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Show Notes

Andrew Mellow has worked in the tertiary education sector as Director of Student Experience for six years. He loves seeing the workplace as a place of self-discovery and individual challenge where people can grow and develop.

Last year he established Healthy Teams Co., which helps companies create a healthy work environment and productive, high-performing teams.

Andrew is passionate about working with managers and leaders and helping impart a desire and love of creating teams and a workspace that unlocks the potential in people. A manager has a lot of scopes to put things in place and make work where people can flourish.

In the last three years, there has been change everywhere. A business team is not a family—the relationships in a family are given, whether you get on or not. With business, the team is together the achieve an outcome. Teams are assembled for a purpose.

A team is not a machine or a bunch of cogs. Therefore it is essential to focus on the individual. Individuals are complex, and motivations are varied. Some humans adapt, change and evolve, but there needs to be something in it for them, their motivation and passion. Ultimately, individuals within a team want to see how they can contribute, and they want to belong.

A team has a clearly defined purpose.

A high-performing team may not necessarily be healthy. The poor health comes from a lack of camaraderie and no sense of belonging. Regardless of remuneration levels, this usually triggers individuals to look elsewhere for employment.

The team leader has a management function. They must exhibit empathy and intrinsic interest in getting to know the team members.

A great manager is a person who takes time to empathize and understand. This takes time, understanding and frank conversations.

The leader is also a leader and needs to communicate a vision.

Psychometrics and profiling can be used to put together the ideal team. Some powerful questions to ask when putting a team together are:

· What sort of work where the time flies?

· What kind of work makes you watch the clock?

Psychometrics help to set the desired diversity of skills and competencies in a team.

Diversity is not easy to deliberately pursue in putting a team together. The average leader is biased towards putting people together that they like or can relate to. Diversity is best delivered when focused on the outcomes the group will provide.

Leaders must first understand themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and their blind spots. Culture or gender is not a good guide for ideas and perspectives.

The healthiest teams always have a good mix of gender.

University is typically the assumed next step for the best high school graduates. Therefore, little thought goes into what students will study or why they study the discipline. After the first year of University, students typically have a soul-searching time. It’s a great time to move into fields that align with passion.

In Summary:

Potential: Individuals should discover who they are in the workplace and how they can contribute and reach their potential.

Leaders and managers must create a space conducive to helping individuals reach their potential.

Purpose: Individuals and Teams need a clear sense of purpose and what they are about. Diversity can enrich a sense of purpose. Making a contribution and belonging is a team and individual requirement.

Motivation: Losing track of time relates to a passion at work. Clock-watching is the reverse of love.

Young people should take time to work out their passion and the disciplines they want to study.