Great leaders set the tone. You don’t have to be around them very long to get a sense of what they’re all about. The same thing is true for great families.
The tone is set at the beginning of the year with great family leaders. I have one client who has his team declare their theme for the year along with their individual objectives — it’s a great practice!
Here are a few of my favorite themes that you could think about if you are ready to put a stake in the ground and set the tone for your team.
1. Keep Learning and Growing
2020 brought unprecedented changes quickly to the marketplace. Companies that have been the most successful are the ones that can be agile and adaptive. Setting the tone of learning and growing is a great backdrop to have a team that does not get paralyzed by change but embraces it.
This was a tone I tried to set with my team of 150 employees every year. Let’s keep learning, growing and developing new muscles. This tone sets a really great backdrop for helping your team learn new skills and ways of looking at solving problems.
2. Stay Focused and Execute
This is another good theme. So often today it’s easy to get distracted by social media, the news and everything else going on.
Great leaders know how to put a stake in the ground and ask their team to stay focused and execute. It sounds obvious but great leaders make sure their team has a good focal point and they remind them of that often.
3. Think Who Needs to Know AND How it Impacts Your Teammates
Another good theme that can keep your team together. Too often as we get caught up in the day-to-day activities, we forget to stop and think about who else needs to know what I’m doing and how what I’m doing impacts others on my team.
This is where communication and transparency are critically important. As you’re moving through your day and your week, be thinking about who you need to be communicating to. Additionally, be thinking about how your actions are going to have an impact with your teammates.
Why Setting a Tone is Important
It’s pretty easy to get caught up in your daily activities and lose sight of the big picture. Setting a tone or focus helps keep your energy fresh and your mind focused. Think of setting the tone as your high-level theme and then that will give you some guidance on how to set up activities that will be in support of the overall theme.
How to Put it into Action
I get the opportunity to have a front row seat in some very high-performing companies. Not only do they set the tone, I can feel the tone as I walk around the office or read the walls in the break rooms, lobbies etc.. Make up a few signs and get those words sprinkled about the office, the conference rooms, etc.
Get your tone set as soon as possible and use it as your own personal mantra to stay focused and executed on a daily basis.
Make this year one of your best!
Coach Pete
Pete Walsh is a demanding, courageous and playful Master Coach in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the founder of Peak Workout Business Coaching and the Family Business Performance Center. He can be reached at pete@peakcoach.com.
