It is April and I am sitting at LAX Airport. How life has changed from a year ago. The airport is crammed with unmasked people and my flight is overbooked. What has changed for me is that in the last year I am working with more teams.
I am on my way home from doing a half day retreat with clients. It is the third time I have been blessed with being able to work with this team.
I have watched the attendees become a better team and more effective in their work.
What is their great secret?
First the team is waking up to how their mind works. They have seen that when they take a breath and pause the stories in their head, they dip into the innate intelligence that lives inside of them. From this place wiser more compassionate choices are made.
Second, they are becoming aware of their automatic reactions. Most of the time we are not aware of how we automatically respond to situations and the results they produce. When we become aware we have a choice. Most of our actions are based on an unconscious thought pattern. For example, today when working with someone she realized how difficult it was for her to say no and to hear no. This was because she had a big story about what no means.
When she saw this, she could see that saying no is just saying no. It doesn’t have to mean anything. This freed her up from taking on work she could not do.
Third, the team spent time getting to see each other’s humanity. They see the beauty and care that lives in each member. They could see the strong spirit of one of their teammates willing to pursue what she wants, another's tender heart over the loss of colleagues and the vulnerability of their boss as she learned she could set clearer boundaries. When people feel safe and heard they do better together.
It was an honor to work with this team. If you have a team you would like to unite and would like to explore if I am a fit, please feel free to email me at anna@annascott.co or set up a time to speak with me. Here is a link to my schedule.