A Leaders Roadmap to Create a Successful Team | Catherine Mattiske
Catherine Mattiske
Helping Unlock Inner Genius | Large Corporate & Higher Ed | Author: 30 Books | AI
By now, leaders have realized the quitting trend will stay with us for some time and that finding a dazzling candidate has become a global issue. Many people quit their jobs because they feel they're not being recognized for their talents. This is something that most people are not aware of. For leaders, the challenge is recruiting quality talent, then retaining them in growing teams.
According to a 2022 survey by Assurex Global[1], 90% of respondents indicated that challenge No. 1 is to recruit quality talent. 45% said it was challenging to retain their current staff. However, retention is equally essential to ensure the business's success.
Create a Successful Team - 4 Strategies That May No Longer Work
To find the correct answers, leaders should understand who are actually the people that are resigning and potentially looking for another suitable job.
According to the research by McKinsey [2], a "job hunter's" profile has changed, where people available or searching for a job can be divided into traditionalists and non-traditionalists. Traditionalists are career-oriented people motivated to work full-time for large companies in return for a competitive compensation package, a good job title or status at the company, and career advancement.
However, when a company is "hunting for the unicorns," the nontraditional group represents a pool whose immense potential is growing and needs to be looked at individually. These people are leaving traditional employment, going to temporary or part-time, or starting their own businesses. McKinsey divides them into the following categories:
1. The Do It Yourselves (looking for autonomy)
2. The Caregivers (at home but wanting more)
3. The Idealists (younger workforce 18-24)
4. The Relaxers (career doesn't come first anymore)
Each group deserves its value proposition, as they have different needs and priorities. But while this approach may prove efficient, companies may still struggle to develop a general strategy.
A Long Road From Attraction To Retention
If and how the businesses employ individual strategies to attract different groups and if it genuinely impacts the numbers is a question for specific research.
Take a look at the data available. According to WTW [3], the top two general actions taken by leaders to respond to both attraction and retention challenges are:
1. Putting broader emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (70%)
2. Providing increased workplace flexibility
What does Diversity in the Workplace Mean?
The fact is it means different things to different people. For example, here is one of the definitions [4]:
The existence of variations of different characteristics in a group of people. These characteristics could be everything that makes us unique, such as our cognitive skills and personality traits, along with the things that shape our identity.
A common misconception [5] is that "workplace diversity" equals meeting specific employee race or gender categories quotas. In fact, "diversity" concerning human resources is a way of collaboration that encourages a new and positive outlook among coworkers. It promotes acceptance, respect, and teamwork. Companies that overcome specific diversity issues often achieve greater productivity, profit, and company morale. It starts with recruiting diverse people, who learn, connect, communicate and influence differently.
The Biggest Benefit of Workplace Diversity Is Simple
It avoids group thinking [6]. First documented in 1971, groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals avoid disagreeing with a group or expressing doubt. Even groups with the best intentions can fall prey to groupthink. A diverse team provides access to a broader range of skill sets, experiences, and ways of thinking, behaving and communicating. This facilitates the growth of new ideas and reduces groupthink.
Create a Successful Team – Engage Diversity
It is precisely this type of diversity that is the focus of the Inner Genius approach. Knowing and tapping into individual strengths and features of the 12 Archetypes, with 6 different individual Power-Ups. For example, suppose there is a team of 20 people. Knowing their diverse communication preferences and how to best utilize them prevents group thinking with other benefits such as:
5 Steps For Leaders For Team Success
You can use the Inner Genius Toolkit on your road to driving your Team toward your envisioned destination.
1. MAP YOUR TEAM
After completing their Inner Genius Profile, each team member will know their Inner Genius Archetype. Complete the Team Mapping Tool and ponder how each team member prefers to learn new information.
Consider these critical questions:
The answers to these questions provide leaders insight into each team member's Genius Zone. For example, suppose you can keep people in their Genius Zone. In that case, they will be more productive, happier, and get through their work quicker and more efficiently. And, when people feel productive, and happier and know that they are positively contributing to the organization, chances are they'll stay in their job.
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2. HIRE DIVERSE ARCHETYPES
When you complete the Inner Genius Team Map, you instantly notice the gaps. Many leaders hire people like themselves. Their Team Map has just one or two Inner Genius Archetypes, and other Archetypes are nowhere to be seen on their Map.
