Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 72: Create a Team Environment

Creating a Team Environment by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Now, yesterday from Memorial Day I was talking about teams. I asked if your team knows that you've got their back. Do they know that you'd take a bullet for them? Remember, it's not the big stuff that gives us a hard time. It's easy to take a bullet. It's a lot harder to stop what you're doing and listen, trust me, I just did it right. Brenda was talking to me while I was doing something. I was listening, but I kept doing what I was doing. That’s not okay. It's not okay because she didn't feel like she had my attention. She didn't feel like she was worth it. And that's a problem. So, I decided that would be our topic for today. 

Let’s talk about teams, because ultimately, how do you create a team?  And I really thought that through. It occurred to me that you don’t create a team. I want you to completely understand this. I know this sounds a little counterintuitive. You can't create a team. All you can do is create an environment and then invite others to play. Do you hear what I'm saying here? You can create an environment that is conducive to a team. So, what are some of the ingredients that you need for that environment?

1. The first thing you need is a common purpose. Purpose is something that someone outside of you gets. But what purpose really is when you turn it inward. When you turn it inward purpose is passion. That's what you need to find and get others involved with. It’s to find your passion.  Find a challenge. Once you have the purpose and it's a common purpose, it's something that's important to you, then you let everyone know what that purpose is like. I will tell you that our purpose is to help every shop owner on this continent to get out of the shop and back into their lives. That is our purpose. Our crusade is to help people that are overworked, overstressed, underpaid, out of the shop, and get back into their lives. That's so important to us. Our crusade is to make this world a better place, one shop at a time. That is what we get up every day to do. So, the first thing you got to do is have a common purpose.
2. And then the second way that we create a team environment is to have shared values. If Brenda and I both want to make the world a better place, but she has different values than I do then it wouldn't work. We need shared values. Now does that mean they're all mine? Oh, hell no. She brings a set of values to the table and some of those values are ones that I envy. it's amazing when we come together we are unbreakable. So, you've got to have shared values.
3. The next thing you need to create that team environment is a direction.  It must be a challenge, a big hairy challenge. Why? Because people get excited about it. You want people that are going to overcome some huge challenge or obstacle to fulfill your purpose. So your purpose is why you do what you do. Your values are how you do what you do, your destination or direction is where you’re going.
4. The fourth thing that we need to create a team environment is basically what I call safety and freedom. It has to be an environment that's safe. It must be an environment that makes it okay for them to innovate.  It must be an environment that allows them to try new things and fail and get back up again. They must have the freedom to grow and try new things and the safety to do those new things. Because if you go after someone every time they make a mistake, it won’t work.  That’s because you're not creating that environment of freedom and safety.
5. The fifth ingredient is feedback. In other words, by creating a direction, you're able to monitor and measure how you're doing. Are you moving closer or further away from it? By measurement, you're able to provide feedback not only for yourself but for the team. A team is a group of individuals that come together in this environment with the shared a common purpose, shared values, and a destination.  And it creates synergy. It creates magic. So once we have that and we start moving, now we get feedback. That's the fifth ingredient of a team is having that feedback to allow people to know how you're doing on your destination. Are you getting there? And one of the things I should say is the destination should always have a deadline. Your purpose, you may never see your purpose in your lifetime, but your destination is something that you can and should be able to achieve. And you should have a deadline because that deadline creates urgency. But with feedback, that gives you that ruler that allows you to see how you and your team are doing. And then as a group, not you are coming down from on high and telling them what they're doing wrong.  But as a group. The group collectively can determine what they can better. That’s important.
6. The sixth ingredient to creating that team environment is celebration. You must celebrate a lot. I've said this in all my training sessions. With anything HR-related, you must create an environment of celebration. We are celebrating milestones throughout your day, week, month, year that makes it fun to be there. When you provide a challenge with fun and a safe and nurturing environment, it's magic, it' unstoppable what that team can create.

But remember, all you can create as the leader is the environment. Influence is simply inviting someone to play. That's all you can do is influence others by creating this environment.

If this message resonates with you, would you please share it? We have too many people going into work every day and they're just doing their own thing. That doesn't work. Everybody just thinks SSDD, same stuff different day. That's when we have an isolating mindset. The other thing that's important, and I know this purpose thing can be a little bit squirrely to kind of grab onto. It's kind of like a greased pig, right? But here's the thing I want to understand. If you are coming in just to make money, then all you're ever going to end up with is a team of mercenaries. I want you to understand that. If all you ever do are coming in to make money, that's all it is for you is just making money, then all you're ever going to end up with is a team of mercenaries. You're never going to have someone that goes above and beyond. You're never going to have somebody that puts the greater good above themselves. That is the power of a team. You must have a great purpose.? And then the shared values and then the direction, and then we got to make it safe and we got to give them the freedom, and then we're going to give them feedback and then celebrate. 

I hope this helps. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day. Take care. God bless.