By Joe Schofield, Senior Client Search Consultant at Jackson + Coker.
Every year, Jackson + Coker associates get together to see the bigger picture through our cooperate team training outside of the office and spend the day kickstarting the New Year with motivational speakers and insightful exercises. This year included a team building exercise that not only got us up and moving after a long day of listening, but also gave us food for thought on how we can be more successful in our day-to-day jobs.
Senior leadership gave us a few instructions and directed us into groups. As we got into groups, we each quickly picked out a colored Sharpie marker and a blindfold. We were quickly given a run down on what we needed to do. A leader, whoever had the yellow marker, was going to guide the rest of his or her group members to draw a mystery picture while blindfolded. We had ten minutes – seems easy enough, right?
Our leader took each of us individually and carefully instructed us to draw based on the given instructions. I waited for my turn and twiddled my thumbs as I waited. I hear, “Three minutes left!” over the loud speaker and I realized I hadn’t even gone yet. Finally, time was up, and we could take our blindfolds off. We realized we didn’t get very far since our drawing was a mess. We struggled to figure out what this could possibly be. An image of the Jackson + Coker logo appeared on the screen and my team simultaneously said. “Of course!”
The senior leadership team told us we now had one minute to draw the same image and didn’t have to wear our blindfolds. My team quickly developed a game plan and executed our logo as best and fast as we could. One minute was up and everyone took a seat.
Confused and hungry as it was almost time for lunch, we settled in to figure out what the exercise meant. Senior leadership revealed they had done the exercise as well and struggled the same way we had. We started to realize the meaning of the exercise:
You can’t be nearly as successful unless your team understands the importance of the bigger picture.
Once my team saw the logo, it was much easier to execute our drawing even with only a minute on the clock. The same thought can be applied to any team or company. When associates can understand the bigger picture or the goal, they will be much more successful at executing those tasks due to such clarity and transparency. When associates are left in the dark, it leads to inefficiency and lack of connection.
Guiding your team to draw the bigger picture is an important factor that will lead to success. Will you do so with a clear direction?
We’re investing in our team and company by using this strategy so that we can serve you better. Our goal is to make sure that every patient has access to a healthcare provider and every healthcare provider has a job they like. We’re able to successfully live this goal and mission out by consistently having an open and transparent line of communication with every one of our associates and leaders. As we’re able to see this big picture, we’re able to execute our daily duties with excellence and passion.