Lee Ellis's Blog, page 323

A Surprising Encounter of Team Camaraderie: Three Leadership Observations on Successful Team Cohesion

By Lee Ellis

Almost twenty-five years in the Air Force serving my country—what a wonderful first career experience I had. There were many things that I enjoyed about the military such as the joy of flying, but over the long haul it’s the close camaraderie with my military teammates that I miss the most. If you’ve had a similar experience, then you understand the close bonds that are often forged when meeting challenging goals. Specifically during my Vietnam POW experience, the hardships that my comrades and I endured created a strong bond of brotherhood that endures to this day. Regardless of my work, I still have a longing for that type of connection. These insights came to mind when I experienced a camaraderie “booster shot” on two recent occasions.

Two Examples of Camaraderie

It began with two days in San Antonio, Texas at an air base where I had served in both command and staff roles. Good memories of past work and teams waft strong when I visit historic Randolph Air Force Base. I was welcomed back into the fold by another generation of warriors closely bound by shared mission and values, and it was an uplifting experience in more ways than I can count.

Then later that week, I flew to France where I experienced that same bond among a team while leading a leadership development and team-building program for an international food distribution company.

Knowing this was a diverse global team, I had anticipated potential problems in their communications and willingness to be vulnerable with each other. When I joined them for dinner on the first evening though, I had quite a surprise. Let me explain.

There were 35 attendees representing 9 nationalities from 12 countries around the world. Many of these executives are working outside their native country or language, so clearly they had many differences. Yet the thing that stood out most about their time together was their cohesion and camaraderie. It was clear that they trusted each other. During the long day of work, it was all business with excellent discussions and healthy conflict. As we gathered in the evenings for social time though, it was clear that the group really cared a lot about each other. Some were clearly more outgoing than others, but every person engaged in their own way. The gathering came alive with fun, laughter, teasing, and the joy of being together.

The Hallmarks of Camaraderie

These positive feelings took me back to the days when I had experienced this type of camaraderie in the military. We were diligently competitive and gave each other straightforward feedback in mission debriefs. To an outsider, it might appear that we were hard on each other, but we were actually very close. Our bonds of friendship and trust were strong, and we enjoyed socializing, having fun just hanging out and talking about our work and sharing our lives together.

Reflecting back over the years, I’ve noticed that camaraderie is usually present in high-performing teams that endure over a long period of time [Tweet This]. What are some of the hallmarks that we can learn from such teams?

Time – They have taken the time and energy to build understanding, acceptance, and respect so that individuals feel connected and secure.
Results - Because they feel belonging, team members don’t want to let the others down so they strive for excellence in accomplishing the mission (getting results).
Communication – Healthier teams have more frequent and more effective communications. They pick up the phone and call each other to quickly solve problems.
Team Focus – Healthy teams focus on team results and not just individual effort. Team members help each other succeed and hold each other accountable.

Patrick Lencioni’s groundbreaking books, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Advantage, share this adage that relationships and results feed on each other.

Leadership Steps to Camaraderie

We’ve been talking about the team, but it all starts with the leader. To have this kind of positive energy flowing from human connections, the leader must take the lead [Tweet This].

Here are some important steps to help a leader to build camaraderie –

Clarify the culture and set the climate. Alignment built around mission, vision, and values is crucial, as is your commitment to be both leader and member of the team.
Create opportunities and expectations for people to build bonds. Social time outside of work is clearly the best way to get to know each other.
Connect with each person. Regardless of whether the leader is an introvert or an extrovert, he or she has to engage by connecting with each person making them feel important and welcome. This doesn’t mean that the leader has to be the life of the party. Typically I find more leaders that are introverts than extroverts, but the good ones look to the outgoing, social folks to provide the fun and energy that becomes contagious to the group.

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to join this diverse group. They reminded me of the importance of camaraderie. I came away refreshed and inspired. And oh, by the way, lest you think I stumbled into a social event veiled as a business meeting, they all had completed the Leadership Behavior DNA assessment prior to the meeting and the majority of them came out with scores in the Reserved Trait (versus Outgoing Trait) making the point about camaraderie even stronger.

What has been your experience on teams with and without camaraderie? If you are a leader, what are you doing to promote this powerful bond among your people? Please share your thoughts and comments.

