“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?