What is our Team DNA
The Untapped Contagion to Motivate and Connect
It is contagious.
One person acts in a significant way. Another listens, joins and follows. Then another walks past and thinks, 'whats going on over there?' They check it out and get wrapped up in the vibe. Then before you know it a crowd forms and a movement has begun.
We love being a part of a group. Mark Williams gives us a neuro-scientific insight into this in his book, The Connected Species and how deeply it is baked into our biology.
In 1895 Gustave Le Bon published his thoughts on the idea of Crowd Psychology in The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, which he explains as:
"impulsiveness, irritability, incapacity to reason, the absence of judgement of the critical spirit, the exaggeration of sentiments, and others"
There is nothing rational about how people behave in crowds. But, it can be understood and the lessons
can be utilised to create momentum in our teams.
This is easy to understand if you go to one of the modern cathedrals of elite sport like the MCG, Old Trafford, or the Rose Bowl. In these crowds sits sensitive, intelligent, well educated individuals that somehow morph into wild beasts spitting vile towards officials, opposition players, and opposition fans. To the point where seemingly balanced citizens cannot be trusted to sit amongst each other and segregation of fans becomes the norm.
Do not underestimate the power of groups. All underpinned by identity.
Simon Sinek made famous the idea of 'starting with why', but I will always remember being in the audience for a Dan Gregory keynote where he highlighted it is more important to 'start with who'.
This make so much sense to me, as it is difficult to identify why we exist if we do not know who are in the first place!
So, who are you?
Such a simple question that stumps almost all of us.
I have been running this process with clients for many years as a part of my Strategic Facilitation work, and to start the process I like to ask the following questions:
What does our heritage say about us? Anyone living in a multicultural society or has a migrant family line will see how much heritage says about who we are. Find the artifacts, stories, and descriptions of 'our people' that came before us.
What does our geography say about us? Are we land people, or sea people, or city/country people? Location matters and environment is a part of who we are.
What does our community say about us? You are the company you keep. What are the demographics and descriptors of our partners, clients and staff?
What do our economics say about us? What is our position in the marketplace and how do we fit into our community's economics and budgets? Are we premium or utilitarian? Are we accessible or exclusionary?
There is no better or worse when it comes to the answers of these questions, there is only accurate or inaccurate.
We can (and often need to) go deeper and discuss what describes us at our best, what relevance we have in the current landscape, and what the team/brand/club/business evokes in us (i.e. inspires in us).
It can sound conceptual, but in reality it is merely surfacing and stating in clear language what is already there. Once we have defined this we can test it, explore it, question it, and constantly update it.
For those lacking motivation, connection, or clarity within their team, this may be the most impactful exercise you engage with to create your own contagion for talent and clients alike. Nail who you are and use it in every decision and conversation you can.
