Coach Chris Deeks was adamant about his players being squawk boxes on our high school lacrosse field. As a defensive midfielder, this meant spending my shift not only isolating the opposing offensive star and attempting to snatch the ball away, but vocalizing everything going on around me so my mates could adjust accordingly. Likewise, I was trained to constantly take in a wide scan of the field, to make sure I did not miss a play coming together in a blind spot. “Keep your head on a swivel!” was my favorite in a bunch of directives yelled from the coaches box every defensive set. Several years later one of my partners at Meridian, Columb Lytle, screamed it out as we were heating up into a major closing bell situation. Each trader was so intensely focused on their own screens that the potential risk of missing an opportunity or over-stretching our resources had spiked drastically. He nailed it – we all needed that quick reminder to stay alert and observant of the entire desk around us.
Volumes of sports lingo have been effectively mapped over to the corporate world. References to the Red Zone, hitting the sweet spot, rallying the team, slamming it home, acing the sale, notching another win, and many, many more pervade the chatter amongst skyscraper denizens. Much of the impact of these phrases relies on the energy created in the moment – live and within close proximity. While these fragmented descriptors also resonate in print, their effectiveness becomes dulled by remote and virtual limitations. Steady professional encouragement has been supplanted by: “set the table,” “walk the dog,” and “can you pick up the kids from wherever?”
Clients have expressed longing for not only the collegial impact, but the repetitious reminders of fundamentals to success.
Speaking of the home front – whatever your setup is, sharing your program for the day and periodically looking ahead a few days works wonders to allow others residing with you to navigate their days aware of commitments that do not include them. Early on, we all struggled with making sure the kids knew to move the steel cage wrestling match to the opposite end of the house when mommy had a conference call. Some of you still battle the necessity of aligning with spouses and children (and maybe even Scooby) so they understand that while physically present, you have obligations outside the home. These brief discussions held during peaceful times (aka, not as you are logging into the client pitch meeting) yield understanding and support. Everyone on the team is aware of what is going on around them.
Similarly, sharing multiple status updates with remote teams goes a long way to keeping everyone on the same page and in-the-know about shifts to the corporate agenda of the week. Especially when these updates might impact individual work product, constant communication is critical. Easier said than done – and repeated, over the course of a hectic workday. However, we must continue to do it for the health of our unified productivity.
Slack, Teams, and even old fashioned group texts have become super important streams of information for detached teams.
Colleagues greatly appreciate knowing when someone is under pressure to make a deadline. This engages them to step up and identify ways to offload components of a deliverable. Conversely, when new opportunities sprout unexpectedly, no-one is left in the dark and wondering why they were last to know.
Il Punto: Collectively, we must remember “what brought us to the dance” and maintain consistent communication across our home team AND our work-from-home team. Only takes marginally extra effort, and the gains are exponentially worth it.
Please, comment below and share which sports phrases have echoed throughout your career or are prominent in your team’s culture?
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