LET THE GOOD WOLVES LOOSE AND ENHANCE YOUR TEAM PERFORMANCE

I’ve been facilitating team meetings and events for many years, and I’ve noticed something about the teams that thrive as opposed to the teams that struggle. Team performance can be enhanced with the addition of one positive habit.

Teams that are effective are the ones that recognise and celebrate their achievements together and show appreciation for the individual contributions each team member makes. Other teams might appear to take for granted the contributions of their colleagues or, worse, fail to recognise them entirely.

There is an apocryphal story of a grandfather talking to his grandchild about the war that rages within all of us between the good wolf and the bad wolf. The good wolf represents all that is positive and hopeful (respect, confidence, kindness, optimism, etc). The bad wolf represents all that is negative and harmful (jealousy, contempt, meanness, bitterness, etc). The grandchild listens carefully and then asks, “But which wolf wins the war, grandad?”. The grandfather thinks for a moment and then answers, “It’s the wolf you feed.”

Whenever I am facilitating a team event, I am mindful of the fact that throughout the course of that meeting I will hear some remarkable things and see some remarkable behaviours. Failing to acknowledge them would be a missed opportunity. That’s why I often share the story of the good wolf and encourage everyone to publicly show their appreciation for the things they see and hear their colleagues doing.

It is often easier (and more common) to call out bad behaviour, but we need to focus more often on good behaviour when it happens, and acknowledge meaningful contributions offered in the moment. Positive feedback and acknowledgement is a solid way to build trust, respect and confidence. It is also the way to encourage and reinforce positive interactions.

So let’s give free reign to our good wolf and witness how it can transform our team performance.