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Seems simple enough...right? Sometimes doing the right thing is hard. Sometimes it goes against the norm or isn't a popular idea, but trust me you never lose when you do the right thing! I have always found that if I followed my moral compass I would win in the long run. So what are some examples of winning, even when its not easy and sometime plain difficult.
Give Honest Feedback
No employee should ever be surprised if they get a poor review. I find that if you take time every week to work with your team, to hear what their peers/partners think, then you can have less difficult conversations and more coaching moments. As leaders, we should be giving honest feedback daily, and taking time to meet with our team one on one on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. I know it isn't fun to have difficult conversations, but trust me the problem will only get worse and the discussion will only get harder. I love when I see a leader working with an under-performer only to see that employee begin to shine. This is what leadership is about - making a difference and if you take the time you can be a leader with a thriving team!
Acknowledge someone NOT on your team
It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day with our direct reports, that you don't realize how many people actually impact your success. We are great at thanking our team and calling them out, but take a moment to call out someone not on your team Thank them, acknowledge them or simply just say nice job. The days are packed and our schedules are hectic, but it sure feels good to get an unexpected acknowledgement. I try to acknowledge a well done job whenever I see it and that is even outside of work. It can be on a airplane, at Starbucks or on the phone with the customer service agent. Take time to tell someone Nice Job!
Get involved outside your organization
Make time to feed your soul, whether that is volunteering, learning a new sport or hobby, and especially making time to doing something with your family, It is important that we all feed our soul and no job or corporate can do that 100% of the time. It is easy to get stuck at work late, running around with a huge to do list BUT life is precious. I often say it is not about how many breathes we take, but how many moments take our breathe away.
Some of these things may seem simple, but do a quick invetory and see how many times you have done the following in the last week...
1. Coached or mentored someone
2. Acknowledged someone not on your team
3. Done something for your soul
4. Spent time with your family
If you think winning is about hitting your budget, then you will spend your career chasing the percent to budget, and miss all the moments when you could have been helping make someone become a better person. And that is how you never lose!