Every team team meeting would begin with building rapport, and relationships. I might ask a question as simple as, “How’s your day going?”
Building teams requires a commitment to the small stuff. This doesn’t mean we spend our time in personal rants, long exchanges of what we ate, or family drama. Rather, just checking in – reminding myself and our team that we are human.
Our work, and collaboration, improve when we remind ourselves that we share in the everyday struggles and successes of life. We become grounded in our understanding that every member of the team brings their own experiences, expertise, and perspective to our tasks.
Often, I begin with a quote or send one out with the agenda. A few words to provoke thought or, perhaps, provide a jumping-off place for a difficult conversation.
Ten quotes to share with your team . . .
- Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers
- Our moral responsibility is not to stop the future, but to shape it . . . to channel our destiny in humane directions and to ease the trauma of transition. Alvin Toffler
- Wherever there is a human being there is a chance for kindness. Seneca
- We can stand around looking at the train wreck of what was, or we can design our own futures. Bernadette Jiwa
- Times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. Paul Harvey
- Enthusiasm…nothing great was ever achieved without it. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity. Samuel Johnson
- What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Homes
- Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. Goethe
And the one I live by . . .
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
These are only a few. I am always looking for the right words, at the right time, to inspire, challenge, encourage, or cause a chuckle.
And always—