Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Greetings from Montreal! Obvious home of the Montreal Canadiens. I sat at the bar in my hotel for a late and light dinner when I arrived and received a crash course in what sport is important … along with every sport that is not. The bilingual bartender, fluent in French and English, immediately made me feel I should fire up my Rosetta Stone French course previously purchased and summarily ignored. No brownie points for the investment…just a guilt complex now compounded by an unsatisfied opportunity.

I came here with my leadership team to collaborate with our counterparts North of the border. We met in Detroit 6 months ago and this was reciprocation, familiarization and strategic planning, deliberate about what the future will look like.

Conversations were continuous from the time I arrived until we flew out. This demonstrated for me not just the need to get together but the criticality of communication. Sure, some things got hashed over more than once…I’ve heard that it requires seven times in seven different ways before a message is properly absorbed, understood and acted upon. No matter who you are,
•People want to be heard.
•People want to be listened to.
•People want to contribute and be part of something significant.

It also struck me while here conversing with counterparts and corporate leadership that
-Leaders recognize this, facilitate this and develop environments and opportunities to make it a reality.
-Leaders build teams through trust, transparency and clear expectations.
-Leaders don’t look for the spotlight to stand in it, they position themselves to elevate their team to shine in it. (I think this is an element of humility.)

By the time we finished our meetings, we had affirmation that we will continue to meet with intentionality, we will be deliberate about sharing ideas, challenging each other to drive for results, hold each other accountable and grow the business together…collaboratively.

Have a blessed weekend!