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Who Is Sean Glaze?
Sean Glaze is an expert at helping leaders create unique cultures and lead high-performing teams. His more than 20-year experience in classrooms and locker rooms form the basis of the many lessons he shares in conference rooms – to help groups improve team performance with corporate team building events and motivational teamwork keynotes.
Staying Coachable
Almost all successful teams have one trait that separates them from the rest. Interestingly, this trait is not exceptional talent, teamwork, or a winning mindset.
According to Sean, all successful teams are coachable; they are open-minded, committed to growth, and dedicated to making lasting changes to their behavior. And while most teams start out coachable, complacency often finds its way through the door. Instead of growing and continuing the climb, these teams now find themselves struggling to survive.
Sean adds that the truth about personal growth is that complacency is real and poisonous. So, the next time you feel stuck or frustrated due to a lack of growth, it might be because you or your team have gotten a little too comfortable.
Staying coachable is the catalyst you and your team need to supercharge your ability to improve and get better results.
How Great Leaders Deal With Change
We all know that change is the only constant in life. Yet somehow, we all react differently to change. Some people just can’t find a way to accept change; others thrive on it. Other people try to avoid it, and others face it head-on.
Sean explains that change can be a powerful force primarily because it involves dealing with the unknown. When things change, people are forced to move outside their comfort zone, which is why people often push back and create some resistance.
As a leader, you need to understand that change always comes with some uncertainty. This uncertainty is what makes people nervous and concerned. According to Sean, the easiest way to lead people through change is to inspire curiosity and manage your team’s expectations throughout the entire process.
Your team needs someone who will lead from the front, is a little more curious, but is never afraid to step into the unknown.
4 Questions to Help You Thrive in Change and Enjoy Relentless Improvement
Having a coachable mindset is about wanting to be better and willing to change. If you’re ready to move from complacency to commitment, Sean believes answering these four questions will help you thrive in change and enjoy relentless improvement.
- What Do You Want?
The first question is about hunger and what you want to achieve in life. How bad do you want the success you so badly crave? Sean believes success is about choosing to do the work and staying committed to the journey. Remember, once you stop working as hard as you did when you didn’t have success, the winning mentality automatically leaves you. - Where Are You Now?
You have to be honest with yourself and ask yourself if where you currently are is where you want to be. Does your performance bring in the desired outcomes? If not, what are you willing to do to achieve the success you seek? Through his experience, Sean asserts that if you want to move towards success, you must know your exact starting position and be honest about the gap you need to close. - Are You Humble Enough to Accept Help?
Question three is all about humility and your willingness to accept help from others. Sean reveals that there will always be people who can make your life easier if you let them. That said, are you humble enough to admit that sometimes you need help? How do you respond to criticism or feedback? Answering this question is meant to help you understand that criticism and feedback do not mean you’re on the wrong path; it’s just a detour to a faster route. - What Will You Do Differently?
The last and maybe most important question comes down to habits. You already know something is amiss in your leadership, but what are you willing to do differently? What’s that one thing that needs to change for you to achieve leadership success? In Sean’s experience, a leader’s habits are merely external evidence of their internal commitments. It doesn’t matter what you want to be better at; the first step is to identify the things you need to do to drive different results for you and your team.
Leading Teams and The Mistakes Leaders Make
We’ve all heard this often overused saying: “There is no ‘I’ in teams.”
Yes, no individual team member’s needs, abilities, or ideas are more important than the combined efforts of the whole group. In fact, there must be a well-defined culture that dictates how individuals are expected to perform and behave in the group. However, Sean believes there must be some sort of individualism for any team to thrive.
When working with teams, people need to be treated as individuals first before they can be identified as part of a team. This means that leaders need to know the strengths, skills, cognitive ability, values, and commitment of each individual on the team. Sean goes on to add that if teams are given the freedom for individual expression, only then can you have a high-functioning team.
Links:
STAYING COACHABLE book on Amazon by Sean Glaze
Connectable: How Leaders Can Move Teams From Isolated to All In by Ryan Jenkins