Once all the ingredients are in the pot we keep them moving. We stir the pot. We allow time for the flavors to blend making a uniquely delightful collage of deliciousness.
Moreover, if the dish is truly great, we learn from our process and replicate it often. One of the treasured items in a home is a family recipe. When you find that recipe for success, it becomes a deeply imbued quality that others with envy and long to recreate.
Support the Process:
As your team members find their way to success, support them. STIRring up Success is a lengthy and often difficult process. Help them find satisfaction from never giving up. A well placed encouragement offers lasting motivation that money will never satisfy. Like the salt that amplifies the flavors of your dish, pull out your team’s skills by reinforcing their quality work.
Don’t merely say “good work today.” Explain to them how their work contributed to the overall goals of the team or the company. Help them see their role in making a difference. Appreciate with specifics.
Teach Them to Teach Others:
The best way to learn is to do, and the teacher always learns more than the student. We don’t just have succession plans because someone may die or leave our companies. Great leaders understand that when you teach someone how to do your work, you then become the master.
Great chefs do not merely possess great recipes. They also possess the qualities to bring their dishes to life in mouths of their guests. When you teach, you don’t just teach what to do; you teach what to do and why you should do it that way.
Discourage Getting Comfortable:
A little success can be toxic when mixed with a dash of complacency. As your team finds solutions and finally see their product make a splash on the plates of success, they can celebrate too early. Making a good dish is a wonderful accomplishment, but a great dish in the kitchen pales in comparison to a great dish in front of a paying customer.
Great teams do not stop. They constantly improve. A powerful adage reminds us that a “change is as good as a break.” Don’t let your team get so comfortable they put a pause on their creativity.
Be Consistently Repetitive:
The strongest feature of a well reinforced team is consistency. Repeat what works. Do it so often it becomes second nature. A great chef has cooked so much they know what needs a dash of this or a dash of that. Repetition helps us deeply instill positive qualities into our teams.
As you reinforce the culture of your team well, it will become obvious that each person is centrally tied to the success of the whole group. Once a stew is properly made any one ingredient possess the flavors of all the other ingredients.
Keep STIRring and working towards a solid team atmosphere.