What traditions do you have on your team?
Traditions are an important part of cultivating the type of team culture that creates good teammates. Traditions bond teammates and create connections within the team. As every great leader knows, a connected team has a much better chance of achieving success than a mere collection of individuals.
In my family—my team—we have a tradition of sharing our “favorite part of the day” with each other every night. It’s a simple activity that has proven to be very beneficial to us.
The tradition started out as a way for my wife and I to wind our daughters down at night and to end the day on a positive note. Before we put them to bed, we would ask them, “What was your favorite part of the day?” They were free to answer the question anyway they chose, with the only real restriction being that their response had to be something positive. They weren’t allowed to discuss anything bad that angered or frustrated them, it had to be something that “made their heart smile.”
Sometimes they talked about just one special thing that happened to them that day. Other times, they recounted a list of several positive occurrences.
Of course, their answers always made my heart smile. However, I often found myself surprised by their responses. I discovered my daughters were more observant than I thought they were.
In the beginning, we listened to their answers with the intention of trying to incorporate more of what was important to them into our daily routine. But the activity eventually evolved to be much more than that.
One day, my youngest daughter curiously asked my wife and I about our favorite part of the day. From that point on, the standard became for all of us to share our favorite part of the day.
Our simple “team” tradition encouraged sharing and openness among us. It also improved our empathy, because it gave us a glimpse into what was important to our teammates. There have been numerous occasions when my wife or daughters cited something as being their favorite part of the day that I never would have considered to have been important to them.
That is precisely the kind of insight that leads to greater understanding and to the formation of stronger bonds between teammates.
Recently, I had someone tell me that their company sends out an end of the day email to everybody in their office. What if that company was to include a staff “favorite part of the day” component in their daily email? I bet that would be a welcomed addition to the email and improve their team culture.
A lot of sports teams gather together at the end of games and practices. What if those teams included a “favorite part of the day/game/practice” to that gathering? I bet they would see a similar improvement in their team culture.
The tradition of sharing a “favorite part of the day” helps teammates see beyond the bad portions of their day—which nearly every day inevitably includes. It lets them focus on the positives, and it sends them home with a feeling of optimism. It’s a tradition that makes them want to return the next day and create more good memories with their teammates.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
