TRADITIONS! What are YOUR favorite traditions? I just spent the last 5 hours or so at the Band Awards Banquet. I got there and had to set up and serve the pot luck. Then we all went into the auditorium and the kids gave each other awards. It was AMAZING to see what grows when a group of kids are left to self manage. They become . . . . a family. They push, they kid, they tease, but the REALLY care for each other. The new band director said he had never seen a band with so many traditions and I realized it was these traditions that helped make it feel like a family. In the video below, the tuba section leader recognizes each member of his team, then his team recognizes him. They have fun with it. Some of the groups get REALLY outrageous. This is the second year in a row Ive seen granny panties the size of Moby Dick. Each section does this. It takes FOREVER! There are only 65 kids in the band, but each person is recognized for about a minute, and then the seniors are recognized and then . . . . and then at the end there is a 15 minute video with pictures of the season and all their favorite songs. When you watch them interact and scream for each other when their pictures come it, it can make you cry. They scream for the popular kids and then scream for the not so popular kids. Its hard to tell the difference. Not a single person was sitting on his or her own. They were all sitting with a group of friends from band. They were laughing and giggling and almost every band student held the mike and spoke for a minute. TRADITIONS I realized when the band director spoke about how our band was a FAMILY, it is the traditions that make it so. Just like it is the traditions in your family that make it a cohesive family. The same is true for the band. So while my FAMILY spends a few days away together at Christmas - Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, In-Laws, Out-Laws - everyone comes together in the mountains for a few days. My kids will remember that for the rest of their lives those special days sledding or playing Uno or sitting on Santas lap (yes even at 13!). The band is a family because they have great traditions as well. In the trumpet section, there is an 8 foot long 2x4 that has been handed down to a freshman EVERY YEAR since 1988! And they all sign it and hand it off the next year to a new freshman. We all are in on the joke. You hope the kids family has a pickup truck! CREATE YOUR OWN TRADITIONS My aha moment was that the same thing I do with my family, they did with the band, and I do with my team. If you are trying to grow a cohesive family or a cohesive team, start creating traditions! My kids know that they always eat Thanksgiving out with their paternal grandparents, and then go to a movie. Im sure there is a year or two when that didnt happen, but they dont remember because it ALWAYS happens that way unless there is a problem. At my office, we always have a Secret Santa and for the past few years a picture of a retired person is one of the gifts. Some of the newcomers dont know the story so it becomes a time to reminisce about the old and invite the new to share. WHAT TRADITIONS CAN YOU START TODAY? If you want to build a cohesive team, what traditions can you start today? What culture do you want to create? For me, I would create a tradition around having fun. So when I go on a team event, weve started to explore the city together with a day at Universal Studios when we went to Orlando or renting a house together and having a BBQ when we went to Charlotte. We rent a house as a team and really cement a family relationship. How can you bring this to your team? I CAN HELP If you are looking for ideas or different ways to help build family, work, or business traditions, I can help. Join my e-mail list and learn not only how to create traditions, but how to build and grow a team. My e-mail list is: bit.ly/WorkWithLeslie WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? It is only your e-mail address. You can unsubscribe at any time. But do it now. For Yourself. For Your FAMILY. For YOUR TEAM! bit.ly/WorkWithLeslie See you on the other side!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:35:26 +0000
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