The Question:
Honestly, Do You Believe You Can Design a Great Team?
This question is not just about your skills and abilities, but more about your mindset and your beliefs about yourself and the world. It is about how you approach the challenge of building a team, and whether you believe that you have the power and confidence to create something great. Your true ability to design a great team is reflected by how you answer this question.
The question “Honestly, Do You Believe You Can Design a Great Team?” will ultimately be decided by how you answer the following four sub-questions:
Are you willing to seek the knowledge and skills needed to develop your team? This means being open to learning new things and being willing to invest time and effort in your own development as a leader.
Do you believe that there are enough good candidates out there to build a great team? This requires a positive and optimistic mindset, and a belief that you can find and attract the right people to your team.
Do you believe that how your team develops going forward will be determined by your decision and ability to do so? This is about taking responsibility for your team's success and being willing to make the tough decisions needed to empower, encourage, and challenge your team to become the best they can be.
Do you have a compelling internal purpose that personally drives you as well as someone to help fan that flame? This is about having a clear vision and mission for your team, and a deep passion and commitment to achieving your goals.
This chapter explores the four mental thought models that determine your awareness and abilities necessary to design a great team. What's great about these models is that they are not fixed, and you can improve on every single one of them. It all depends on how you decide to think. Each model has great insight apart from the others. But when you can see how they all fit together, you will discover a deeper level of understanding how our thinking determines our outcomes.
Many people believe that their thoughts are a product of their environment. Sometimes that is true, but the truth is that you have the power to authorize your own thoughts and take control of your intellectual and emotional perception and response. You can choose to be the gatekeeper of ideas that the world is offering you daily. By learning about the four thought models, you can better understand how to develop your mindset and beliefs that empower you to design a great team.
The key point is that the real debate is in our mind, not in the world. We need to wrestle with our thoughts and be open to exploring better ideas and to reject thoughts that are not in alignment with reality and the environment we're trying to navigate through. We need to become ferocious truth seekers.
Ideas Have Consequences:
There are many wrong ideas, untruths, and distorted perspectives out there, and it's our job to develop our discernment skills to sort through the bad information and keep it from becoming head trash that sets us up to fail. We have a skewed perspective on nearly everything we think we understand. It may be subtle but workable for us. It may be more accurate than others, but it is incomplete, biased, and sometimes embraced with little to no evidence of its validity because of its appeal. How we perceive something serves a purpose in our life. Choosing to perceive something from a skewed perspective may serve us in the short term more than the truth. How well we real in our perceptions to match reality will go a long way to determining our future success.
It’s up to us to explore first our motives, and second, how that plays out in what we choose to believe about ourselves and the world around us. What we accomplish in our lives and career is far more in our control than you may currently believe. By taking control of your thoughts and beliefs, you can gain the confidence to achieve great things as a team leader and design a team that is truly exceptional.
What We Believe About Ourselves:
Our Awareness:
Mindset - Inward awareness of my personal potential. Am I fixed on who I am, or focused on who I can and will be?
Mentality - Outward awareness of my environment. Are my opportunities scarce, or unlimited and available for the taking?
Our Ability:
Agency – Belief in my ability to generate my desired outcome. Who is in control and responsible for my choices and my outcomes?
Motivation – Belief in my ability to choose and discern what inspires me. Am I energized by Internal conviction or external incentives and discipline.
Reality Based Thinking:
Before we dive into the four key components, let's first discuss the importance of healthy thinking based on universal principles that make up the structure of reality. Healthy thinking is the process of evaluating thoughts and beliefs and choosing to adopt positive thoughts in alignment with the reality before us. The world is constantly throwing information at us that is not anchored in objective truth. It involves looking at situations objectively, focusing on the present moment, and making informed decisions based on facts rather than emotions, bias, or social pressures. Healthy thinking involves carefully owning your thoughts rather than carelessly grabbing onto the current trend or what is simply most convenient or satisfies an immediate emotional or practical need.
Healthy, reality-based thinking is important when it comes to setting and achieving personal goals and benchmarks. When we approach a situation with a positive mindset and focus on an accurate assessment of reality, we are better equipped to make informed decisions and act towards our immediate goals balanced with our long-term goals. This approach allows us to stay focused on our objectives, overcome obstacles, and maintain a positive outlook when things get tough.
In the four upcoming blog articles, we'll explore individually the four powerful Mental Thought Models that can shape your mindset and enhance your approach to challenges. Understanding these Thought Models will help you answer the question "Honestly, Do You Believe You Can Design a Great Team?" with confidence.
These models offer insightful perspectives on decision-making, problem-solving, and personal growth. From understanding the intricacies of mental models to navigating the complexities of critical thinking, each model provides a unique framework to optimize your cognitive processes. Whether you're seeking ways to boost creativity, make more informed choices, or cultivate resilience, these Mental Thought Models offer valuable insights to enrich your thinking patterns and elevate your overall cognitive toolkit. Join us on this journey of exploration and transformation as we delve into these thought-provoking models that can empower your mind.
Joel Smith
Business Coach, Author and Entrepreneur
This article is a section out of the book Team Design: Building Great Teams By Attracting the Right People. Download the Free PDF version.
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