How to create winning teams

John C Maxwell says that – "One is too small of a number to achieve greatness." 

For me, it took a while to realize that. I am a competitive person, and I have always looked up to others and compared myself. When things started to change for me, I altered the view of how I looked upon things. 

Wayne Dyer says that – "Change the way you look upon things and the things you look upon will change."

Instead of comparing myself with others, I started to focus my attention on myself. My mission became a journey of how far I can go instead of how good I was. 

I literarily increased my value to the marketplace by reading, filing, and studying the leadership niche's best people. The more I learned, the more I could share with others. 

I started to develop new leaders, and the result became clear to me. I felt good knowing that others would succeed because of me. Their appreciation towards me was my fuel for growing my leadership skills even more. 

The turning point for changing the way I looked at things was that I began with these positive affirmations. I developed a morning routine, where I told myself I was good enough. Slowly other's opinions of me didn't necessarily have to become my reality anymore.

It is your inner engineering that has to change for you to feel significant. I changed competition for contribution and expectations for appreciation.

Value the people you lead

Increasing your value is step number one. Step number two is by valuing people. Show them that you care for them.

John C Maxwell – "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

The first step in gaining trust with others is by showing them that you care. 

When others trust you, they will listen to you and be more open to constructive feedback. It is like a positive spiral. The more trust and openness a team has, the more complex problems they will solve. 

Communicate that you care for and value everyone

 In a meeting, for example, you communicate to everyone that you value their opinion. When everyone feels part of the team, they will do their best to help the team. 

Some people might think that they are more critical than others. Still, it is the leader's job to ensure that everyone understands that everyone is valuable to the company, no matter whatever position they uphold.

The leader stimulates cooperation and avoids silo-thinking.

An easy way of showing that everyone counts are by summarizing each and everyone's opinion at the end of a meeting. By doing so, you are letting everyone know that you have listened to them and valued their perspective. 

Let the team and individuals know that you trust them.

It is the leaders' task to give the team direction. The leader tells the team what to do, and it is the teams' task to figure out how to do it. Accountability and engagement will increase if you, as the leader, avoid micromanaging.

Evaluate the teams' performance continuously.

A third way of gaining trust and accountability in a team is by reflection and evaluation, both individually and as a team. As a leader, you can use powerful question such as: 

-What did you do to make the team better. 

-What went well and why. 

-What can we do differently next time to improve our performance?

- Was our performance aligned with the view of how we see ourselves (like a winning team)?

-If not, how can we improve.

If experience is the source of wisdom, every older person would be vise. 

Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

Evaluated experience is the magic formula and makes sure it becomes a daily habit and the team.

Stretch the minds of the team members.

How you see yourself becomes your reality. If the team sees themselves as a high performing, winning team, they will become just like that. 

The team members' actions will be according to their view of themselves. 

As the leader, if you treat everyone as a little bit better than they are, their performance will increase. 

Let's say that a person is a five, and you treat them as a 7. The person's performance will most likely be a 6. You have probably remembered a person who believed in you and what that made you feel and perform.  

Reinforce positive behavior

Another effective way of showing that you care is by giving everyone sincere, positive feedback.

When you reinforce positive behavior, you are going to see more of that. What you talk about is where you put your focus. Have everyone look for positive performance and result, and you will have fewer problems.

Teamwork makes the dream work. Increase your value and share it with others. Value people and help them to succeed. Treat them as if they are a little bit better than they are. Encourage everyone and foster an open and sincere feedback culture with the aim of continuous improvements. 

Best of luck to you!

Your friend

Thomas