BUILDING A CULTURE THAT BUILDS LEADERS - MAKE ODD PAIRINGS

Some of the world’s most iconic duos are made up of unusual teammates. Felix and Oscar. Bert and Ernie. Sonny and Cher. They are the people you least expect to go well with each other, but somehow, it just WORKS when you put them together. Sure, there’s chaos, there’s tension, but there’s also MAGIC. Here’s a quick list of reasons you should consider pairing different team members together to build a leadership development culture. 

It Teaches Leaders To Interact With Different Personalities

When we stick teammates together who share the same values, personality traits, and backgrounds, it might make for a cohesive day, but it doesn’t teach anything. Working with different personalities is a great way to stretch those leadership muscles. 

It Gives Experience

Even if you’re leading one person, you’re a leader. According to research done by Gallup, only 10% of people are natural leaders, which means the rest of us have to work at it. If nothing else, the practice of being paired with someone different from you is an invaluable experience. 

It Makes You Adaptable

Have you ever worked with someone who is the exact opposite of you? You learn pretty quickly to adapt when you’re in that kind of environment. You have to be quick on your feet to come up with solutions that work for everyone. It takes a lot of specific skillsets. And according to one article, adaptability covers communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, creative and strategic thinking, teamwork, and organization skills.  

The idea of odd pairings fits in perfectly with next week’s post: CREATING CONTROLLED CONFLICT. You don’t want to miss this continuation in our Building a Culture that Builds Leaders series. Make sure to subscribe to the blog to be one of the very first to read the post when it goes live!