Action Tip

Energize your teams (positively)

1. Stimulate your teams by giving them a purpose 

To co-opt your teams, nothing beats giving them goals that have a purpose: 

• Create powerful reminders so you don’t forget what really matters in the daily workflow. For instance, when Jeff Bezos holds meetings at Amazon he often leaves an empty chair that represents the customer. 
• If your business has a mission (a purpose), identify the “mission champions” who will support it enthusiastically and whom you can rely on if a storm breaks out. But look closely: they’re not always the individuals you might expect. 
• Ask your employees who their heroes are, their sources of inspiration (books, etc.), and brainstorm with them about how to tie them in with their job. Play the game by unleashing people’s imaginations without any kind of censorship. It’s an exercise that calls for inventiveness and produces results that are surprising yet rewarding. 
• Accept the fact that contradictions exist, and show that you welcome this wholeheartedly; purpose never comes from an ideal and perfect alignment (which doesn’t even exist).  
• Learn how to integrate and manage polarities within your team: competition and cooperation, stimulation and support, simplicity and complexity, and so forth. 

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