Open Door Conversations

Ep 70: New Year, New Team?

Episode Summary

It's the last episode of 2022, and Akua is going over having a New Year, New Team. There is always the opportunity to reintroduce yourself to your team. People aren't robots, they evolve and change, and in order to keep your leadership relevant and influential, it's always a great idea to periodically reintroduce yourself. Akua calls it the "power of introductions."Akua works primarily alone when doing facilitation and coaching. But recently, she has been joining many new teams for short engagements, where they must come together quickly and not only work together but teach, coach, and facilitate dozens of important leaders. And do it immediately. So her recent experience has been a great reminder of important lessons for engaging a team. As you end your year and make goals for the next, listen in to find out how to create a stronger, better, and more connected team.

Episode Notes

It's the last episode of 2022, and Akua is going over having a New Year, New Team. There is always the opportunity to reintroduce yourself to your team. People aren't robots, they evolve and change, and in order to keep your leadership relevant and influential, it's always a great idea to periodically reintroduce yourself. Akua calls it the "power of introductions."Akua works primarily alone when doing facilitation and coaching. But recently, she has been joining many new teams for short engagements, where they must come together quickly and not only work together but teach, coach, and facilitate dozens of important leaders. And do it immediately. So her recent experience has been a great reminder of important lessons for engaging a team. 

As you end your year and make goals for the next, listen in to find out how to create a stronger, better, and more connected team.

Highlights in this episode: 

• Akua talks about the 3-step process with which she supports leaders, including cultivating self-awareness, engaging and experimenting, and setting expectations for yourself and others. 
• New teams need the opportunity to get to know each other. Existing teams need to re-engage and discover how the people they work with have evolved and shifted.
• You have the power to always think about who you are, where you're going, and what you need in your professional AND personal life.
• Leaders must be intentional about creating space for each team member to learn about themselves. 
• Self-assessments are a great way to learn a vocabulary to talk about how a leader or team member is perceived, their preferences, etc. 
• Knowing your team member's strengths and weaknesses is key, so you can cover for each other when you are working or presenting together. 
• Akua talks about how to understand what success looks like and how to get there. She also encourages having a recovery plan for if/when things go off-track. 
• Try to assume positive intent when working with a team - especially an ad hoc one when you don't know each other well.
• Encourage each team member to provide feedback early and often.
• Even if a team is not hierarchical, there still needs to be a clear decision-maker.

Want more tips for setting goals and making 2023 your best year yet? Check out these episodes of the Open Door Conversations Podcast: 

• Ep 18: Want to Make Better Decisions? Rest More.
• Ep 20: Check In With Your Goals Now 
• Ep 28: Goal-Setting Tricks
• Ep 55: How To Take a Holiday As a Founder 
• Blog Post: Identifying and Overcoming Burnout

Connect with Akua Nyame-Mensah:
Instagram: @akua_nm
Website: www.akuanm.com
LinkedIn: @akua Nyame-Mensah
Twitter: @akua_nm
Get the secrets to break burnout and overcome overwhelm weekly: www.akuanm.com/newsletter
Work with Akua one-on-one: www.akuanm.com/work
Hire Akua to speak at your organization: www.akuanm.com/speaking