“Our Distrust Is Very Expensive.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why I Wrote This Book
All over the world, there are individuals who want to go to work–who are excited to go in on Mondays. They love their jobs because the environment they work in is free of fear and emotional toxicity; and they are unimpeded and able to focus on their work. They do their part to help achieve organizational goals.
I work with people like this everyday, and I help them create the kind of workplace they have always wanted–one that delivers a sense of belonging, personal satisfaction, and job enrichment. I make this happen by working with business leaders who know that businesses and organizations are only as good as the people in them, and they recognize the importance of winning the hearts and minds of their people. I build high-performance teams: in businesses, government agencies, churches, non-profits, and even families. I have witnessed astounding personal, financial, and organizational growth accelerate when the environment is free of fear and supercharged with Synergy Team Power.
This book is for all employees–from entry level all the way up to the executive suite–who are looking for a way to create a meaningful workplace that delivers continuous job satisfaction. It demonstrates that adopting the value of teamwork and service, along with the importance of treating fellow workers with courtesy and respect–as one does with a customer–makes all the difference. You will find helpful stories, examples, anecdotes, and checklists that have grown out of many years of building and working with high-performance business teams. These stories are about real people who have found a way to create satisfying, fun jobs, and at the same time, build safe, secure, and highly-profitable work environments.
There are 5 Synergy Team Power success habits:
Within each of the success habit chapters, I have sprinkled humorous and relevant examples, quotes, and anecdotes to make your reading experience pleasurable and meaningful. My vision is that you will find a special message that resonates with you on a personal and professional level, and that it helps you recognize the important role you and all of us play in creating emotionally secure, profitable work environments. My larger vision is that as more and more of us recognize the value of Synergy and its profound benefits, we will work together to expand its application to build stronger families, better schools, profitable businesses, safe cities, and peaceful nations.
High-performance business teams are comparable to high-performance sports teams. Like sports teams, business teams “want to” bring all their individual talent and abilities to work. They create a safe, secure, interpersonal environment; openly share ideas; and willingly focus their energy and efforts on a shared destiny.
SUCCESS HABIT ONE: BUILDING TRUST
You can’t order trust like you order a pizza. When you make pizza for a living, you quickly learn the “secrets of the trade.” Once you see the benefits of doing it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it sooner.
The Courage to Trust
Do you want to do business with somebody you don’t trust? Would you want a relationship with someone you don’t trust? Of course you don’t! Trust is the foundation for all good personal and work relationships. It satisfies an emotional appetite for true connection and unity, and it begins by trusting yourself first. When you trust yourself, it’s easier to trust others. It takes courage to know who you are, to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and still see the value of your contribution to yourself, others, and life.
In a scene from the romantic comedy “Moonstruck,” a neglected housewife eats dinner with a man she meets at a restaurant.
Afterwards, he walks her home. When he realizes that the house is empty, he asks if he can come inside. He is handsome and charming, his intentions are clearly romantic, her husband is cheating on her, the house is empty, and she would never get caught if she said yes. But she says, “No,” and when her chagrined suitor asks, “But why?” she answers, simply: “Because I know who I am.”
The blandishments of a handsome man were mere distractions to this character: She would go on being who she was. And in this lighthearted movie, we have a statement that is not lighthearted, but is one of the most important lessons life can teach: You have to know who you are. You must have a good and trusting relationship with yourself.
When you know, really know, what matters to you, your actions mirror your beliefs. Your self-respect will not be swayed by external events. Other people may distress you, may even cause you harm, but you have something so solid to hold onto that you cannot be swayed into making foolish decisions, even attractively foolish decisions. There is a marvelous comfort in knowing who you are.
Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, found that “piece” of knowledge in the hellishness of a concentration camp. People who had every reason to believe in their imminent death found reasons to live, found ways to care for one another. In a situation designed to bring out the worst in humanity, they found the finest in themselves. These people, strong spirits in tortured bodies, put their energies into being good to one another. Their focus was outward, positive, and helpful. In the midst of a living nightmare, they still knew, or maybe knew even better, who they were.
Albert Einstein believed that human beings, to realize their potential, must have clear standards of right and wrong. The most important human endeavor, said the famous scientist, is striving for morality in our actions. “Morality is what gives beauty and dignity to life. Following our animal instincts is not enough. Without high standards of right and wrong, men cannot live together in peace and friendship.”
In your personal and business life, trustworthiness is fostered and earned by honoring and paying your dues through diligent eff ort, quality work, and pride in accomplishment. It is going the extra mile and being loyal to yourself and the commitments you make to others. Being your own person is about being self-directed and authentic. It originates at our core by choosing to live and work by a set of ethical standards, beliefs, and values. Authenticity, transparency, and integrity are all from the same family and when service to one another is embraced as a value, trustworthiness is experienced, making it easier to make decisions and solve everyday problems. If you are not authentic and sincere, you will encourage mistrust, fear, and distance.
Integrity