In the last couple of posts we heard about the importance of separating oil and water (ie separating the financial investment in a Business with the operational responsibilities).
We also heard from Phil Jackson, the famous NBA coach, on the foundation which his teams have built success…the foundation of Love!
What Phil was really saying was that he needed to trust his team, only then could he separate himself from the on-court decisions. ‘Trust’ was the difference between his approach and that of the other coaches. Phil did not start with ‘winning’, he was there to teach the team how to make better decisions. Winning was the outcome…
Other coaches went about it the other way around and started with ‘winning’. When you start with a context of winning, trust is difficult because the need for control is difficult to give up and decision making continues to rest on the sidelines rather than on the court.
So how do you begin to trust, when every decision has historically been yours?
It all starts with the state of mind.
At any given time we are coming from a place of Love (playing to win) or Fear (playing not to lose). We are either moving towards a goal, or trying to avoid a mistake.
I was speaking to a Business recently who made a fundamental shift by removing it’s owner and founder from the operational decision-making. This process was difficult, the key block being trust. The way this CEO got around the trust block was by changing the context from fear to love. From fear of losing clients to teaching staff to make better decisions.
The cultural shift was significant – the energetic impact of empowerment was palpable. Commercially, the impact was also significant. Growth increased but was managed in a more controlled way. A system now manages the growth, not a person.
There was a realisation that if the staff were taken care of the clients would be too. It needed to start with the staff, clients were the outcome…
The CEO had become Phil Jackson!