[Issue #043] Great Teams Don’t Grow by Accident

Have you spent much time thinking about the connection between character, values, and how smoothly your company runs?

There might be a stronger connection than you think.

Consider how much easier your day becomes when people keep their commitments, respond thoughtfully, and handle problems without making them worse. You spend less time following up, settling disagreements, and even wondering whether something got done or fell between the cracks.

Your customers notice the difference, too.

Now consider the opposite. Someone does good work, but you never know which version of them will show up. Someone else agrees to a deadline, misses it, and waits for you to ask what happened. Another person turns every correction into an argument.

Even when these people have the skills to do their jobs, working with them takes more out of you than you would like.

Character is either a benefit or a liability

Today, I want to explore that connection and give you something you can put to work with your team next week.

What do we actually value?

Most of us appreciate people who are thoughtful and do what they say they’re going to do. We’re less enthusiastic about people who are cranky, careless, or inconsistent.

We value one set of character traits more than the other. And those preferences have consequences for our businesses.

Faithfulness affects whether commitments get kept. Self-control affects how someone responds to an unhappy customer. Kindness affects whether a struggling employee gets help or gets embarrassed in front of everyone.

When we say we value these qualities, we’re saying they matter enough to influence how we work.

But here’s where leadership comes in: we can’t assume everyone understands those qualities the same way or knows what they look like on the job.

Let’s face it, what we used to think was common sense isn’t anymore. That assumption can cause a lot of trouble.

In today’s world we need to identify what we’re looking for, explain it clearly, and help people practice it. We need to grow a great staff instead of just hoping they’ll show up great or magically become great.

That starts with knowing the target.

Nine traits worth cultivating

There’s a list of nine character traits I want you to consider valuing highly in yourself and your team.

They come from Galatians 5:22–23, where they’re called the fruit of the Spirit. They are rarely talked about in the context of work but the more I consider them the more I see how powerful they are in the context of a company and its team.

If you’re familiar with that passage, you may already know the list. If you’re not, I think you’ll recognize why these qualities matter when people work together.

These are also words that can get fuzzy. We think we agree on what they mean until we start talking about what they require of us.

Here’s how I’m describing them:

1. Love

When we choose to act in a way that supports the greatest good for others, even when it means personal sacrifice.

2. Joy

When we experience a deep, heart-swelling kind of delight, along with a lasting sense of contentment that remains even when our circumstances are difficult or disappointing.

3. Peace

When we cultivate peace within ourselves and with others, remaining calm and steady in the face of uncertainty, conflict, or difficulty rather than allowing fear and worry to control us.

4. Patience

When we are slow to anger and choose to give people and circumstances the time and grace they need, rather than allowing frustration to dictate our response.

5. Kindness

When we choose to treat others with compassion, generosity, and care, with no need to be repaid.

6. Goodness

When we choose to do what is right and beneficial for others, allowing what is good to shape our intentions and actions.

7. Faithfulness

When we consistently honor our commitments and remain trustworthy, even when circumstances change or keeping our word becomes difficult.

8. Gentleness

When we choose to use our strength, influence, and words with humility and care, especially when we have the power to hurt or control others.

9. Self-Control

When we choose to manage our emotions, desires, and impulses so our actions reflect what we know is right, rather than what we feel in the moment.

Imagine working with a team that was intentionally growing in these qualities.

You’d still have problems. People would still make mistakes. But think about how differently those problems and mistakes could be handled.

Someone could admit an error without blaming three other people. A difficult conversation could stay respectful. A commitment could matter even when keeping it became inconvenient.

How much of your attention would that free up?

“But Michael, every company is different.”

Yes, AND…

Every company is unique in certain ways and similar in others.

I have friends in the restaurant and coffee shop industries. Greeting people with a smile, keeping things lighthearted, and helping them enjoy their time is part of what customers are purchasing.

I also have friends in the funeral home industry. People coming through their doors need a different kind of welcome.

Care might look like a cheerful greeting in one business and a quiet, unhurried presence in the other. Joy doesn’t require a grieving person to smile. Peace doesn’t require us to avoid a necessary disagreement.

The situation changes how these qualities are expressed.

But neither of these businesses would benefit from employees who lack patience, kindness, faithfulness, or self-control.

I’d want these qualities in both.

What about your three to five core values?

I’ve written before about choosing three to five core values for your company. A short list helps people remember what you’re emphasizing and use it when making decisions.

I still think that’s useful.

But choosing a few core values doesn’t mean those are the only qualities that matter. A company that emphasizes innovation still needs honesty. A company that emphasizes excellence still needs patience.

These nine traits give us a broader picture of the character we can cultivate underneath the company values we highlight.

You don’t need to replace the list on your wall to start putting them into practice.

How do we develop them?

I’d start with three things.

First, define the behavior.

Pick one trait and describe what it looks like in your business.

Take faithfulness. “Be trustworthy” is a reasonable aspiration, but “Keep your commitments, and communicate early when you might not be able to keep it” gives people something specific to practice.

For gentleness, it might be giving direct feedback without humiliating someone. For self-control, it might be pausing before responding to a frustrating email.

The clearer the behavior, the easier it becomes to recognize and discuss.

Second, make the expectation clear and practice it yourself.

Tell your team what you’re working toward and why it matters.

Then look at your own behavior. If you expect people to keep commitments but regularly leave yours unfinished, they’ll notice. If you ask for patience but respond sharply whenever someone interrupts you, they’ll notice that, too.

Our actions speak louder than words and people follow our lead all day long.

Third, reinforce it in the ordinary moments.

When someone lives out a value, name what they did and why it mattered.

“You let us know the deadline was at risk while we still had time to adjust. That helped us keep our promise to the customer.”

When behavior falls short, address it just as clearly.

“We agreed you’d let us know if you couldn’t finish. When we didn’t hear from you, everyone planned around work that wasn’t ready.”

Recognition, correction, and the stories we tell all help people understand what our values mean.

Over time, those expectations should influence whom we hire, how we train, what we recognize, and what we’re willing to tolerate.

One thing to try next week

Choose one of these nine traits. Just one.

Identify two behaviors that would help your team put it into practice. Then talk about them together.

Ask where you’re already seeing that quality and where it would make the biggest difference. Include yourself in the conversation.

If this list is new to you, give it some thought. Watch what happens at work when these qualities are present, and when they’re missing.

If you know these words well from Scripture, spend a little time considering what they require of you in the company you lead.

It’s easy to agree that patience is good. Practicing it when someone brings you the same problem for the third time takes more work.

That’s where we get to lead.

Until next time,

Keep learning.
Keep growing.
And God bless,

Michael

Half a Bubble Out (HaBO)
Business Consulting | Leadership Coaching