In this first blog of 2021, Chris Budd shares below an idea for how to get the best out of teams…….

If there was a phrase which best encapsulated the times that we live in, it would, for me, be this:

“That’s really awful. Someone should do something about that.”

Maybe 2021 is the year we chose to do something ourselves?

Turning Right

Let me give you a tiny example. The road on which I live is just off a busy a road. I therefore often have to turn right to get into my road.

I sit in the middle of the road indicating that I want to turn right, an open stretch of road in front of me, cars passing by in the opposite direction. As I wait for a gap in the road, I look at every single driver wondering if they will be the one to slow down and let me turn.

Usually they do not. I sometimes have to wait for 50 or 60 cars to go by before somebody slows down and, at no inconvenience to them, allows me to turn right onto my road.

What occurs to me every time is each of these people will, possibly in that same journey, be sitting, waiting to turn right, hoping for somebody to slow down and let them cross.

Who Praises You?

Do you feel that you get the recognition you deserve for your job? How often will your boss or your colleagues say thank you or well done?

I know that, as a business owner, it is extremely rare for anyone to say well done to me, much less to offer a thank you. It’s just not expected of the boss, even though the boss is expected to say well done to everyone else.

Be That Someone

As I sit in my car indicating, wondering why no one is letting me turn even though they will be in this situation themselves shortly, I make a vow to myself. I know that these are not bad people. They are concentrating on driving, or perhaps distracted by listening to the radio.

It takes a conscious effort to do something nice.

I therefore vow that I will let other people turn right in front of me wherever possible. I look for opportunities. I don’t always see them, because my mind may be elsewhere, but I do try and slow down to let people turn whenever possible.

Similarly, rather than waiting for someone to say well done or thank you to me, I make an effort to do so to others.

I Should Do Something About That

If an owner has made a real effort to let go; if a new leader has tried something they’ve not done before but it has worked; if an employee has taken on a project and made it happen.

People need praise. But rather than waiting to receive it, why not, in 2021, try and give it as much as possible. You’ll be amazed at how often it comes back

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