LE

As president of Leadership Freedom® LLC, a leadership and team development consulting company, Lee Ellis speaks and consults with Fortune 500 senior executives in the areas of hiring, teambuilding, leadership and human performance development, and succession planning. His latest book about his Vietnam POW experience is entitled Leading with Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton. Learn more at www.leadingwithhonor.com.

Encouraging Interview on Honorable Leadership, Wounded Warrior Sacrifices, and More

Click the image to watch this interview.

We’re looking back to a previous TV interview Lee had with Tony Perkins, news anchor on Fox 5 News D.C. as he talks about his POW experience, his thoughts on honorable #leadership, and the #WoundedWarriors who making sacrifices everyday for our freedom.

Be encouraged and click to watch; and please share your comments –

Leadership on This Day in History, November 2nd, 1880

On this day in history in 1880, James Garfield was elected the 20th President of the United States. Raised in humble circumstances on an Ohio farm by his widowed mother and elder brother, he worked at many jobs to finance his higher education at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1856.

Garfield’s accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive appointments; energizing U.S. naval power; and purging corruption in the Post Office Department. He appointed several African-Americans to prominent federal positions. As President, Garfield advocated a bi-metal monetary system, agricultural technology, an educated electorate, and civil rights for African-Americans. He proposed substantial civil service reform, eventually passed by Congress in 1883.

Garfield’s presidency lasted just 200 days—from March 4, 1881, until his death on September 19, 1881, as a result of being shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881.

Read more about President James Garfield -

28 Items on the Leadership Freedom Checklist – Where Do You Stand?

Lee’s free “Leadership Freedom Checklist” has been downloaded by hundreds of people who want to compare their leadership style to the 28 attributes on this list.

This exhaustive list of statements is a great way to evaluate the #leadership qualities and motives of you and your team or organization.

Download a copy, and share it with someone else -

Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, October 31, 2014

“Voters—here’s the real challenge: we don’t need empty promises made by politicians whose only goal in life is to get elected or re-elected. We need leaders with attributes that qualify them to lead us through the difficult challenges we’re facing.” – Lee Ellis

Management Lessons from NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover – Interesting Leadership Article and Perspective

Interesting article on Forbes.com discussing the “Management Lessons From NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover.” What does it take to successfully execute a project of this magnitude? Check out the article, and here are a couple of leadership insights –

“The trick for successfully building complex one-of-a-kind machines where hundreds of thousands of things need to be done exactly right is to expect mistakes,” notes Manning.

“Arrogance has no place in this work,” he writes. “No matter how smart you think you are, if your Mars lander didn’t work, you were probably not smart enough, and if it did, well maybe you just got lucky.”

Click to read the article, and please share your comments below -

 

Cutting Through the Political Rhetoric & Voting for Honorable Public Leaders

This free, 4-page guide helps evaluate political candidates beyond their position on the issues.

How many political ads have you seen or heard in the last few weeks? Most would say, “Too many!”

Cut through the rhetoric, and evaluate the best public servant through the lens of character, courage, and competence.

Download a free copy of the non-partisan ‘Leading with Honor Voter Evaluation Guide’ to help you determine the best candidate for public office.

Please share with others!

Leadership on This Day in History, October 26th, 1994

A handshake between Hussein I of Jordan and Yitzhak Rabin, accompanied by Bill Clinton, during the Israel-Jordan peace negotiations, July 25th, 1994

On this day in history, October 26th, 1994, the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty was signed that settled relations between the two countries, adjusted land and water disputes, and provided for broad cooperation in tourism and trade. It included a pledge that neither Jordan nor Israel would allow its territory to become a staging ground for military strikes by a third country.

Differences can still exist between leaders, but finding middle ground is a mark of great leadership!

Read More on Wikipedia, and please share your comments.

Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, October 24, 2014

“Being positive in a negative situation is not naïve. It’s #leadership.” – Unknown

New Infographic – “6 Leadership Ingredients for a Winning Recipe of Success in a Competitive World” – Download Here

New! Lee shares the “6 Leadership Ingredients for a Winning Recipe of Success in a Competitive World” infographic that he experienced at a recent keynote speaking event.

Which of these ingredients do you currently use in your business (or home)?

Please view and download on SlideShare, and please share your comments –