I was recently facilitating a Business leadership session that utilizes a powerful business simulation when an interesting and impactful discussion began during the debriefing of one of the leadership 
scenarios of the simulation. In the simulation, one of the main characters – Ellen Astor – is upset with a fellow teammate Theo for not taking more initiative on a project. As a result of her frustration with Theo, Ellen decides to provide him with some rather aggressive feedback. Theo’s response is that “nobody ever told me I was supposed to do that,” which of course made Ellen more upset. The scenario is designed to prompt a rich discussion about the best practices of leadership and how to apply the learnings back to the real world. As a result of the dynamic discussions, the participants were able to take key learnings back to their leadership roles.
This week, during a follow-up webinar with the group, one of the participants shared with me a project he’s been working on as a result of our learning session and simulation experience; a list of 10 things he provided to his team that he is desperate for from them to be more effective. He shared with me that he developed a slogan titled “No more Theos on my team” meaning the excuse of “nobody told” me is no longer valid. He was gracious enough to let me share his list as part of this blog.
Be liked, trusted, and respected by your teammates – Do the right things and make sure you are proactive in terms of anticipating needs and not waiting until you are asked.
Understand the big picture and how things work – Take the time to understand the system of business, how your company makes money, and the role your department plays in the business ecosystem.
Learn from the best managers and the worst managers – “Ellen really isn’t a good manager in the simulation. However, she’s passionate and gets the job done which most people can respect”. You don’t have to react poorly like Leo at all of the negative things an Ellen does so find your own way of being positive and effective.
Look in the mirror and try to see what other people see – Self awareness and emotional intelligence is critical when on a team. Take a moment to do some self-reflection and try to get your arms around how you show up at work and how you come across to your boss. A little humility can go a long way.
Develop your network across other functions – Nobody is ever going to tell you to make friends and colleagues across your organization in a quest to develop a network. You need to do this yourself and continue to nurture is and grow it over time.
Be so customer-centric that your customers think you are a Manager – Be obsessed with your customers and do everything you can to enhance their complete experience with your organization. By doing this, your most loyal and important customers will think you are a top manager.
Be Innovative – Managers love innovative thinking. Innovative thinking means that you are comfortable challenging the status quo and thinking of ways to do things better. And it’s okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and get better the next time.
Listen effectively, solve problems, and stop texting during conversations with co-workers – Effective listening has become a lost art. And it’s not that hard. Focus on what others are saying and minimize the distractions.
Recognize other people, thank them, and encourage them – Nobody likes working with a self-centered jerk. Take the time to recognize people, thank them and encourage them when things might not be going their way.
Offer advice, insight, and perspective – You manager will love you and your co-workers with adore you if you can offer value in terms of insights, ideas, advice, and perspectives.
