Unity is Strength

"Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." --Mattie Stepanek

It really does not matter how smart, talented, driven, or enthusiastic you are, your success as a leader in our world today depends on your ability to rally and inspire your team. To be a successful leader, it is up to you to understand how to bring your team members together to work toward a common vision and goal.  In our ever-changing world today, the difference between success and failure is not just great individuals but more importantly a great team.  If I look back at my career, I became a much stronger leader when I realized it was not about “me” but about “we”.  It took me awhile to understand that if I spend all my energies on my team – listening, teaching, coaching, motivating, recognizing, etc. and see my victories through their eyes and their wins, we would be in a much better place.  How do we take those great individuals and create a great team?  Or I would offer, how do you take good individuals and create a great team?  Unity. 

When I was at Pepsi or AOL or The Federal Reserve or even here at Gannett – unity does not happen overnight.  It is a culture change of “me” to “we”.  It is recognizing team wins vs individual wins.  It takes constant awareness of rewarding the team and understanding the value each person brings to the team.  Treating people fairly but not equally. 

  

Unity takes on many forms.  Like commitment, there are varying levels.  If you are going to be effective as a leader, it is important for you to be able to discern the difference.

There are actually three levels of unity, says Michael Hyatt:

• Acceptance. This is the first and lowest level of unity. People acquiesce to your leadership without protest. They may or may not agree, but they decide to go along because the cost of objecting—whether real or perceived—is too great.
• Agreement. This is the second level of unity. People agree with your direction and generally support it. But they are not personally invested or committed to making it happen. You have their minds but not their hearts. This is why you may not experience resistance, but you can’t seem to make things happen.
• Alignment. This is the third and ultimate level of unity. People are with you. They are fully committed to making your common vision a reality. They also have your back and the backs of their teammates. They voice their support in public and their concerns in private.

As Sean Glaze stated, “New managers or team leaders are always curious to know the secret ingredients that create team unity. But the secret is that there is no secret.  After working with teams for over 20 years, I have found that team unity is the result of two very important ingredients coming together - unity is created when people care about their team’s goal AND unity is created when people care about their teammates.  That’s it—just two ingredients.”

Sounds easy.  Setting our goals is about understanding the needs of the business combined with the abilities of our team. Getting everyone to CARE about their teammates…well, that answer has no silver bullet.

While companies often focus on the importance of individual performance, they fail to see how it can destroy morale. Having employees working as a team is something that is crucial to building success in any work place. When employees are supportive and trusting of one another, morale is higher, which leads to increased job satisfaction and job retention – along with increased productivity.  Clear goals and a team that cares about each other is the result of an atmosphere of collaboration, collective problem solving, focus on issues vs people, focus on team thinking vs individual thinking, and TRUST.  I would also offer that building a unified team helps reduce attrition as well.  Finally, in my experience, when you have created this environment for your team, creativity goes up – people feel safe offering new and differing ideas.

So, what lessons have I learned along my journey (what did I wish I knew when I was 5 years into my career)?  Spend more time than you think on hiring the right people.  Also, be cognizant of and “weed” out the employees that are only in the workplace for themselves. Look for the people that support each other, and want their co-workers to succeed along with them. Having an environment of teamwork will improve your function/department by boosting morale, reducing absenteeism, and improving employee retention.  Lead your way to a great team.  This is what makes me want to come to work every day to work with my “team” here at Gannett.

When individuals work together and trust one another, it allows them to feel safe and comfortable in the workplace. Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon

People Division

“Kindness is Currency”

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr


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