In John C. Maxwell’s book titled The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, he discusses law sixteen, the Law of High Morale. This law states that, “When you’re winning, nothing hurts.”
When a team is experiencing high morale, the tendency for most leaders is to become more cautious in their actions, safer in their decision making, and more reserved in their investments for keeping things moving forward. What I have learned over the years is that, while high morale within a team, company or organization is fun and extremely exciting to be at the center of, it also can be a very dangerous time in the organization if not managed well.
While your first thought might be to pull back on the reigns and just ride the wave of high morale, which is generating higher productivity and profit, as long and as far as it will take you, what you need to be thinking of instead is how you can lead your team to push harder, invest more and even grow beyond where you are today. The principle reason you make the strategic decision to lead your team to push to greater heights during times of success and high morale is because it is in doing so you will find your highest rate of return and greatest results.
During seasons of high morale, when properly guided, the members of your team will feed off of the energy and success of the overall team and will work and function at higher levels than normal. Petty differences and office politics will be at a minimum during theses seasons as well, and many team members will feel the freedom to give that little extra in their work that they would normally hold back in seasons of medium- or low-level morale.
The truth is that teams don’t keep winning by accident; they keep winning when leaders lead with intentionality and purpose, especially during times of high morale. Bold leadership during these times will find tough decisions become easier to make, long workdays pass quicker, and “Big Asks” of employees are received more readily.
After all, “When you’re winning, nothing hurts!”, so, lead boldly. Your team and you will be glad you did. Your bold leadership during the season of high morale will lead your team to do, be and accomplish more than you or they ever dreamed possible.
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