We’re looking forward to co-hosting tonight’s #BEaLEADER Twitterchat as @PrPinkPonies/@PrettyPinkPro and our networks from Meetup.com, Etsy, USC et al…
If you ask people who’ve met me in passing somewhere out in the scene, you might hear my personality described as “dramatic”, “loves attention”, “loves the limelight”, etc…
“How do you manage people who are better than you?”
There Is An I In Team: HBR Presentation w/ Mark De Rond and Angela Herrin
I listened to a recent web presentation provided by the Harvard Business Review titled, “There Is An I In Team”.
I’m fascinated by collaboration among team members as a result of having had a couple of long term boyfriends who played Division I sports (Hot!).
It made very little sense to me in college that men can experience anger and frustration with a teammate or rival, duke it out, then grab a beer and hang out as friends the following day.
They seemed to be able to separate their roles on their teams from who they are off the team. But, how?!?!?
These abilities — a) getting over setbacks and moving forward, and b) separating one’s role on and off his/her team — are paramount to one’s chances of success in large organizations (i.e. Professor Xavier’s school for the gifted, or if you prefer reality, large world class corporations).
The HBR presentation I mentioned is one of the better studies on how the best teams function, what makes teams effective, and how to manage teams to accomplish wins. De Rond takes his observations of university rowing teams and boat races to examine coordination between team members.
One insightful observation De Rond discovered in the results of team surveys is that high performers typically underestimate their own teammates**. And, as we all have experienced, this makes high performers or those who are highly intelligent dismissive of others.
If this is true, what can we do to exploit the value high performers can provide while mitigating the risks these high performers’ behavioral tendencies often cause?
Surprisingly, the answer isn’t found by forcing all team members to get along. It turns out that expressing emotional experiences and venting to teammates create winning performance***.
While most of us define team harmony as an absence of competitiveness between members, this is only half of the story. Competition (“lack of harmony”) cannot truly be forced out of individuals because it is innate. If suppressed, competition resurfaces in more destructive forms under the radar of team leaders and creates more dysfunction than if they were acknowledged, accepted and resolved in a psychologically safe and moderated space.
My favorite take away from this presentation is this:
Harmony cannot be forced in teams. Harmony is created naturally when teams experience wins and achieve great things through collaboration with one another.
“The beauty [of Los Angeles] is the beauty of letting things go; letting go of where you came from; letting go of old lessons; letting go of what you want for what you are, or what you are for what you want; letting go of so much—and that is a hard beauty to love.”—Michael Ventura, “Grand Illusion”Letters at 3 AM: Reports on Endarkenment
Bridget is a friend, mentor, inspiration, advisor, twitter follower, confidante, et cetera…
I learned a lot about self-acceptance from Bridget’s writing advice during my years as an undgrad (and afterwards).
As it turns out, writers view words as instruments by which individuals connect to others. I learned that writing can be formatted in any way as long as the message and the spirit of the message are successfully transported to another — carrying with it the essence of its source.
Writing is a vehicle.
And, unlike perfectly formatted bullets on a memo, the musings of a good writer isn’t only concerned with getting you to point B –– she wants to take you on a ride!!!
Congrats on your beautiful book, B. And, thanks for the ride.
— HBR Exchange (@HBRexchange) May 25, 2012
STEP 2. RID YOUR NEW 😉 BOTTEGA VENETA (<<< See what I did there? I look forward to my new purse, BV! 😉 OF CLUTTER TO MAKE ROOM for essentials like — the new BOBBI BROWN Spring kit (<<< Hi, Bobbi Brown *winks. See how clever I was there?!).
Step 3. Randomly choose a card from the pile you’re about to toss and take the winner to lunch!
Meg + 3P
Bottega Veneta – A beautiful leather case — my iPhone deserves it!
Bobbi B. – Foundation stick shade range: 3.5 > 4.5
Look at the last thing you bought, what problem did it solve, what benefit did you buy?
— Ronald Skelton (@ronaldskelton) May 6, 2012
How much thought do we put into where we spend our time, energy and money? Do you consider how the product in your shopping basket got to your hand? How was it manufactured? Whose idea was it to create this? What was intended when the decision to produce the product was made?
Let us know — do you think it matters???
We encourage you to pause and think about what message you’re helping create each time you make a purchase or decision. What you buy makes a bigger statement than you think — it supports ideas, practices and institutions. Be smart. Choose wisely.
Thanks for stopping by.
We don’t necessarily think about the handmade goods seller when the word “entrepreneur” is used, however, these small business owners aren’t sitting around bedazzling for nothing — they make it rain!
Stay tuned for more feedback and some background on the L.A. – based Etsy Entrepreneurs in an upcoming post!
I often revisit this conversation between Malcolm Gladwell and television journalist, Robert Krulwich where they discuss what defines a “genius”.
This conversation looks at the following topics and questions:
- Is it “good” to segregate the superstars from the average stars?
- What makes Tiger “Tiger Woods”?
- What if it was a rule that we couldn’t ask one another from which university we graduated?
- Is our education system “…run like a modeling agency”?
(If you don’t have a flash player, please use this link to view the interview. Thanks for stopping by.)
We chatted tonight with Jeff Rickard (@RickardonSports) for tips and tools from the world of sports.
This is an ongoing discussion we encourage others to discuss. Here’s the link:
#3pcwin TweetChat at: http://tweetchat.com/room/3pcwin
Seize each opportunity!!
You were known as a focused player who wasn’t very personable. Did that hurt your career?
Well, it had a negative effect on how I was portrayed. But I had no one to explain the value of public relations to me. When I was in college, there was such an intense demand from the press that John Wooden said they couldn’t talk to me at all. So that was what I took for normal going into the NBA. Being at the top of my game and working as hard as I could for the people who employed me—that was my primary focus, and everything else was secondary. So I didn’t always respond to social situations in a pleasant way. When it came to talking to people, I was kind of reserved. But shyness is something you have to overcome. Later in my career, I started doing a lot better relating to fans and talking to the media. I think that’s continued to improve in my retirement.
Excellent interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Harvard Business Review. This interview highlights elements of success and transcends industries beyond sports. We continue to explore lessons from athletes on tonight’s #3PChat with @RickardonSports. Please follow and ask questions using “#3PCwin”. Thank you.
This interview discusses:
- Why PR matters in addition to your team’s results.
- What role managers play in development.
- Being multi-dimensional
- How to play with Magic.
- How being described as “difficult” hurts your game.
- Improvement in general.
- Being accessible.
- How to market and sell yourself.
- Et cetera…
We highly recommend this interview with Kareem as he reflects on his trajectory as he evolved from a great player to a winning player on and off court:
Why have we become afraid of conversation…intimacy…relationships???
Poignant and sad perspective re: how we are being shaped by technology by psychologist, Sherry Turkle.
I can’t thank all of you enough for your generous time and willingness to share your professional and wise insight regarding professionalism, age & gender. I recognize that you have no obligation to read this let alone take the time to write such helpful advice. I’m overwhelmed by your support and connection. The lack of clarity between professional men/women’s intentions can create confusion and frustration. Your insight serves everyone – irrespective of gender or other irrelevant classification. I speak for all who read and help write our blogs and sites – Thank you for your help. Social Media would be worthless if not for its ability to effectively and respectfully exchange valuable ideas and perspectives with people…Most especially those who would never have had the “social wherewithal” to receive such helpful insight.
All the best, 3P & associates.