Code of Honor Training Kit  

Once a group decides that it wants to really operate as a tight high performance team, it must set the operating tolerances at varying degrees of tightness depending on how high performance they want to be.  Most organizations have operational standards for producing and delivering their goods or services, but have no behavioral standards that govern the conduct between team members or clients. 

Standards must be created by the team itself and should be created based upon the specific behavioral upsets and or problems that are unique to that team.  Standards must also be policed by the team itself.  In other words if a standard is breached any or all team members are obligated to "call it."    

There is an appropriate time, place and way to call it that does not humiliate the offending individual.  Remember that public criticism is very difficult for most people to take well. 
Here are some hints on "calling it": 

1.      Use non-threatening language and tonality.  Cool off if necessary first.  

2.      Use the word "we" and appeal to the benefit of the team rather than making it a personal issue.

3.      Best to call another person on something in private, one-to-one.

4.      Qualify your concern about their reaction if necessary and your true intent in improving life for everyone concerned... not about 'blazing' anyone.  Lead with personal fears, emotions and considerations in the beginning of the conversation (i.e.  "I have been a bit afraid to communicate this to you for fear of...") 

For more on teamwork, employee conduct and the five remaining tips on "calling it" please refer to our Code of Honor Training Kit.
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10 Steps To Make Your Business Boom  
 
You may have heard the phrase "Teamwork makes the dream work" before.
 
This quote is absolutely true.  The best way to ensure the success of your business is to make sure that your team is functioning together efficiently.
 
The best way to do this is to create a Code of Honor.
 
A Code of Honor is a set of rules that everyone in your business has agreed upon in order to shape employee conduct in an organized fashion.
 
Some sample rules are as follows:
 
"Never abandon a teammate in need."
"Celebrate all wins."
"Be on time."
 
Note:  For many more sample rules please refer to Blair Singer's book The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins.
 
There are several steps in creating a Code of Honor:
 
1.  Find a sane moment in which to create the code.
 
2.  Find recurring issues that repeatedly interfere with the performance of the team.
 
3.  Everyone participates!
 
4.  Talk about various instances of behavior, and how everyone felt about them, both positively and negatively.
 
5.  As soon as you are able to decide on a rule, write it down!
 
6.  Be specific.
 
7.  Don't try to legislate moods.
 
8.  Make sure that the rules are somewhat of a "stretch."
 
For the remaining two steps as well as an in depth explanation of each step please refer to Singer's book The ABC's of Building a Team That Wins.
 
For help with drafting, establishing and implementing a Code of Honor please contact your local SalesPartner.
 
All SalesPartners are thoroughly trained in developing a Code of Honor custom fit for your company.
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What is a team?  Blair Singer defines it as a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to:

    •    A common purpose and vision
    •    A set of performance goals
    •    A set of personal performance standards
    •    An approach and strategy
    •    Demonstrating a commitment by all members
    •    Exhibiting trust and trustworthiness between the players
    •    Holding all mistakes as "learning experiences" and takes the time to "debrief" what was learned in all cases

Now is a good time to ask yourself, "do I have a staff, or a team?"  Chances are good that you only have a staff.  What's the difference?  A staff works independently and requires you to prod them individually.  A team holds each other accountable for their actions and challenges one another to take their performances to the next level.

A Code of Honor is what you need to turn your staff into a team.  Create a set of rules with your staff that they all feel invested in and responsible for.  Now your team will become more motivated to work together and achieve your goals.  For help with this refer to our Code of Honor Training Kit.
 
Once you have established a team the key to keeping it working is trust.  Here are some elements required to build, maintain and restore trust:
 
    1.    Create brightness of the future or clear and beneficial goals that have an ending in sight
    2.    Maintain frequency of interaction between the members
    3.    Purposely make and keep agreements to form a track record of trustworthiness
    4.    Build and maintain rapport based upon use of language, tonality, behaviors and understanding other's points of view

This topic and many more are more thoroughly explored in the training kit.
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