Executive Coach Tim Goodenough, who will present at the upcoming SA Business Excellence Forum, says there are key similarities between sports and business which leaders can leverage to improve their success.
Goodenough believes that culture is one of the main points for success. He says business owners need to clearly define for their businesses: Who they are, who they aren’t, what they do, how they do it and, critically, why they do it. And in all these areas, leaders must be consistently modeling the culture and challenging instances where it is not followed.
In his view, after culture, belief is a company’s greatest asset for better performance. However, if the culture is not sufficiently strong and healthy, conversations around belief will fall short.
“The effectiveness of your team dynamics is also important,” says Goodenough.
“Team dynamics often change slowly and without the engagement of the whole team, and this is a mistake.”
Understanding the health of a team can be established by asking questions such as:
- What is the balance in our team between leaders and followers?
- Do we have both fun and serious moments as a team?
- Is there a healthy mix of short term and long term thinking?
- How do our innovation and systems interact?
Of course, without leadership, culture, beliefs and team dynamics can’t be positively influenced.
Communicating expectations and ‘rules’ is one of the most important ways for leaders to keep their team united and moving positively towards the same goal.
“In sport, the rules of the game are usually well defined, but it’s often areas where the rules are vague that create misunderstanding and controversy, and this is true for business too.”
To hear more from Tim Goodenough and to watch other industry experts present on the various aspects of running a successful business, book your ticket to attend the Business Excellence Forum & Awards in November 2015.
Visit www.thebusinessexcellenceforums.com for more information or call 012 665 1015.