BRINGING THE WOW TO LIFE
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Bringing the Wow To Life ‘Wow’ is that unmeasurable, know-it-when-you-experience-it, feeling of sensational because people ‘get’ you, you can be you, your passion is appreciated and your successes are triumphed. I know there are many companies that talk about wow. Culture is the new black. This was not an easy ‘sell’ seven years ago, when I would bang on about culture, and wowing each other, and receive blank looks. Thank goodness this is an everyday conversation for many people. WE USE THE WORD WOW IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS: It’s in our values It’s what we aim to do for others ‘Hey, XXX wowed me with their…’ ‘That wasn’t very wow.’ ‘And the Wizard of Wow Award goes to…’ ‘That supplier just wowed me…’ We use it in our sentences to describe our experience. One of the great things about having this type of vernacular is that it becomes a symbol of the club we’re in. To be a part of our club, you need to know and use our ‘lingo’. It’s a way of knowing we belong to one another. We speak and act with passion because of this and the other focuses we bring. I remember advertising for a CEO (yes, again), and an applicant came to spend the day with us. They left at lunchtime, after declaring, ‘You’re too passionate’. With our focus, we do tend to make ourselves unattractive to corporate conservatism and in-the-box thinking. We used to feel defensive and worried about it. We got feedback a LOT from ‘the suits’ about how we need to tone it down, and how we needed to be more ‘professional’. We have seen them be bemused, defensive and threatened by our transparency and our lack of ‘small talk’.
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Now, after trying to hire people like that and seeing them destroy our culture in no time flat, we are unapologetically rock-n-roll, and we no longer explain, justify or defend it to anyone. It’s ‘do it our way, or don’t be here’. Or as one of our team leaders likes to say: Fit in or fuck off. Yep, I imagine that pushed a few readers’ buttons. This is how we think about our responsibility to each other. Playful, quirk, fun, focused, purposeful, values driven LEADERS
QUESTIONS TO ASK: 1. How does this task link to our mission? 2. Does doing this detract from, ignore, protect, support or ADD to our culture of member experience, innovation, values driven can't miss a day adventure? 3. Where does this need to be communicated so all feel included, validated & significant? 4. What is the perceived value of this + how do I ensure team members or members have this perception? 5. Have covered all categories when designing my plan, including the department it will impact, structure, schedules, communication? 6. Have we addressed the question 'What's in it for them?' When communicating a new initiative or change? 7. How can I link the change / innovation to each individual's professional growth? 8. What are the key concerns or objections I must anticipate & how do I ensure & communicate the solution | reframe | higher purpose? 9. How can I include everyone in the initiative? 10. Am I focused on the business imperatives – culture, clients, profits, sustainability, innovation, communication, experience – or focused on problems around 'tasks'?
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11. Do I know which categories are impacted by this decision? Have I communicated with who it impacts? 12. Do I have a plan that is structured around the categories, or is it random tasks? 13. Is the project plan broken into milestones & deadlines? 14. Does the plan link to the Business Plan | Mission & 90 days goals? 15. Is this documented according to logical processes & flow? 16. Are the benchmarks clearly in place so everyone knows what the criteria for success are clearly in place & communicated? 17. Are these documented checklists for the repetitive stuff? 18. Is there an ongoing process for review so systems can be updated? 19. Who is responsible for this & do they know how to succeed? 20. Do we check in, guide, mentor, brainstorm & direct the person as necessary so they can (1) succeed at the project & (2) learn how to generate solutions & plans independently? 21. Do we help our team link their TOP FIVE to their 90 days goals to their Business Plan to the mission & their professional development? 22. Do we link one individual's focus to (1) the bigger purpose? & (2) other departments, (3) new innovations we haven't initiated yet? 23. Is it fun, playful, purposeful & intense so the individual is having an experience & not a 'task'? 24. Do we have conversations often & consistently with individual team members about new ideas they have to improve the business? 25. Do we encourage 'Dependence', 'Independence' or 'Interdependence'?
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26. Are we sharing insights, observations & feedback informally as we wander around, to enable team members to access the creative process in real time, as it occurs, or over relying on formal meeting & processes? 27. Do we have random conversations or only formal meetings? 28. Do we help people see interconnectedness of all the moving parts & how each can impact on the other? 29. Are we approachable? Is your door open? 30. Are you present fully to the team or more into your computer & your own tasks? 31. You first? Your team first? The business first? WOW WAYS We have ways to wow that are appreciated, contribute to our culture, encourage thoughtfulness and empathy and bring out the best in people. Secret wows – every month of so everyone is assigned a secret wow and must deliver a secret wow to them in the form of a letter, a chocolate, a card, a flower, something… When we do an enrolment (make a friend) we ring the bell and dance. Yes, really. Every now and then we wear funny hats – it’s linked to members through Facebook so they share in the wow and the fun – that’s one of the reasons they love us – they wonder what we’ll do next. We have a themed dress up day about every five weeks – linked to members through fb and newsletter so they share in the wow and the fun – that’s why they love us – they wonder what we’ll do next We knight wow team members who do something cool Team members choose who wears the crown for the day for an achievement We award the Wizard of Wow once a month to the person who we believe has lived the values the best
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SHARON PEARSON Disruptive Leadership Module 4 Bringing the Wow To Life Edition 1 | Version 2 | December 16 Published by The Coaching Institute Copyright 2016 Š The Coaching Institute All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. In some instances, people or companies portrayed in this book are illustrative examples based on the author’s experiences, but they are not intended to represent a particular person or organisation.
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