Walk a Mile in My Shoes
“The first duty of love is to listen” — Paul Tillich
What the heck do YOU do all day? Do you have the feeling that no one else truly understands what you do? You’re probably right. Have you ever wondered what other folks on your team do all day? Does it seem like they just should be able to get the work done — but for some strange reason they can’t?
While it may be true that we can ALL improve our productivity, chances are we simply don’t comprehend fully what our teammates do. A wonderful way to pull together as a team is to “walk a mile in each others’ shoes”
So, with the realities of running a business on a day to day basis — how do you do that?
Here are a few ideas:
- If you can — spend a day, or an hour, or 15 minutes with a co-worker understanding what they do by being their assistant, or shadow. This works well if relationships are already strong and folks don’t feel threatened AND you can create the time.
- Switch jobs for a week. This works well for folks who do the same thing, but with a different team or set of customers.
- Have a teambuilding day where each team member runs through their job, task by task, and presents the details of how they do what they do. I also encourage folks to share what they feel to be their strong points on how they do their job and where they have challenges — then, if you have created an open and non-threatening environment.
There are wonderful benefits to walking a mile in the shoes of your teammates — you truly will develop a new level of empathy and understanding, which will bring you closer together — and more productive.
You will see powerful ways to become more productive and efficient. And — you’ll have a blast!!
I have lots more ideas that I’ve successfully used with many different kinds of teams including boards of directors, sales and marketing and finance teams — so I know they work. If you want me to help you plan a fun day with your team, give me a call.
Do you have some fun things that you do with your team that you’d like to share? If so, please send them to me and I’ll share them with this group.
