Do you know how healthy your team is? In this three-part series, we first define why team health deserves constant attention and look at the importance of defining “ideal” team health. The second part of the series explores assessing your own team’s health. In the final portion of the series, suggestions are provided for elevating your team to be the very best they can be. So stay tuned!!

PART 1: DEFINING TEAM HEALTH

As a small business owner, your team’s health is of the utmost importance. Teaching, coaching, guiding, and leading are your ultimate responsibility as a business leader. Without a positive, healthy, and thriving team, all the great products or services developed by you, your leadership team, and those who make up your team, your business is likely to ultimately fall short.

TEAM HEALTH AFFECTS KEY “PEOPLE” MEASURABLES

When your team is healthy, so is your business. When your team is in a good place, they care for your clients. Workplace and team health impact your people in measurable ways: absenteeism, productivity, recruitment/retention, culture and employee morale. Your team wants to know the work they do matters. And when they understand and get behind the “why” of their work, the right team members want to give the business their best!

Recognizing the impact of your support as the team leader is step number one. You built your team because of your belief in the work you and the team do and because your leadership vision is strong. Building a team is not easy work. Ensuring team health is strong is paramount to your business’ success.

TEAM HEALTH AFFECTS INDIVIDUAL ENGAGEMENT

Identifying the ideal picture for your team and their ultimate success will help them to understand the “why” of their work and be able to translate their work into the meaningful impact they have on clients. The consequences of that good work reflect back on them in both financial reward, strong mental health, and the pride of being part of something bigger than themselves.

With a clear, succinct picture you and your team can share and see and believe in, your productivity knows no bounds! A supported team is a supportive team. Your expectations for the team should be well-known, paired with your tough love, support, guidance, and coaching.

Do you have a good sense of where each individual on your team is in terms of good health? What are the missing pieces holding your team back from achieving their ideal team health? Digging deep and looking at the root causes for any challenges in your way is a necessary step.

TEAM HEALTH STARTS WITH LEADERS

Paint the picture for your team. Tell them what your ideal team’s health looks like, feels like, and the associated characteristics regularly demonstrated by that ideally pictured team. When you come together to brainstorm around needed resources and activities, you may be amazed at the simple solutions available to you.

We know a strong team is an unstoppable team. The work of building, maintaining and cultivating a great team is never-ending work. Patience, persistence, and recognition of when something is off with your team are all pieces of the bigger puzzle. Doing the work - both as the leader and as the team - will provide great rewards! Make the investment of time and imagination to paint your team’s ideal health picture and watch it come to reality.

In the next section we look at assessing your team’s health in three steps. Article three outlines low or no-lost to take your team’s health to the next level, regardless of where the health level is currently.

As Integrators, we often feel “alone on an island” in our work. We are often the lone wolves (badass lone wolves, but lone wolves nonetheless) as we work to stay in stride with our Visionaries, hold our teams accountable, get out in front of issues, and build a vibrant culture in our organizations. Enter the peer group.

Peer groups are important places for learning, therapy (peers speak your language!), networking, and support. Integrators, with their ambivert personalities (a generality, though often true), can find peer groups to be key outlets for growth and as a way to share in the common challenges and successes they can face in their work. Whether you are a full-time Integrator or work on a fractional basis, find your peers, join them at their next gathering – and online – and behold the power of community.

Here are a few resources for you when looking for a peer group for Integrators!

The Female Integrator Mastermind (FIM) is the only international peer group of all female integrators. Their annual Summit, online forum, quarterly mastermind groups, and monthly learning sessions are a must for any female Integrator looking to connect, share, learn, and transform.

Authentic Brand is a group of fractional CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) who strive to “overcome random acts of marketing®.” As part of their work, they host the monthly Integrator Community™. Held monthly, these free and confidential, 90-minute, virtual gatherings allow space for Integrators to hear from an industry expert and then share to solve their issues in break-out rooms, facilitated by an EOS® Implementer. The conversations are lively, always informative, and often lead to additional 1:1 connections as a result.

Rocket Fuel University’s Launch Pad is another stellar resource for Integrators and their Visionaries. Tools, online forums, assessments, and no-cost learning modules are available to all. In addition to the resources provided by Rocket Fuel, EOS Worldwide’s annual conference, slated to take place in person in both Orlando and London in April 2022, is an essential event to attend.

When working in an EOS®-centered world, one is bound to see the familiar faces of Visionaries, Implementers, and Integrators in many of the monthly forums and at the virtual and in-person conferences. This strong community of invested leaders speaks a shared language, recognizes how to work through issues, celebrates successes together, and supports one another like family.

Find your best fit with a peer group near you! Try them all, share what works for you with others and let us know what other groups we should know about. Dive in, share your own knowledge, and revel in the glow of your greater peer community!