Episode 136: How Setting Monthly Intentions with Your Team Will Help You Achieve Goals All Year Long
โ Connect the work to the human being
โ Connect the human being to the work
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด, ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต! ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด?
For starters, weโre saying that when you prioritize each individual team member - their core values, their short-term and long-term goals, their worries and their hopes - you connect them to the work.
What follows? This team member is empowered to engage in the 100% unique ways only they can, since theyโve been seen, heard, and valued as their whole person, not just as an employee.
If you start with the work and connect it to the individual team member, those 100% unique ways only they can engage get lost in the sauce, as we like to say.
What follows? Good work, but more generic work that lacks connection and passion behind it.
In todayโs episode, Erin will give you the how-to for monthly intention-setting, the benefits youโll see once you implement this with your team, and some laughs along the way.
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Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com
Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief โYes, Andโ officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. Sheโs a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, โget comfortable with the uncomfortable.โ Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We canโt wait to connect with you online!
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Episode 136 Transcription
Erin (00:00):
Are you a leader searching for new and innovative ways to drive employee engagement and team morale through the roof? Do you wanna create a company culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued? Hi, I'm Erin Diehl, business improv edutainer, failfluencer and Professional zoombie who is ready to help you improve your it, your IT being the thing that makes you, you. Think of me as your keeping it real professional development bestie, who is here to help you learn from your failures, stand tall in your power and improve yourself so you can improve the lives of others. Oh, and did I mention that we are improving your IT through play? That's right. I am an improvisational comedy expert who uses experiential learning to help you have your aha haha moments. Those are the moments when the light bulb goes off and you're laughing at the same time. So grab your chicken hat, your notebook, and your inner child, because I'm gonna take you on a journey that is both fun and transformative. Welcome to the improve it! Podcast!
Erin (01:23):
Goals, metrics, achieve KPIs, key takeaways, key learnings, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, improve it peeps. All of these words sound great in theory, but it doesn't talk about, or they don't talk about human beings. They talk about the work that is being achieved. They talk about the human doing, not the human being who is actually creating and executing against all of these things. Today's episode is all about, spoiler alert, you clicked in, you saw the title, how Setting Monthly Intentions with Your Team will help you achieve goals all year long. And this episode was actually inspired by my own team. This was something that Nicole, our Client Experience Associate, brought to the table and said, this would be a great episode because this is actually something that we do that really helps us connect to the work. So let me just share a quick story.
Erin (02:43):
You know, the old classic story of the salesman who can sell anything, literally whatever to anybody, but they can't sell things that they don't actually believe in, in. Is that a classic story or did I just make it up? Who knows? Tough to tell, but I'm telling it. So how do we connect the goals of a company, of an organization, of a team to human beings actually doing the work so that they believe in the work itself? The answer, my friends, is so simple. You focus on that human being and their interest and their intentions and connect their intentions and interest to the work itself. You do not flip it and reverse it. As Missy Elliott would say, you do not connect the work to the human being. So you can't tell Susan, โHey Susan, this product is amazing. It's a vacuum cleaner, right? Do you wanna clean your house?โ
Erin (03:58):
You say, โSusan, I know you love to be neat and tidy and you, I know it's how your brain operates best. I also know that you love efficiency. This vacuum cleaner not only makes your floors spotless, but it doesn't need a human to make it work. It's battery operated and it cleans your floors while you are sitting at home working on your computer, not on cleaning your house. It saves you time and it makes your house shine. Would this product be something that is interesting to you?โ Susan says, โyes,โ โSusan, I'm so excited. I would love for you to work at this company to help sell this product. You're the perfect person to do it because all of these interests and intentions are something that are of interest to you. I know that you're going to really understand the functionalities of this vacuum. Susan doesn't care about the vacuum.โ
Erin (05:03):
She cares about what the vacuum does for her and her wellbeing, and then she can take this message and spread it because she has a story to tell. She's connected to the product, the service, whatever it is that your company does. So how can you operate better by using this product? How can you as a human being function better by using this product? That's the answer that Susan thinks about. That's how Susan's connected to it. Because she sees the value and efficiency. She's a very busy person. She sees the value of a product that can serve other people who are like her, and she sees the connection in how she operates and how she can connect the dots so that other people can operate the same way and find value in this product the way that she does. So connecting the human being, that is actually the human doing.
