[video] Q. and A. with E.W. Tibbs - The Importance of Creating a Team Culture that Fosters Engagement

Transcript:

Claire: Hey there, I'm here with E.W. Tibbs and we're going to have some short interview style questions about different topics the first topic that we'll be talking about is the importance of creating a team culture that fosters engagement. So what would you say goes into creating an unbeatable team culture?

E.W. Tibbs: Uh, Claire first, thanks for just taking a couple of minutes outta your day to day and, you know, really just to have a, create, having, create a conversation about important topics in team culture, whether it be in, uh, personal or professional setting, whether it be in academics, athletics, or, you know, work setting.

Without team culture, uh, you're basically, without an amazing team culture, you're basically accepting mediocrity. And so team culture, um, Trump's everything else, including strategy. And you know, specifically team culture has to start with trust and, um, really adopting some philosophies, uh, upfront of, you know, trust first and freely.

Forgive fast. Always assume positive intent and overcommunicate overcommunicate. And after you over communicate overcommunicate some more. And all of that will, will create a space where dialogue can happen between people in some cases that are new to work, uh, new to working with each other, or in some cases have been working with each other for, for long periods.

So, you know, whether it's a new team that I'm develop. Or whether it's a tenure team that I've worked with for a long period, those principles still hold true. So building that environment where, uh, team members not only feel empowered to speak up, they feel obligated, uh, they feel obligated from the pull that's on their heart because they believe so deeply in what they're working to accomplish, and they believe so deeply in the people that are around them.

So, so culture, uh, is the beginning, the middle, and the end to be amazing. And, uh, I've been blessed to, to work on a number of teams, frankly, that have gotten it right. And, you know, at this point in my life, I've been around long enough for, I've made my share of mistakes too, and I just try to share those freely, uh, to allow others to, to learn and maybe not make the same mistakes I have.

Claire: That's so true. All seem very good points. So when you, when you think about all of those things, are there things that you do to try to sustain that? You know, once you've created that team? Just keeping that momentum.

E.W. Tibbs: Absolutely. You gotta spend time with people. And I think today, in today's world, or whether you're managing geography, what, whatever your challenge might be, we forget that relationships are fostered by spending time.

Uh, I manage a fairly large geography in my professional world now across three states, hundreds of miles. Between the centers that I'm, I'm blessed to support and you know, it requires some boots on the ground. On occasion. You gotta go to the work, you gotta go to the teams, you gotta support them in their element.

That said, technology's such an amazing thing. I mean, look at how we're doing this today. We're a number of states apart and we can just set and have a very real. Conversation, but that's also because, you know, we've known each other for a period of time. You'll start with technology if you, if you don't have, you know, the relationship and the trust.

So, um, I balance technology and non-technology uses, but the most important piece is you spend time. There's no replacement for time, and that person has to believe that the only thing that matters to them in that. only thing that matters to you rather is them. And so, you know, you want to be very careful to carve out dedicated time.

If there are an agenda of items that you need to cover, get that out in advance. Don't surprise people. Uh, make sure you kind of understand what you're trying to accomplish and get that from them. Um, and also always create time at the beginning and the end. You know, you want to connect personally. You wanna make sure you know what's going on in their lives, and you want to ensure that you're launching them forward when the interaction's, uh, concluding.

whether it's in person or whether it's virtual such that you're adding to their day and you're helping to ensure their success. And when you do all those things well, it's just shocking what you can accomplish. Now, this is, this isn't rocket science. It's not complicated. It does require work though. And I think that's where people miss.

They're not disciplined to do it every time and they start cutting corners cuz it's easy if things are going well to forget how you got there and when you stop doing those things, that got you. Slide. And I'll tell you also, it's, it's really hard to get it back because getting trust up front, it's really not all that hard as long as you do everything right, but if you are perceived to break that trust, it's harder the second time.

Uh, and so you've gotta put in, you know, sometimes more time, more work, more steps, um, and that, uh, you can make your life a lot easier and get a lot more results and be a lot more successful just by doing it right the first time. And always, um, that said, if you, if you have a situation where you've gotta rebuild, you know, I have, think there's a simple way of doing that.

It's admit it, fix it, and move on. Don't dwell in it. Acknowledge it, define it, admit it, collaborate, fix it. Implement. Measure it and move on. Um, life's too short and the world's too busy today to, you know, to stay in the moment or something like that. Just, just do what you have to do and make it happen.

Claire: That's such a good, it's almost a mantra, you know, you identify it, you fix it.

Say that again. Say that one more time. What, what is that?

E.W. Tibbs: Admit it, fix it and move on.

Claire: Yes. Yes. And oh, and you did add in measure. Measure it.

E.W. Tibbs: You gotta measure, you gotta measure everything. Yes. You're not measuring it in today's world's not real.

Claire: Yes, that's so true. And you know, the thought of, of giving people your time, that's such a precious resource that if you are able, and I think we all really are able to give of our time, especially knowing that that investment renders such a huge turn, uh, you know, return on that investment down the road.

E.W. Tibbs: Absolutely.

Claire: So, yeah, so that's wonderful. Um, so those were a few, um, tips and actually just words of wisdom from E.W. On how to create a team culture, um, that fosters engagement and, and also how to sustain it. So thank you for joining us on that today.

E.W. Tibbs: My pleasure. Thanks Claire.