Meet Oliver – Fashion Innovator
If you're like me, then you love to be surrounded by people that are smarter than you. Oliver, a leader in a global fashion brand, wanted to surround himself with people who are geniuses and who can make fast-paced decisions. Oliver's Archetype is The Futurist, the most famous Archetype about "blue-sky" and strategic thinking. He hired six people for a new team focused on Influencer Networking – all are The Futurist Archetype. Oliver's Team is amazing at brainstorming, collaborative, and strategic thinking; everyone is energized and motivated in this situation. Oliver leaves every session on a high. Super motivated. Super excited. Then, what? Who is there to do the implementation of the strategy? Who will be dotting the I's and crossing the T's? Who will be asking the big 'why' questions? It's not to say that Oliver's team members can't do these things…. it's that it's not their Genius Zone. The detail, construction, action, and connection to what's been done before are not easy, quick, or natural for his team. By contrast, if Oliver's team members had different Archetypes, each person would operate in their Genius Zones to collaborate, invent and, importantly, implement the strategy.
Balancing Your Inner Genius Team Map
Ideally, a great team is a balanced, diverse team of different Archetypes. Let's look at balancing a team by asking these questions:
Today's best leaders aim to hire people who, together as a team, can operate in any organizational condition. Therefore, having a balanced Team Map, where each of the 12 Archetypes is represented, is optimum. When you have a balanced Team Map, the Team has naturally different Genius Zones. A leader will see diverse ways of connecting, and distinct communication patterns, and bring their uniqueness to a collaborative team environment.
3. CONNECT THE TEAM
Now that you have mapped your team members, sharing the results is key. Each Inner Genius profile includes an Archetype Poster with keywords about how they operate in their Genius Zone: how they like to learn, connect, communicate and influence. Sharing each team member's Archetype in a team meeting or workshop gives the entire team insight into how to maximize everyone's individual Genius Zone, and then as a collective, the Team is working in their team Genius Zone.
4. USE THE INNER GENIUS TRANSLATION BRIDGE
In this phase, let team members dig deeper into their communication preferences. Each Archetype has their own language, and when this language is used, they lock into the message quickly and easily. When a leader and team member, have different Archetypes, it means that they are speaking different languages. Akin to naturally speaking English, when the other person only speaks French. You could speak English all day long, and no much, if any of your message will be understood. You need a translator. The Archetype Translator Tool does just that. Knowing a team member's Archetype language means that you can speak, write and present 'their way,' instead of your way.
5. GAIN SYNERGY WHERE 1+1+1+1=>4
In the age of social media, communication and collaboration have become more and more complex. The ability to manage and provide a clear understanding of these interactions has become a key component of success for many people.
"A team working in their individual Genius Zones produces synergy. This is when the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, team members, or any group of people produces a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects."
Catherine Mattiske
As a leader, when you tap into the Genius Zone of your team members, the inertia of the Team is unstoppable, and synergy will result. Consciously assigning each person tasks in their Genius Zone will enable effortless completion, and they will excel and work in a flow. Do not forget an occasional excursion outside a team member's comfort zone to inspire a growth mindset. Using the Inner Genius Power-Up Accelerator Handbook for Leaders helps navigate work allocation for maximum results.
Conclusion
With the ever-changing world of work, the high cost of attracting talent, the need for higher performance, and the need to maintain momentum, leaders are looking for ways to sustain their organizations over the long term. One of the biggest challenges a business faces is attracting and retaining the best talent. It is essential to ensure that your new hire is the right fit for your Team. To do this, you must know your current team members, what makes them tick, and what's needed to balance the Genius Zones across your Team.
Leaders and organizations find themselves trying to understand diversity and inclusion. Although there are hundreds of definitions and categories of diversity and inclusion, the bottom line is it should promote acceptance, respect, and teamwork. Hiring and growing people with different communication preferences may be just the first solid step. How people learn manifests how each person communicates and collaborates. Leaders who focus on diversity at this foundational level get people to work with tasks and projects allocated according to their Genius Zone.
When a group of individuals operates in their Genius Zone, the impact on team collaboration and output ultimately creates overwhelming inertia and synergy for organizational acceleration, unity, and growth.
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Catherine Mattiske, best known for inventing ID9 Intelligent Design and the Genius Quotient (GQ), is a leading light in the corporate learning and team building industries. She regularly works with large and small organizations to help team members better understand one another while effectively collaborating and boosting individual and team morale and productivity in the workplace.
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International Publicist | MichelleTennant.com | Psychology Today Contributor | Group Fitness Instructor | Storyteller-To-The-Media
2yThanks for this roadmap! My team is so important to my sucess.
Founder at HNR Tech & Testlify | Transform hiring with data-driven assessments. Screen 3x faster, reduce bias, and build a diverse talent pool.
2yIrrespective of which industry you're in, it's always about taking care of employees and being open to their opinions. All of these don't only make them feel safe but make them feel an integrated part of the organization.