TODAY’S IDEA:
Random acts of kindness equal extraordinary teams
— From: The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
I usually share ideas from books that I have read, yet in this case, I have not read the book because it just came out today… I just ordered it and can’t wait to have my nose in it!
What I learned (and loved!) about the book is what I saw about it in a video (below) from Dave Kerpen (featured here a few times) interviewing Chester Elton, one of the authors of The Best Team Wins: The New Science of High Performance. Elton shares 3 takeaways from the book, including a great story about the astronauts at the International Space Station.
Whether professionally or personally, I’m sure that you are part of one or many teams. Thus, I’m sure you will enjoy Elton talking about the importance of soft skills:
«The International Space Station… over six months, had three Russians, two Americans, one Canadian… The Canadian was the Commander, and he said “we exceeded every goal the six months we were up there.” Six big guys in a little tin can. And he said, “The biggest reason why we succeeded was… yes, we were all technically proficient, we all knew our jobs, and we were really smart, but we had one unwritten rule that made all the difference and it was this: that every astronaut had to perform one random act of kindness every day… And the message is ‘I care about you, I’m supporting you, I’m cheering for you, I love you, and we’re in this together.’ And they were little things… ‘I’ll clean up… I’ll help you with the calculations… let me cook dinner…’ That one unwritten rule was the difference between us having a great mission and an extraordinary mission.” One random act of kindness.»
Below is the video so that you can watch it. Well worth 5 minutes to hear the latest on how teams perform best nowadays (the story of the International Space Station starts at the 4-min mark). Some things may seem obvious, but I find that sometimes I need someone to point out the obvious to me so that the idea can sink in.
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: How about following in the footsteps of the astronauts and committing to perform a random act of kindness every day for your team members? I’m in!
Let me know in the comments or via Facebook or Twitter if you’re in too! Enlist your team members as well, and please tell them to join us.