Are You Using The Right V.I.C.E. Grip?

Leaders with any size team in any size of an organization have to ensure they are using the right tools in order to achieve elite performance.

If you are trying to build a house with the wrong tools you won’t ever be able to build it.

If you are trying to lead a team to deliver world class results with the wrong tools you won’t even be able to lay the foundation.

Using the right tools are essential and necessary for laying the foundation, building a team that excels beyond their perceived limits and maximizes performance.

The V.I.C.E. tool (Vision, Inspiration, Culture, and Execution) will make a significant impact on your people and help them reach their highest level of performance.

Vision

Setting a clear vision for where the team and everyone on it is headed is the most important part of laying the foundation for the team. If no one knows where they are going, they definitely won’t know how to get there.

Posting the vision in a very visible location and making it a part of the daily routine is essential for ingraining the vision into every team member and help them live that vision daily.

I have multiple examples in my career and even in my personal life. One that sticks out was when there was a leadership change made on a very talented team that was under-performing.

The new leader came in set a clear vision of where the team was going and what they could accomplish. Within 60 days, they were one of the top performing teams.

Inspiration

There aren't many people that look forward to go to work every day. In fact, 1/3 of people are so unhappy they are actively looking for another job.

The leaders set the tone every day and create the environment for their people. In order to inspire, you have to be passionate. It has to show in your tone and actions every day. Start every day off ensuring your people feel valued and like they have a purpose. I will give you a clue, free breakfast and coffee isn't the way to do it.

Make your people feel valued through recognizing their strengths and thanking them for their specific accomplishments. 44% of people become disengaged if you don’t speak to them throughout the day. 21% of people become disengaged if you criticize them daily. 1% of people become disengaged if you recognize 1-2 strengths daily.

Ensure your people know their purpose every day. In order to remind them of their purpose, you have to know what intrinsically motivates them. Is it providing for their family, career progression, paying off debt, buying a house or making a difference in the world? Whatever it is you need to remind them how their daily accomplishments give them that purpose.

Culture

The first two tools are essential for getting the team to progress. Culture is what sustains that progression. Every culture is different, but it should be built around the employee experience. Herb Kelleher's response when asked about the importance of increasing shareholder value, “When we focus on employee experience, the employees will focus on the customer experience, when the customers are happy they come back, which makes the shareholder happy and ultimately increases shareholder value.” That couldn't be more true.

Zappos is known for their culture and integrating life into work. Creating an environment where people feel like family, enjoy their time at work, allowing them to integrate the most important things from their personal life into their work life and just having fun are the key essentials to having a culture that is conducive to more engaged and motivated employees.

I suggest having culture workshops where you bring people in too just have fun and give feedback on what they would like to see change to have a better environment. Once you get their feedback, give them everything you can. I have seen this take a team from average customer experience and sales results to top 10% in the company.

Execution

Clearly defined strategies and simplified processes are the final pieces to the tool. Ensuring these strategies and processes align with the vision, tie into the value and purpose of the employee and are conducive to the culture you have a winning formula. Your people will execute flawlessly and all parties involved with enjoy the outcome.