Five Questions for Leaders to Build a Strong Team

and Why Did You Think That Mistake Was Fatal?

Author

Chris Miller
June 20, 2023

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Read Time: 3 minutes

Hello! & welcome to another day of opportunity where company executives are learning how to transform the Great Resignation into a Great Conversation 🙊

Let’s get straight to it. Here’s what’s on the menu today:

👩🏻‍💼 News: As people check out of work, conversation rises in importance

🏗️ Understanding the importance of your social infrastructure

đź’ˇ Your actions are a chisel to a marble block

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👩🏻‍💼 News: I QUIT! Let’s talk about it.

Concepts like the Great Resignation and quiet quitting brought a screeching halt to becoming socially invested at work. It turns out that many people have a different set of values, and work isn’t always at the top. That being said, if you’re a leader in your workplace, then it’s important to know how to foster a culture of conversation so that your team is more likely to be bought in.

Strategies to build a connected environment at your work can differ within each industry, but here are some ideas:

  • Ask great questions - this seems obvious, but take the time to look up questions that could be helpful for your work.

    • For instance, “how can I best support your growth and development in our organization?”

  • Share, teach, and invite - remember that bringing others into the kitchen may create an even better recipe.

  • Listen and show curiosity - In leadership, more often than not, talking is overrated.

🏗️ Understanding the importance of our social infrastructure

Social infrastructure is a concept that refers to the buildings, environments, and spaces we have in our physical area that allow for social connection. Reading this, you may think of places like coffee shops, bars, churches, gyms, and libraries.

Sadly, these places are becoming few and far between. The recent episode of The Atlantic’s How to Talk to People podcast explores how American efficiency culture can prevent us from taking time to build relationships that will sustain us.

It may be hard, but going to that board game cafe and joining a group of strangers in trivia may be the thing that gives you the energy to complete that difficult project at work.

đź’ˇ Your actions are a chisel to your marble block

In a recent podcast episode, I was speaking with someone who meets with college students and helps them figure out their life plans.

He shared that for a long time he felt like anytime he made a mistake, he viewed it as a sculptor making a mistake with an errant chisel mark.

Yet, after some time, he realized that he was a marble block - not a chiseled statue. Instead, all of his mistakes, and successes, were different chisel marks. And all of these chisel marks, led to one beautiful statue.

Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. You will learn, you will grow, and you will get closer to the person you are meant to be.

👨‍💻 I Got You Covered!

Thanks for reading! When you signed up for this newsletter, my promise to you was to act as your personal assistant and connect you with resources to help you improve your social fitness, become a better communicator, and have more meaningful conversations. What did you think of today's newsletter? Reply to this email and let me know what you'd like to see more of.

Thanks for reading.

See you next time!

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