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3 Secrets To Being Yourself And Managing Teams Very Successfully · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: A manager's purpose is to increase team performance.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Better performance leads to better benefits for everyone, including the manager.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: A critical foundation to increasing team performance is trust.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Building trust is where being yourself or being authentic is really needed.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: The key to being yourself and managing teams very successfully is knowing what to reveal and when and how to do this.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is easy to reveal strengths, skills and things that we're good at.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: At work, most only reveal these parts of themselves.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: When managing others, only revealing your strengths and what you're good at limits the trust you can build and the performance you can get from teams.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: When to share more of yourself, reveal weaknesses, admit to making mistakes and sharing some of your doubts and fears, you can create better connections, build more trust, and ultimately become a much more effective leader.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: There are plenty of times when sharing weaknesses, mistakes and doubts are disastrous to your credibility, influence and job security.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm helping you navigate this minefield by sharing three secrets to being yourself and managing teams very successfully.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: These are firstly authenticity matters when managing teams to a point.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, understand the rules to conform before being yourself.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: And third, build trust and credibility before being yourself.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: As you rise through the management ranks, getting the right balance and knowing what to reveal when becomes more and more important because your influence and impact becomes much more significant to the company.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I've worked for and seen plenty of managers that don't reveal anything significant about themselves.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: A bland work persona is safer and easier, yet their teams are not nearly as engaged, motivated, and trusting, nor do their teams perform as well.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Go too far the other way, and bosses don't trust you, even if your teams love you.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: If your bosses don't trust you, you don't get promoted.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was coaching a divisional director in a large corporate.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: He worked on increasing what he revealed to peers and bosses to build greater levels of trust and deeper relationships with them.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: This director got promoted within months as a result.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Being yourself and revealing the right parts of yourself matters to your team, your bosses, and your management career prospects.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: The first secret is authenticity matters when managing teams, to a point.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: The more we like, trust and believe a leader has the team's best interests at heart, the more willingly we follow where they lead.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: The quicker we agree to do what they ask, the less we question their judgment, the harder we try to ensure that we don't let them down.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: As a manager or leader, having a team that follows you willingly, with trust and confidence makes you a lot more effective and you get a lot more done with your team.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Lead a team without trust and confidence.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is like pushing water uphill, a lot of effort to get very little done.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: To build trust with your team and for them to get to know you as a person, you need to honestly show the real you to your team.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: What you reveal is important.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about your interests, hobbies, holidays, sports, etc.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know all the safe areas that people normally talk about.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: What matters a lot more is what you reveal about your competence, your character, and how who you show up to work as is going to impact the team members individually.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: When you make team members better off, they are going to like and trust you.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: When you make them worse off, you get the opposite.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: To demonstrate your professional competence and set the tone for how you're going to lead, take actions like.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, working hard to improve the team you lead and get the best from each team member.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, to demonstrate you make fair decisions and take actions which help the team.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Third, you share your knowledge and experience to develop your team members.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, you work hard to create a positive, supportive team culture.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: To demonstrate aspects of your character, think about the actions, decisions and behaviours that you're going to display.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Show who you are and how you will treat others through actions like.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, following words with aligned actions.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, doing what you say when you say you will.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Third, being open and honest in how you communicate and how you deal with everyone.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, treating others how you would like to be treated yourself.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And fifth, revealing your character, your interests, your likes and dislikes.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: In short, the more you work for the good of the team in a pleasant, honest and open way, the more trust, appreciation and loyalty you will build.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Teamwork and better team performance need trust as a foundation.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Be clear what you stand for and work hard to communicate this to your team through your decisions, actions and behaviours.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new here, Enhanced.training provides resources and courses for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links to additional resources in the podcast description to help you build trust, improve teamwork, and get the very best from those you manage.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Do take a look at these.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: The second secret to talk about is understanding the rules to conform before being yourself.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: We all think of ourselves as unique, yet humans are social beings and we want to fit in.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: When you join a group, yeah any group, there are a bunch of rules being observed by that group which they expect you to follow.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Following the group rules is the price of joining and staying a member of that group.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: These rules apply in your company.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Think about when you have to work and where you have to work.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Think about how you have to dress.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: How are you expected to behave?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some rules are written down, plenty more are unconscious influence.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: When you conform, you are much more likely to firstly be seen as a team player and reliable to do your part.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you'll be a lot more trusted by bosses.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Third, your career will progress faster.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, chances are you'll be happier, make friends quicker, etc.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: In companies, you can be yourself to a point.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Think of it as a conformity framework with clear boundaries.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: As long as you don't cross those boundaries, everyone in the group is happy with you.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: There are plenty of carrots for conforming.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: More interesting work, status, bonuses, group acceptance, promotions, etc.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: When you become a leader, you're expected to promote and uphold the rules.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: As we have already talked about, people need to get to know their leaders to trust them and want to follow them.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Leaders also need to be themselves to build connection and trust with their team members and colleagues and bosses, etc.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: This creates a significant mindfield to navigate.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: So work out quickly where the conformity boundaries are and be yourself within those boundaries.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you the most benefits from conforming and being yourself.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Being conscious of the rules is a great start.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: Push close to the boundaries but not over them.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: The hardest part, the rules for every group are different.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Think of the differences between being employed in a police force, for instance, or an environmental agency, or a startup business.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Each group will behave and act very differently.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Understand the rules and where the boundaries are first, and then be yourself within those boundaries to be a really successful leader.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: The third secret of being successful is to build trust and credibility before being yourself.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Just imagine turning up to your interview and talking about your worst weaknesses.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: There is no way that you'd get the job.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about your fears and doubts in the first week of a new job, and everyone will be thinking, How do we get rid of this person?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yet when a successful well-known manager in a business talks about some of their weaknesses, fears, and doubts, the team feels greater confidence, greater trust and greater connection to the manager.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: The greater connection and confidence helps the manager increase team performance.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Without first building trust and credibility, revealing your weaknesses and faults is dangerous to your success.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Focus first on communicating and more importantly, demonstrating your strengths, your skills, and how you make the team and company better off.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: To be successful, to build credibility, authority, and influence, you must focus on and reveal your strengths.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: When you have credibility, authority and influence, you can then increase this by revealing some of your weaknesses, frustrations, and fears.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is the fears, frustrations and weaknesses that make you more relatable that enable you to build deeper trust, loyalty and appreciation from team members and colleagues.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you like, you give others hope that they can be just as successful as you while still having their own faults.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you're worried about sharing weaknesses and faults, etc., a good starting point is to share your past weaknesses that you have since turned into strengths.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then you can go on to sharing current weaknesses, doubts, etc., when you get more confident in doing that.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Build trust and your credibility first before revealing more of yourself to your team.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: So in summary, being yourself and revealing the right parts of yourself matters to your team, your bosses, and your management career prospects.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think it is much harder to significantly increase team performance if you don't reveal who you are as a person to your team.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: What you reveal and when matters.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Think through that what we have talked about and put what resonates with you into practice as quickly as you can.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links to additional resources in the podcast description to help you build trust, improve teamwork, and get the very best from those you manage.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: Do take a look at these.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on three secrets to being yourself and managing teams very successfully, please email me at support at enhance.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.