A Great Team is Magical
Dear friend,
Oh man, what a big week. The daily videos continue. I wrapped up recording the first season of my podcast. I went to Tulsa for a debrief about the HoganTaylor annual firm meeting. As a long-time reader, you hear about this event more than any, simply because I've done it for the last 15 years. This was the conclusion of that run, as we've known it.
HoganTaylor has a strict "old-person-policy" as I refer to it. Once you turn 65 you gotta hit the road. A new CEO was announced last month - Randa Vernon (and no she didn't get the job just because it feels like her name is as close to Randy as you can get... though some speculate.) This version of our team will adjust. Heck, I may not get to play on it anymore. We just don't know.
I have learned to consciously cherish moments. Living long enough to have not appreciated what I had, when I had it or was in it, to know THESE are the good ol' days, causes me to pause and ponder. Since I ventured out into my own business in 2009, I have spent more time professionally, consistently with this small band of people, than any other. I have the best memories and stories to prove it!
I admire these folks tremendously. As I sit here and race through the last decade and a half of hilarity and spectacle a few constants emerge that have kept us united all these years. Excellence. Creativity. Honoring. Willingness. Humility. Fun. To engage with others who are uniquely awesome and yet self-subjected to a commitment of what's best for the whole, is incredibly satisfying.
TEAM
A great team is magical. Fashioning a space where each others best strengths are platformed and compliment one another is invigorating. You and I can grow so much, when we allow our thoughts and perspectives to be altered by someone else. Isn't that what a team gives us? The opportunity to assert ourselves less and bolster those around us.
In the early days, I thought the opposite. I needed to contribute MY ideas and experience. I just knew my way was the best! 😜 Some have suggested I can be persistent, or even adamant, in my persuasion to compel others. I've never been sorry for having conviction about creating the most impact, but I have certainly gained an appreciation for the variety of ways it can be achieved.
MINDSHIFT
What if this week you looked for ways to publicly elevate a team members idea and encourage their solution be implemented?
CONFIDENCE
I like the way I think. I like the way I see the world. I like the way I see myself in the world. I like people. I genuinely want what's best for them. I've been accused of thinking I am always right. It's such an odd conversation for me. Why would I be a proponent for something I think is wrong? When we don't have to feed our ego to create our own sense of value, it enables a confidence to stand in our beliefs firmly.
That same confidence allows us to have our minds changed. Nurturing trust on a team or in a relationship creates the freedom to acquiesce with anticipation. It's incredibly rewarding to see someone else's idea - that was different from ours - succeed smashingly. It reinforces a reality that reminds us humility is better than bravado or better than quiet judgment, for you introverts.
MINDSHIFT
What if this week you changed your mind about a way forward?
LOOSEN
I'm entirely jealous of those who get to go to an office, see the same group of people, wrestle with problems together, have some drama and foster an ongoing relational experience, called Work. I know, I know. If you have that, you're like "Greg, I'd much rather work by myself without all these nincompoops." Ahhhh human nature. Our consistent tendency to want what we don't have and forget what we do.
Please cherish EVERYTHING about your current reality. You might not realize how special it actually is.
Change seems to rattle most. There's plenty of data about the lengths we'll go to, to hold onto what we currently have, even if the change brings exponential positive possibilities. Let's loosen our grip so our hearts and minds can live fully, free and fulfilled in the present.
I'm incredibly grateful for what has been. I have barely a notion for what will be. If we can hold sacred what currently is, that seems the best position to view the past and future from.
SHIFTING
I hope this week you are able to step out of the micro-view of daily life and go macro to find a bunch of gratitude and joy for what has been, what is and what will be. #ShiftAway
