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. It's hard enough to stay committed to our individual goals, so as business leaders how do we set New Year's resolutions for our teams and get them to commit to achieving the goals we've set for year?

My answer…Lead by example.

As 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 we've established for the year.

Over the years, the lessons I have embraced from Wooden's playbook have, I hope, turned me into a leader my teams look up to and replicate themselves:

"People come first." 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 "hire for attitude, train for skill" to ensure our employees have the demeanor and values reflective of our company, our brand, and our Clients' 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 clients.

"Swagger isn't necessary." 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, it's easy to focus on the success of certain individuals and to reward only the "superstars", but in the end, no one individual can do it all…we 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 they've established, that sense of accomplishment often creates a greater sense of loyalty and more fully engaged employees.

"Take setbacks in stride." When Wooden took the helm at UCLA, he found on arrival a debilitated team and dilapidated facilities, but he didn't let that interfere with his ability to coach his team. In his second year with the Bruins, they won the conference title. The situation wasn't perfect, but Wooden figured out how to find success among failure. Perfection is hard to achieve, trust me. I've tried to achieve it in everything I do…as a boss, a wife, a mother, a friend…but who's kidding who, we all make mistakes. I don't think one week has gone by in the last year when I haven't faced some element of crisis, whether a client issue, a personnel problem or an organizational challenge. But as a leader, you can "never let them see you sweat". When we take challenges in stride, with an even-tempered approach to solutions, our employees will also learn to exude the confidence to tackle tough times on their road to greatness.

"Winning breeds winning."For Wooden, it wasn't 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 clients.

So, as I look toward the year ahead of me and think about the goals we've 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 can't claim that we'll reach the scale of accomplishment that Wooden and his teams achieved as National Champions, but I'll certainly continue to employ Wooden's 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.