“Director of Vibe”

Once a leader has built their team on good vibrations they must seek to fine tune those vibrations. Leaders must create harmony on their team as the Director of Vibe.

Pursue difference over diversity!
Much is talked about in the business world about creating diversity. However, most of the time I believe this is purely political correctness. The key is to pursue people who are different in their strengths from one another. A great example of this is how athletic teams are built on roles and the abilities of players to do one task extremely well.
Dennis went to a junior college for the first two years of his collegiate experience where he was an outstanding scorer and rebounder for his basketball team. His tremendous athleticism combined with his great passing ability even at a lower than division 1 program got him drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the mid 80’s. He was known for a couple of things. His eccentric even carnal ways, but mostly for his ability to rebound the basketball earned him the nick name, “The Worm”. He just had an uncanny ability to get rebounds even against taller, more physical players he could rebound. His athleticism made him a valuable defender as he could defend against quick guards, power forwards, and even taller centers effectively. Dennis Rodman won 5 championships in the NBA as uniquely gifted rebounder. His differences are what made him a tremendous talent for the game of basketball. His strength was his rebounding and defense. He fit well with players who need the ball more and were scorers.
Pursue difference not diversity. Diversity is simply based on appearance. Difference is based on adding people to your team with different strengths.

Orchestrate your (team) choir to create a masterpiece!

Make your team accountable for the team’s success.
It is the leader’s responsibility to make sure that his or her team understands that they are accountable for how the team is doing. The leader is ultimately responsible and is recognized for the teams overall success. If the team does well the leader has done well. This aspect of leadership is polarizing. It is much more difficult to manage alliances than it is to lead armies to battle. Dwight D. Eisenhower Peter Keostenbaum call’s it leadership’s key polarity! You are 100% responsible for the work your team does. However, as leader you must risk motivating your team to be 100% responsible for how your team does.
The first step in orchestrating a masterpiece is to help your team understand that how they perform their task on the team is going to lead to the team’s success or failure. As Bill Belicheck, Coach of the New England Patriots is fond of saying, “Do your job!”

The Leader’s wand is his response!
As the team does their job it is the leader’s responsibility to keep the team motivated and on track toward the goals that have been set. How the leader responds is like waving the Orchestrator wand to different parts of the band. He encourages some to play on, and other to stop. A leader’s words are powerful for good in encouraging the team on creating a masterpiece. The leader’s response to a defeat or poor performance is, “I blew it. I could have done a better job.” The leader’s response to a victory or great performance is, “We did it. I love the way everyone got on board and did such a great job. What an awesome win for our team.” The leader’s response to someone who is performing poorly but you know they are a big part of the team is to encourage them. When you win everyone including the crowd cheers you on, but when you fail the leader needs to encourage and cheer you one. (pg. 90) The leader understands how the team fits together and how to get the most out of the different parts of the team by waving his wand (response & words) appropriately.

Create an environment of simultaneity.
To orchestrate a master piece give creative time to your team for listening to each other. Team meetings are more about letting your team hear and see other’s perspectives on any issue than about the leader reiterating the direction or goals of the organization. Allow your team to see things from many perspectives simultaneously by listening to one another. In these meeting is more important for the leader to listen than it is for the leader to talk. As a leader you create a masterpiece by being transparent. Leaders create harmony by showing compassion, respect for others, and by making everyone feel important. (pg. 92)

Create an environment of compliments
Apply John Nordstrom’s rules for communication.
No desk: It is important to get out of your office and to do life with your team. Getting out of the office will give your team the understanding that there are no barriers to getting to you. Getting out of the office makes you seem approachable and available. Both are necessary for harmony.
Compliment someone each day. It is essential that as a leader you attempt to begin each conversation with your team with a compliment. In the same way that a smile effectively brings life to people so a compliment brings breath into the soul of the person you are talking to. People will look forward to seeing you if you have something good to say to everyone.

How do you create harmony as the Vibe Director?
What are the vibes like on your team right now?
What is one way you can start to create greater harmony on your team as a leader right now?

Summoned Leaders Seek Good Vibrations

The biggest challenge for leaders is finding the right people to join you in your mission. This is the area in which your leadership will be most challenged and most defined. Finding the right people to put in the right places to lead in the most important way is essential to success for you organization. When it comes to building a team you want to have a team “you can listen too.” A “sound” leader will not expect his team to only listen to and follow him, but the leader will listen to his team in order to lead. As Dr. Sweet states that a summoned leader will say, “I hear you.”

