COMMUNICATION … both upward and downward

Excite and motivate. Make sure the team understands how their job is important and part of the larger mission.

Clear objectives and values. It is important that the team know what our primary goals are and see how we will achieve them. Where we may make compromises and where we won’t. Since most decisions involve making some kind of trade off, a clear understanding of team values enables team members to make decisions.

Before team members can follow a plan, they have to understand it. It is the manager’s job to make sure the job is explained well and understood.

Raise the flag. Everyone is responsible for identifying possible problems and surfacing the problem.

TEAM SPIRIT …Business is a team sport. 

We win and lose as a team. I am here for my team. My team is here to help me. We are here for each other.

COACHING … We are dynamic creatures.

Give team members one-on-one time at regular intervals.

Learn and understand each individual’s particular interests, goals, and motivations.

Give them opportunities to grow and challenge themselves.

Help IC’s build business acumen by

RESOURCEFUL … make sure the team has everything they need to do their jobs well.

Resources, education, work environment, support

Remove barriers or slowing frictions.

TRAIN AND TRUST … trust begets trust

Create an environment where team members feel safe admitting ignorance, doubt, or unsureness.

Explain the high-level “why” behind what we do so that team members can make real-time judgment calls without my input when necessary.

Give the team member enough autonomy to feel ownership.

MEASURE…only things that get measured, get improved 

Results have to measured quantifiably and tracked over time. We need to understand where there are opportunities to improve.

Measure early in the process to avoid more costly poor performance deeper further down the road.

RESULTS AND MORALLY ORIENTED

We check everything we do against our objectives and make sure what we are doing is causing the desired results.

We do not compromise our integrity. Doing so only makes us vulnerable to unwinding all our hard work and brand.

HIRE DRIVEN LEARNERS  … here’s what I’m looking for in team members

Ego vs. Pride:  There is nothing wrong with being proud of our work, but we don’t want people who let their ego get in their way. We need people who admit mistakes early so that we can fix and learn.

Dynamic over static: People who see their capabilities as dynamic are more likely to improve.

Business acumen: Understands why we and our customers do what they do.

Work ethic: Shortcuts may get you by in the short term but only causes problems down the road. Also, demonstrating this cultural value with clients enables us to confidently ask clients for what we need after we’ve gone the extra mile for them.

Communication: We want people who share their concerns. We don’t want pressure building into passive aggressiveness.

POSITIVE ATTITUDE … one of the most important things to have in an innovation culture

Thinking positively has been proven to make us more creative problem solvers, resistant to burnout, and just more pleasant to work with.

Attitude is contagious. It is important to feel energized by the opportunity we have in front of us.

Positivity drives creativity. Playfulness leads to more innovative ideas. Creative problem solving by is a competitive advantage because by definition it means that we are coming up with better solutions than what currently exists in the world.