At the end of February Aviva flew me to their Toronto offices where I delivered 2 workshops for a total of 70 people!

The feedback from the participants was really strong and the event organisers said we "smashed it!"

Between this and the football team I've been working with, it really hammered home the importance of having a clear goal that people can rally around.

It's when the sum of each individual's efforts gets amplified through connecting to the team that you can achieve things you never thought possible!

You can feel the buzz 🐝as both a participant and an observer when a team has momentum.

I believe it comes down to a simple formula;

Team momentum = Hope x Confidence x Optimism

I'm going to share the benefits and suggestions on how you can ignite your team's momentum!

Benefits of Momentum

Overcoming Obstacles - Without momentum, even small obstacles can seem huge! Momentum allows teams to maintain progress in spite of setbacks and ultimately achieve their goals.

Unity & Purpose - There's a beautiful feeling of belonging and all being "in it together" when you have team momentum. This leads to an even greater sense of motivation and productivity within the team.

Delightful Outcomes - Teams with strong momentum are consistently able to satisfy the needs of customers, employees and investors by delivering what they set out to do and more!

Getting the Most Out of Your People - The trust and collaboration within a team in full flow allows you to take full advantage of the knowledge and skills of your people which is super satisfying for them too!

Ideas for Action 👉

So lets go back to the magic formula and look at nurturing each in turn.

Team momentum = Hope x Confidence x Optimism

• HOPE:
  • Without hope, nothing happens. People won't take action if they don't believe it's possible.
  • This is where your leadership is crucial. They need you to show the way, inspire them and coordinate actions to light the path.
  • In reality, teams underperform due to unspoken doubts. It's not necessarily that they doubt the strategy, but that they doubt their capabilities, the organisation's commitment or feel the pace is too quick.
  • You can overcome doubts by encouraging your team to air their doubts and work through how to resolve them if and when obstacles come up and by planning out a clear path towards the goal.
• CONFIDENCE:
  • Elanor Roosevelt said that “a great leader makes people believe in themselves”, which is pretty much what leadership is about.
  • The famous “can do spirit” is having confidence in one’s own abilities to make things happen. It is the fuel that teams need in order to take action and is not just about individual confidence levels, it's the collective confidence that's key.
  • You can build team confidence by getting them to share why the goal is important to them, by ringfencing resources to help them succeed and plan ahead for setbacks.
• OPTIMISM:
  • Negative expectations and limiting self-beliefs are present in all of us at some level, and they make us create a pessimistic inner narrative telling us that we are not good enough. Teams can succumb to the sum of their individual pessimism, and even multiply it.
  • Leaders have the opportunity to address these inner voices and nurture an optimistic narrative that empowers the team to see how they will make things happen.
  • They can foster the conviction that “it will happen” by working with both the team and individuals.
  • Don’t create moon-shot goals, go step-by-step instead and identify the worries and the negative beliefs and help them to dissolve their doubts.
    

Overall it becomes a fine balance of supporting each other and having the ability to challenge.

This is where greatness lies, through building strong team momentum to overcome challenges in their stride!

If you'd like help in creating a safe environment with the creative arts where your team can air their doubts and work through them together, please do get in touch below.

I'd love to help your team to get into their stride and build their own momentum!

Sketch 🖼️

I drew a sketch during my 2.5 hour delay at Toronto airport! It's how I felt at the time which is in complete contrast to momentum - I was "Struggling to Take off" or feel any "buzz" at this point!

I couldn't video myself drawing my sketch this week as it's a bit tricky surrounded by people in an airport! But as always, I still encourage you to take a moment to reflect on what I've shared and even do a little sketch of your own!

I made this with a black rollerball pen on a plain sketch pad so grab a pen and paper and give it a go!