PHD Perspectives: A Wellness Plan for the Year - Anne Marie Schaffer - MediaBizBloggers

The New Year provides an invisible line in time where one can shake off the memories of things gone wrong and celebrate what went right over the course of the last year It provides for a clean slate from which to create new goals and aspirations We often craft resolutions that are personal in nature lose weight exercise more drink less stop smoking pay off debt and so on It39s hard enough to stay committed to our individual goals so as business leaders how do we set New Year39s resolutions for our teams and get them to commit to achieving the goals we39ve set for yearMy answeramp8230Lead by exampleAs a Bruin alum I have always looked up to the late John Wooden as an example of leadership His tenets while simple at their core made for a vision that all of his team members embraced and which allowed them to achieve greatness as a unit By applying these same virtues we can develop teams that will stay true to our vision to achieve the goals we39ve established for the yearOver the years the lessons I have embraced from Wooden39s playbook have I hope turned me into a leader my teams look up to and replicate themselvesquotPeople come firstquot Wooden believed strongly in developing the character of his players more than their skills as athletes We believe in a very similar principle at PHD as our people are the most important part of our business Our philosophy is quothire for attitude train for skillquot to ensure our employees have the demeanor and values reflective of our company our brand and our Clients39 brands By providing our teams the support and resources they require and encouraging them to push the limits of creative ideation our teams will continue to achieve greatness for our clientsquotSwagger isn39t necessaryquot Coach Wooden did not support showboating or bravado among his players He believed that as a team the whole is greater than the sum of its parts Within our own organizations it39s easy to focus on the success of certain individuals and to reward only the quotsuperstarsquot but in the end no one individual can do it allamp8230we win and lose as a team We should hold ourselves and our teams accountable to the goals we have established and provide a mechanism for measurement Among my own teams at PHD I have encouraged each individual to establish clear and defined goals for the year that are measured by specific KPIs And regardless of superstar status each associate will be rewarded for a job done well When employees hold themselves accountable and reach the goals they39ve established that sense of accomplishment often creates a greater sense of loyalty and more fully engaged employeesquotTake setbacks in stridequot When Wooden took the helm at UCLA he found on arrival a debilitated team and dilapidated facilities but he didn39t let that interfere with his ability to coach his team In his second year with the Bruins they won the conference title The situation wasn39t perfect but Wooden figured out how to find success among failure Perfection is hard to achieve trust me I39ve tried to achieve it in everything I doamp8230as a boss a wife a mother a friendamp8230but who39s kidding who we all make mistakes I don39t think one week has gone by in the last year when I haven39t faced some element of crisis whether a client issue a personnel problem or an organizational challenge But as a leader you can quotnever let them see you sweatquot When we take challenges in stride with an eventempered approach to solutions our employees will also learn to exude the confidence to tackle tough times on their road to greatness quotWinning breeds winningquot For Wooden it wasn39t about the win it was about the journey He wanted his teams to accept their limitations but he required that they gave it their all Their ability to acknowledge their faults and learn from their mistakes ultimately led to 10 national championships in the course of 12 years As managers we should encourage and reward our employees who take risks and learn from their mistakes By allowing them the opportunity to fail we actually produce associates who strive to achieve their best and to win not only for themselves but also for our clientsSo as I look toward the year ahead of me and think about the goals we39ve set out to achieve I know that I cannot do it alone In order to realize greatness it will be critical to create an environment for my employees to realize greatness I can39t claim that we39ll reach the scale of accomplishment that Wooden and his teams achieved as National Champions but I39ll certainly continue to employ Wooden39s virtues in the hopes I develop energized and engaged employees that strive for their best As a result we as a team will not only reach our goals but will also make great strides in achieving the goals of our clients

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PHD Perspectives: A Wellness Plan for the Year - Anne Marie Schaffer - MediaBizBloggers

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