Boomerang Team Members

image: https://pixabay.com/photos/butterfly-red-flowers-pollination-7862893/

As a sports fan I hate it when a favorite team member leaves the team. I do remember when an athlete would spend an entire career with one team. They felt like part of the family. Their bright moments seemed to shine in our memories like common threads of a larger family. Today that is rare. Players come and go often before we get to know them or appreciate their gifts.

It feels the same in the working world. People come and go and we never hear from them again. The knowledge they acquired is gone from the team. The spirit they stirred is mixed up with forgotten signals from the past.

But, have you ever had a team member leave and then return?

It's high risk of course. They do not return as the same person they were before they left. There are new bruises, new scars, and even new skills we hadn't seen from them before.

One of the risks is that in returning they soon realize why it was that they left in the first place. It's even possible that things did not get better, and so they seem worse. What do you do with that except leave again?

But sometimes the fit is better. Sometimes that team member returns fresh and alive and experienced and, yes, even grateful to be back. When that happens everybody wins -- orientation and training time is reduced, cultural norms are easier to follow, inside jokes return to form.

When team members can leave and return growth and wisdom increase.

Is that worth the risk? That's up to you...

-- doug smith

Action Plan:

Think about a former team member who had been a productive member of your team. Would you take them back if they were interested in rejoining your team?

What would you say to them about your team today?

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The Games We Play

Last week I had some fun, with two different classes, in an activity to re-invent games with no losers. The only other condition was that each game also had to be fun. As it turns out, competition is not necessary in order to have fun. The creativity won the day as games developed without any losers. Imagine that. Playing a game without disappointment. Playing a game of cooperation, of collaboration, of mutually beneficial outcomes. It's possible. It's fun. And, there are no side-effects. The games we play form us in ways we may not expect. If we can invent more games, more situations, more relationships where everybody wins imagine what a world that would be. -- doug smith

Of Course...

Are you on course to achieve your biggest goals? Is your plan in motion and working? Of course! Will you need to make some adjustments along the way? Of course! If your goal really matters -- to you with some intensity, you will do what you need to do in order to achieve that goal. If it doesn't really matter, there's almost nothing to be done. You need the joy. You need the spark. You need the course of action that lights you up so much that it lights up your path to success. The reason for your goal is as important as your goal. Why does your goal matter? Why now? Why you? Does that level of focus really make a difference? Of course! -- doug smith

Personal Reminder

If you think about something that needs to be done but don't do it now, when will you do it? Now would be good. Now is the time. -- doug smith

Seriously

If you take your goals seriously they will take you where you need to go. -- doug smith

Up to You

Other people can help, but achieving your goals is up to you. -- doug smith

Save that thought...

Whenever I ask a class "have you ever said anything that you regret saying?" the answer is always 100% yes. A mumble easily becomes a stumble when it's tainted with trauma, distrust, anger, or sorrow. There are things we could say that don't help in any way. It's better to keep those things to o oneself. I had a boss once who wisely told me "Doug, when you're upset, pause and count to ten." "And what if I stay upset?" "Then count to a hundred." She might as well have said count to a thousand, because I knew exactly what she meant. Some things do not need to be said. We've all got better words inside us willing to take that mistake away. -- doug smith

Competition?

I often ask my classes "What's the difference between conflict and problem solving?". The leading answer is "competition." Conflict is a problem with opposing solutions. Two opposing goals. Competition. That can still be resolved, but it may need to be managed. Recognizing what you've got is a good start. -- Doug Smith

A Touch of the Poet

Highly structured? Wildly improvised? Harmonic, or distorted? Fast or slow? Analytics help, but there's nothing quite like a touch of the poet in solving problems. The deep pondering, the pedantic piecing together, the frantic splash of passion. Whether or not they know it every problem solver has a touch of the poet. Are you in touch with your touch of the poet? -- doug smith

A Daily Goal

Some people take a vitamin every day. Some people read a passage from a favorite book every day. Positive daily habits support a successful life. Set a goal at least once a day and then achieve that goal. It builds the kind of momentum that leads to wonderful things. And you do want wonderful things, right? -- doug smith

Not So Obvious, Is It?

People work on bad goals far too often. It sounds good, it reaches for some vague feeling of satisfaction, and yet the goal is a poor match for who they are or where they are. How you form your goals matters. Get the goal right before you work on it to save yourself lots of aggravation. Keep it simple: action word, result, and time. Keep it ambitious but possible. And check to make sure that what you want is what the goal will give you. Otherwise, that poor goal is a waste of time. -- doug smith

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