Erin (06:08):
The work to the organization starts with having an interest in that person's intentions. Hear me out. All right, so number one, how do we do this? Number one, I want you to think through this in four easy steps. And the first one is you're going to have your team identify their own core values. Now we have an episode of this show all about establishing core values of the organization. It's super impactful. Please go back and give it a listen. I'm blanking off the top of my head at that episode, but we'll put it in the show notes for you. But I'm talking not about the core values of the organization today. I'm talking about the core values of the individual because that person is in this organization for a reason and we wanna highlight that reason. So, create a meeting with your team if you want to start intention setting with your team, which you will after this episode.
Erin (07:13):
The first step is to create a meeting with your team to have them identify their own core values. You can set a timer and have them come up with a list of words, probably 10 to 15 different words that describe their core values. And then have them narrow that list of 10 to 15 down to five. So you have them identify their personal core values. It's one word or a word that's hyphened. And then share those collectively with the team. This is so important for so many reasons, because number one, it helps the human being understand their own values, what matters to them, what drives them. And then you'll see how that connects the dots here in just a moment. So that's step one. Step two is once you have these core values in place, you wanna encourage your team to lead and make decisions from their own core values.
Erin (08:20):
And every single month you're going to have a monthly meeting where each team member chooses a word. It could be one of their core values or it could be another word that they are going to set as an intention. They're gonna write that intention down, share what that intention means to them in that monthly meeting, and then share it with the team. So, the second step here in monthly is helping them really narrow it down. Because when we think of core values, you've got these five core values. You think my core values are here to last me a lifetime. We do that core values exercise every single year because your core values will change over time depending on what stage of life that you're in. So setting your core values up at the beginning of every year is super important. And then breaking it down into monthly intentions is the most important step here.
Erin (09:19):
So, you'll encourage the team, this is step three, to have this monthly intention, this one-word intention, present in their day to day so they can write it on their post-it and post it next to their desk, next to their monitor, next to their camera on their computer. So they look at it every day. They can write it with a dry erase marker on their mirror. So they're looking at it every time they look in the mirror. You want them to have this monthly intention top of mind, especially as they're making decisions both personal and professional because you are connecting their intention with the way that they show up at work and the way that they show up when they leave work. So this continues as you go into your monthly meeting the following month. So step four is once you have your next monthly meeting, I want that person to share not only their core value from the month before and how they lived out that core value, but choose another word for the upcoming month.
Erin (10:36):
This does two things. Number one, it's reflection. It helps you think back on the prior month, did you live out that intention? How did you do that? What could you have done differently? And then it also looks, helps you look ahead to the future, improve. It has taken this to heart. We have done this internally for the past probably five years. So we actually got this entire structure from something called a C day toolkit from an awesome podcast that we love called Being Boss. And we made it our own. So we don't necessarily follow the toolkit to the T, but it was inspired by this toolkit. And so we have a CEO day at the end of every year that starts us and kicks us off to the year ahead where we reflect on our core values and we choose five core values for that upcoming year.
Erin (11:38):
And then every monthly meeting, we choose a word that we want to amplify, live, embody, and reflect on the previous month's word and intention. And this, oh, it has really been a game changer. Friends, I really wanted to share this and I know it impacts our team here and I know it can impact you and your team. And I wanna share what this does for our internal team. People don't leave jobs, they leave leaders. And this is a harsh truth. When leaders are the single most important factor in accounting for an organization's performance, is there a magical pill that can keep employees engaged, retained, and even assist in attracting top talent? Yes, my friends, that mystical medicine is you. Studies have found that people with positive energy produce substantially higher levels of engagement. They lower turnover and they enhance the wellbeing amongst all employees.
