Gav outside our offices
A big part of the work we do at Leading Teams is encouraging teams and individuals to take some time to reflect and identify their learnings from the journey so far.
As the calendar ticked over into March I realised I have now been with Leading Teams for a touch over three months so I thought it would be a good moment to reflect on my journey so far and initial thoughts on joining Leading Teams.
Early days
My first touch point with Leading Teams was in 2009 when I was living and working over in London with the AFL. At that time Leading Teams were branching out into the UK market and with the Australian expat sports industry quite small over in London we had several mutual connections.
Over the subsequent years, I was able to get an insight into the work and the values of Leading Teams as a behaviour-first organisation that drives high performance.
Personally, although I had been in many organisations and teams that had their values plastered all over the walls, I found that often the behaviours of the individuals, and in particular the senior leaders within those teams, were in direct contrast to what they preached.
I admit that the question I always asked myself about Leading Teams was, are they just another organisation that preaches values or would they truly live and foster their core beliefs?
Coming on board
When the opportunity to join Leading Teams presented itself in October 2017, I had the chance to test this question.
I also had to ask myself whether I wanted to change out of a job I was enjoying (at AFL Victoria), whilst awaiting the arrival of my first child. Life was good, life was comfortable for me at that time; did I want to put that at risk by changing jobs?
The quote ‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do’ has often dictated my decision-making and I decided to apply it to the new Leading Teams role. Happily, that decision has been one of the best I have made, and I feel extremely privileged to now be part of this high performing team.
The reality of life at Leading Teams
What I have witnessed and experienced in the last three months is an absolute commitment to our trademark and to the values of our organisation.
This has been highlighted through my induction period and in our language, but most importantly in the day-to-day behaviours of each team member.
One of our values is to live our model, to ensure that the messages we facilitate with our clients are actively used and tested within our own team. Not only does this provide us with valuable experience as facilitators but it also puts our team in the position of the participant, so that we have an understanding of how our program feels.
I’ve had a number of people ask me, ’what is it like to work at Leading Teams?’ For me it comes down to a feeling, a feeling of being a truly valued team member.
While I do feel the weight of high expectations around our vision to be the ‘world’s best facilitators’ and our mission of ‘helping teams and individuals improve’, I do this with the strong support, guidance and energy of a high performing team. Even in my short time, I know that my team members care for me, empower me and actively want to help me improve and succeed.
In summary, I feel privileged to now be part of a high performing team. I am more motivated, more eager and more confident now in my ability to be a high performing individual.
Having finally found this for myself at Leading Teams, my wish is for other people to have the same feeling and sense of value in their own workplace. I encourage you to ask yourself:
- Does your team have high levels of support, trust and respect?
- Does your team have an agreed set of values or behaviours? How often is this reviewed?
- Is feedback given in your team to drive performance? Is it honest, is it face to face?
If you would like assistance creating this positive culture within your own team or organisation, please feel free to contact us on 03 9654 3744.
Gavin joined Leading Teams in November 2017, coming from an international career in the sport and corporate worlds. He is a Facilitator based in Melbourne.
Learn more about Gavin.
