Team dynamics

How a Backyard Treehouse Can Teach Us to be Better Leaders

Remember when you were eight years old and wanted a treehouse in your backyard more than anything in the world? You pleaded with your dad, your mom, your grandfather, your uncle, and anyone who would listen. You had seen one at a friend's house, or on the television, and a ‘fort’ was the answer to all of your dreams.

Now if you grew up in a solidly middle-class or lower family, you knew there was no custom-built treehouse in the budget. If, after much pleading and all the sales acumen a preteen could offer, you got approval for said treehouse, you got to work. You would start scrounging the neighborhood for scrap 2X4s, milk crates, old plywood, anything that could be used to build your dream. You promised that you would do a myriad of chores to make as much money as possible: clean your room, feed and walk the dog, take out the neighbor’s trash each week, leave your sister alone, not fight with your little brother … whatever it would take.

When the day finally arrived for the building to start, you were there for every nail, helped with every measurement, sometimes even twice, and tried to cut every board. You and your father/grandfather/mother/uncle spent countless hours, countless weekends making sure your treehouse was just the way you wanted. It might not have been the best treehouse ever built, but it was yours and you helped build it.

As you played with friends in your treehouse over the next few weeks, fighting mock battles, sleeping below the stars, or just enjoying the wind blowing and the tree swaying back and forth, you first understood what it meant to make a dream come to life. 

The lessons you learned in the building of that treehouse apply to your business life.

  1. Dream big. Jim Collins called it the BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Treehouses are big dreams. Kids can dream big. Get back in touch with that ability.

  2. Do your research. Find out what else is out there that you can model. Once you knew you were getting a treehouse you looked at every treehouse-related concept you could find and made notes on what you liked about some, and what didn’t work about others. You learned early on what you could live with and without.

  3. Plot your plan of action. As with the building of the treehouse, this is about bringing your dream to life. What supplies do you need? Who do you need to help you make it happen? What are your biggest barriers and how can you overcome them?

  4. Choose your team. No one wants to be in a treehouse by themselves. It takes a crew to make a treehouse come to life, hoist the baskets of snacks, defend against intruders, and keep watch over the area. Your treehouse crew was made up of friends you could trust. They watched out for you, you watched out for them, and everyone was better off for it. You need the same in business: people you can trust and who share your passion for achieving and living your dream.

  5. Build and adjust along the way. When you were a kid building a treehouse you built the best you could at the time. You didn’t build the perfect treehouse. That would have taken too long and cost money you didn’t have. You built and adjusted as you learned what worked for you. The same holds true in business. Don’t let perfection get in your way. Build and adjust.

  6. Celebrate the lessons and successes. Treehouses are easy to enjoy. Sometimes we forget that business can be enjoyable as well. Once you’re done, even if just done with a stage, celebrate the progress, invite others to the party, and keep the positive energy going.

As kids, we’re hardwired to use our imaginations and chase dreams that seem too big. Somewhere along the way many of us learn to tamper our creativity and keep our ideas to ourselves. Maybe it’s time for you to get back in touch with that kid with the imagination and the willingness to fight to make the dream a reality. Chances are you’ll be a better leader, a better teammate, and have things you’re proud to share as a result. 

How is your treehouse these days? Let’s start a conversation.


Stop Calling All Groups of People Teams!

Stop Calling All Groups of People Teams!

Managers often place high performing individuals together and expect them to work well together. Then they are usually disappointed when those same individuals fail to reach even basic goals and objectives. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise. There are countless examples of high performing individuals fighting one another to reach the top of some mountain while happily sacrificing others around them.

Why You Need Change Management Bread Crumbs

Why You Need Change Management Bread Crumbs

For many employees involved in change management initiatives, the story of Hansel and Gretel is far too close to their own experience, minus the bread crumbs. We hear it all the time: employees feel like they’re being led into the woods to certain doom while senior managers feel like they’ve done their jobs in telling their staff that big change is coming, that they shouldn’t be worried and that everything is under control.

The Copy Paper Syndrome: why selfish behavior is killing your company from the inside out.

The Copy Paper Syndrome: why selfish behavior is killing your company from the inside out.

When employees fill their days with only those items that are important to them, or are listed on the scorecard they are held accountable for, they miss the ‘working together’ principle of teamwork. If it’s always someone else’s job to do the little things, then the organization begins to break down. Things that are left for others invariably end up never getting done.