Erin (12:43):
In my interactive keynote, I see you how to use improv to attract a company culture where all feel seen, heard and valued. I use my research and extensive experience in improvisational training to help you realize that the energy you put into yourself is a direct correlation to the energy you give to others. And the energy that everyone in the organization gives out is what magnetizes a culture. We're all feel included. This keynote is perfect for large teams and large-scale events. In this 60-minute interactive and high energy session, I'll teach participants how to discover their power within and how to harness it on a daily basis. They'll learn the power of empathy and how to use it as a leadership tool and how to measure their energetic levels using high five VIBES. That's high five vibes. If your organization wants to create a safe space free of judgment, we're all feel seen, heard and valued, then this is the experiential and electric session for you. Email us at info at learn to improve it.com to learn more. I see you improve it peeps. I see you.
Erin (14:07):
So number one, it recognizes the human big ya. It recognizes what they are interested in. Sometimes we get so caught up in the metrics, the KPIs, the goals, the needs of the company, the needs of the organization. All we can do is talk about those goals, but we forget about the humans that are doing the work. So by drawing that attention to our intentions, we make decisions from this intentional place which feels more purposeful. And when do people want to show up? When they have a purpose? Think of it like this. You know, I'll say this for my own mother. My mother worked part-time, worked, had various jobs as I was growing up, but once my brother left and she was an empty nester, she had to reclaim her purpose because her purpose for so long was raising two kids. When you have purpose and you have meaning, you want to show up, you are engaged.
Erin (15:22):
Purpose, my friends, is the key to engagement. And when engagement is high, so is productivity. And we know what happens when we are productive, we achieve those goals, those metrics, those KPIs, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Those metrics are achieved, but they're achieved in a way that has meaning, that has purpose, and that has attention to intention. So I want you to take this into play. I want you to put this into motion for your team and see how it works. We're coming up on this new year. What a perfect time to have your team focus on their personal core values and set monthly intentions. And I'll say this, today's workforce wants mission-oriented work. They don't just wanna show up and punch in and punch out. I, myself included, I want to feel connected to what we do and how we serve you here.
Erin (16:31):
We wanna make a difference. And that's truly what our team does. They are just the best human beings who care about others, they're lifelong learners. There's some through lines to all of our core values, but we're all extremely different. So it is so important to share these intentions, say them out loud, create them with each other and share them with each other because it really does drive that mission and our purpose home. So I thought it'd be cool to share with you some of my intentions for 2022. I have my list right here, and we go through this every monthly meeting. This is actually very timely because we just had a monthly meeting a couple days ago and we set new intentions. And I'll tell you this, those meetings are my favorite meetings because I'm not just talking about work. I'm talking about the people on my team and I'm hearing what they care about and how they connected to the work last month and how they're going to connect to the work differently the month ahead.
Erin (17:35):
And it's just a really cool opportunity to connect in a very meaningful way that isn't talking about logistics or invoices or agreements or proposals or engagements. It's just focused on the person. So just to give you an idea, here are some of my monthly intentions for 2022. So January was focused on creativity. We were creating some new improve IT videos that you get in conjunction with our workshops. And I really wanted to create these and lean into new ideas and new ways of doing proposals as well as these videos. February, my monthly intention was vision. I wanted to create the mastermind that we did not create. That's a whole other story. And I wanted to move forward with new ideas for our website. And the new keynote that I wanted to create, March was all about energy. I wanted to have positive energy and put energy towards our showcase, our mastermind, and put positive vibes out into the world.
