What chance gathers she easily scatters.
A great person attracts great people
and knows how to hold them together.
---Johann Wolfgang Von
Goethe
Reflect on the high points in your career. They are most likely the
times when you felt you were a part of a strong, effective team.
Your employees, board members, and even your significant investors
or sponsors feel the same way: they seek community, a sense of belonging, the
opportunity to be a part of a maverick group that’s making a difference in the
world.
Strong core values are the glue that creates this group cohesion.
Shared values unique to your
team are what generate feelings of “We’ve got to stick together,” and “I’m
willing to put so much of my time and effort into this organization because
nobody else is doing what we’re doing!”
Consider the words of former CEO George Weissman: “Other than my
marriage, [working at Phillip Morris] was the passionate love affair of my
life. I don’t think many people would understand what I’m talking about, but I
suspect my colleagues would.”
Weissman and many of his executive colleagues continued to come in
regularly, mostly because they enjoyed spending time together.
This level of group cohesion is unimaginable for most of us working
in today’s highly mobile workplace where the average tenure is under two years.
Yet it is possible.
Anthony Silard is the president of The Global Leadership Institute and the author of the Simon & Schuster book The Connection: Link Your Passion, Purpose, and Actions to Make a Difference in the World. To receive Smile, It's Monday every other week in your inbox and a free copy of Anthony's new audio CD, "The Surprising Source of Your Passion", enter your email here (1-step only).
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