1. Seeking Good Vibrations
“Hire attitude and aptitude. Train for skill.” Leanard Sweet
“Great leadership is less trying to find people to fit in than finding people who can fit together.”
Leaders conduct job “inner-views” and not interviews.
People who fit together form the best team.

2. The Right Spirit
The growing recognition of the dangers of a “bad spirit” can be seen in the way more and more companies are firing clients and contractors. It is now company policy to do business with clients that “fit” in the business world and have the right spirit.
The wrong spirit is the spirit of negativity. Negative people send out lousy vibrations and can be very destructive to your team, and to your organization. It doesn’t matter what values or what your mission statement says if you have negative people on your team you are going to struggle.
You are looking for clients, for employees, and for volunteers with the “right spirit”. They are enthusiastic, they are optimistic, they seem to smile, and they love people. These have the right spirit. As a leader building a team “spirit comes first.” (pg. 78) Greatness to your organization comes from within – spirit, character, loyalty, honesty, soul. (pg. 79)
As a leader seek to hire people with the right spirit.

3. Be a “right spirited” leader.
There are three aspects to leading with a right spirit, confidence, humility, and Risk taking.
a. Confidence
A right spirited leader will have confidence to lead. He will have great energy. A confident leader will have the energy and enthusiasm to make things move. Organizations help their leaders have confidence by giving the leader the support he needs to lead. The organization should allow the leader the means to determine the goals, the provision and financial motivation to achieve those goals, and the power and authority necessary to accomplish those goals.
A confident leader will have focused enduring goals that allow him to determine a direction in which to head. He will have the resources necessary to move his company forward once the goals are established, and he will be compensated well enough to keep him motivated. The last thing a confident leader needs is the appropriate power and authority to accomplish any task that is before him.
b. Humility
A right spirited leader will have the ability to check their ego. They will not “Edge God Out”. These leaders are honest. The humble leader is happier and more motivated and incredibly interested in how the “team” is doing rather than how he is doing. A leader with the right spirit will promote “team spirit.” (pg 82) You will hear them talking about their team and how the team is doing. Not only does the leader rise to his calling, but the Divine raises up those team members that fit on his team. These humble leaders have a cheerfulness and natural modesty (pg 82) that promotes this fact.
c. Taking Risks
Leaders with the right spirit are aware of the necessary risks that need to be taken to move their organization forward. Risk is just a short name for movement, for change (pg 83). In leadership the “handicap principle” states that a leader must pay a price to ensure the survival or thriving of his organization and team. Leaders have to pay a significant cost, or handicap to ensure the survival of the team. The leader must take the necessary risk to build the “right spirit” into his organization.
Having a right spirit comes first. It is more important than vision and values that unify us. As leader the greatest risk you may take is letting someone with the organization that has a negative spirit go. There are three negatives that leaders can’t tolerate. People who are not enthusiastic or fired up should be fired. Second, people who have an emotionally sorrow disposition that is toxic to the team should be let go. Lastly, people who are afraid to move for fear of making mistakes, or for not learning from those mistakes should be let go.
Leaders take the risks that allow them to create the “right spirit” on their teams. In turn this creates a team spirit that allows the leader to say, “I hear you.” Seek good vibrations.

Lend an Ear. Summoned leaders lead through sound.

• Summoned leaders have a hearing heart.
  
  The first thing I believe summoned leaders have is the ability to follow God’s voice. A heart that is sensitive to the voice of God, to God’s ways, and to the things that God desires. In the scriptures they call this righteousness. Ethics are God’s rules and they often flow from his scriptures. This is the sound that God makes; ethics. A hearing heart will listen to God’s way for life, and for business.

• Summoned leaders hear their vision.
  
  If you are going to hear a vision you will have to learn to listen for the vibrations of your world, and hear the hum of people’s souls. All around us people, employees, partners, and even guests. These are going through life and as they experience their life they are creating a sound wave, a vibration that leaders must hear. These vibrations of their souls help leaders create a vision for business, and or ministry. Leaders will get a vision from assessing what the vibrations are of those that they serve.

• Summoned leaders set the beat for their organizations.
  
  Leaders will set the beat for their organizations. This is “sound” Leadership - Setting a beat and a rhythm for people to follow. Leaders are “Beating the drum!” As leader when you take into account what it is that is pleasing to God, your values, and your gut consider the vibrations of the culture, of your employees, and customers you are now capable of creating a rhythm for your company or church. By listening you are now able to create a beat, a direction, a plan, “a tune” that your company can play.

Are you cable of hearing your vision, and setting a beat for your organization that will get you in tune?