Erin (18:42):
April was about fun. It was about having fun, enjoying the ride, not stressing, following the flow may my word was power. So standing in my own power, making sure that we are tracking the right people, putting the building blocks in place so we are ready to aim and, and that was a whole other thing that we were talking about. We were making sure that we were standing in our own worth at that time, and we really did that. And that word was powerful. I'll tell you that June was the word for me was calm and it was just remaining calm. And knowing that I'm being guided and trusting the process, my word for July was create. So creating a new keynote, working on our keynote page, amplifying our newsletters and our podcast, being involved, being inspired and visualizing. My word for August was priorities. Making sure that I was working on my rocks, not my pebbles, making sure I had priorities with how I spent my time inside and outside of work.
Erin (19:53):
September, I was focused on my health, my mental physical health, filling my own tea kettle. October was about candor. So providing feedback, not people pleasing, releasing my own anxieties and owning my own power. And November is about healing. It's about reflecting on some unprocessed emotions, making sure I'm doing what is serving my highest good so that I can serve others in a very meaningful way. Moving forward, I look back at these words and my monthly intentions, and first of all, it's like opening up my diary and prove its that felt very vulnerable. But it's really interesting sitting here. I'm recording the show in November of 2022, and each one of those words takes me to a season and a place in time where I can remember what was going on in those months. I remember, especially the month of May, the word power was so impactful.
Erin (21:08):
We really redefined our business at that time. And for me, when I look back at some of these words, September Health, October candor, I really started focusing on my health. I really realized that people pleasing wasn't serving me. In October and November. I'm doing the work to heal all those wounds that I have and patterns that I have had in my life that are now no longer serving the new and improved pun intended air deal. So hopefully by sharing those, you are able to see how these intentions really put focus on not only the work, but the person. I'm very connected to this work. I created this work, I love this work. It is my life's mission and my calling. And perhaps there's somebody listening who works for the vacuum cleaning company and you're like, I don't love vacuums, but I love what these vacuums can do for people.
Erin (22:15):
Perhaps you're listening today and you're like, listen, I wanna create the thing that I'm most passionate about. Attention to intention will do that. But for all my leaders out there who are serving their teams, the best way to serve them is to lean into who they are and allow that person to show up at work and allow that person to connect the dots with what they're doing in their day to day, to how it can serve them long term. Some of the most amazing moments in my career have not been from the amazing companies that paid us money or the coolest and and brightest idols that we got to work with. I'm just thinking of one in particular, or the stages that we've gotten to perform on. When I sit back and I reflect, I hope at the end of this life I am able to see that I was able to make a difference in the people who believed in my dream by believing in them.
Erin (23:26):
And I'm so grateful for that team. God bless it, she sits in her closet alone and cries. But I am so grateful for that team of human beings who see their mission in the work that we've created here together, and they put their time and effort and energy into lifting up others through the work that we do. It is the greatest joy of my life to watch members of this team blossom and evolve and change and grow and become their best selves. Truly feel grateful for that. So as I get off this soapbox, I want you to think about how you can do that for your team because with great power comes great responsibility. A webbed man once said that Thomas Addison said, with great power comes a great electricity bill. But that Spider-Man knew what was up. You have an opportunity to shape and mold the people that are are following you.
Erin (24:43):
You're, you're a leader. You are a leader. So the best way to do that is to pay attention to their intention and help guide them to their intentions on a monthly and annual and daily basis, improve it peeps. This is short and sweet and I am just so proud of you for the work that you do every single day. I'm so proud of you for leading your teams, for wanting to create new ways of doing that and for focusing in on you and how you can show up for them and yourself. So you know what I'm gonna say? Keep failing, keep improving because the world needs that. Very, very special ed that only you can bring. I'll see you next week. Hey friend, did you enjoy today's show? If so, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe. So you never miss an episode. Now, did I mention that when you leave a five-star review of the improvement podcast, an actual team of humans does a happy dance? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's right. So leave a review for us on iTunes, screenshot it, and send me an email at info learn to improve it.com. I'll send you a personalized video back as a thank you. Thanks so much for listening. Improve It Peeps. I'll see you next Wednesday.