Seven Ways To Evolve Your Team For Greater Impact

“Once people experience it, they love it and it changes lives. Why aren’t we selling millions?”

In mid-2018 we found ourselves asking this question more urgently. Next Element was founded in 2008 and we have been successful by most measures. Our clients experience success with the Process Communication Model® and Leading Out of Drama®. They rave about the impact they’ve experienced, and are extremely loyal. So why aren’t things blowing up?

We posed this question to Stephan Mardyks, Co-Founder of SMCOV, a consultancy specializing in bringing products to market for a larger impact. This began another chapter in a journey that is changing how we approach our work, and how we relate to each other as a team. Here are seven ways our team is evolving in order to make bigger impact. How does this fit with your experience?

Know your why

How often have you heard this advice? Does it really sink in? Do you live it out every day? This has been a gradual process for our team, and the more we focus on it, the clearer everything else becomes. Leaders want to make a difference but are often drained by people problems. Work relationships should energize us, not make us want to quit.

We are on a mission to bring compassion to every relationship so that people can engage differently for breakthrough results. This is our why.

Organize, prioritize, measure

Bringing a new product to market in four months is a crazy goal. Without a project plan, clear objectives, a mechanism to prioritize, and measurable targets, there’s no way we could have met our target. Sandy’s background in project management has been invaluable.

Specialize but stay connected

Big impact means getting really good at the things that matter. Our learning curves have never been steeper, and we are striving to go from good to great. At the same time, it’s critical to stay connected with each other because inspiration, creativity and innovation don’t happen in a vacuum.

Nimble decision-making

How do we know when we have enough information to make a decision? Who needs to weigh in? Who owns the decision? These are just a few of the processes we’ve had to improve in order to keep things moving forward quickly even while our lives are filled with many other important things.

Partner with experts

We are a small business. We are proud of our frugality and do-it-yourself mentality. At the same time, we’ve had to let go of trying to figure it all out ourselves and refine our skills at finding and partnering with experts who can help us. These are some of the most important relationships we have.

Productive, not busy

Aggressive goals and tons of passion can easily combine to create a frenetic environment where activity is confused with productivity. This is a work in progress for us, to make sure that we all have clarity about what needs to be done that will actually advance our mission, not just keep us busy so we feel like we are doing something.

Relationships are the foundation

None of this works if relationships aren’t strong. Although we pride ourselves in living the relationship and communication tools we teach our clients, even our team needs regular attention to make sure we are being open, resourceful and persistent with each other. Our discovery of the Three Switches for a Compassion Mindset has been transformative for our team. It gives us an extremely powerful and simple way to check ourselves on what matters, and re-set when needed.

How do these principles resonate with your experience? Listen to the On Compassion with Dr. Nate podcast to learn new ways to create compassion at work!

Copyright Next Element Consulting, LLC 2019