
Resources:
Jason Treu
Social Wealth: How to Build Extraordinary Relationships By Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Lead and Network
Read more at http://predictableprospecting.libsyn.com/episode-136-building-trust-jason-treu#PQf64z36DYzkqITR.99
by Jason Treu | Jun 4, 2019
Really good article on successfully creating diversity and managing conflicts. Diversity can be extremely powerful for organizations if it’s implemented correctly. https://www.ft.com/content/80d3cdc0-6ff4-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5
There is an overwhelming amount of research on why diverse teams perform better: “Teams that take in different life experiences, identities and styles of thinking beat monocultures at problem-solving and prediction.”
There are also significant challenges in bringing together diverse individuals: “Simply trusting people with opposing priorities to combine creatively is more likely to expose divisions than produce gains. Differing cultural assumptions can make it harder for teams to bond, and can lead to friction and misunderstandings, hampering the achievement of goals.”
Here is an example of how understanding someone’s experiences can lead to significantly better outcomes: “His company recently brought together two executives who clashed repeatedly. One loathed top-down power, the other respected hierarchy. In discussion, the executive who mistrusted authority confided that during his childhood his family had suffered under a police state. His colleague then divulged that he ‘went off the rails’ in his teens and regained a grip on life in the army. The discussion did not change their beliefs but it ‘led them to a much better understanding of why they differed, and moderated their behaviour with each other.’”
There is plenty more in the article if you are interested in checking it out.
Get my brand new team building playing cards, Cards Against Mundanity, here: https://www.drivethrucards.com/m/product/272383 There are new questions, instructions and much more. I also conduct this as a workshop for organizations of any size and speak on it.
#diversity #diversityintheworkplace #conflictresolution #teambuilding #teamwork #humanresources #HR #leadership #managertraining
