Build your editorial
team with positive energy
Fear may
be the greatest roadblock to creative thinking, says consultant
Donna Rae Smith.
By Tina Grady
When a publishing team creates positive energy, the results
are like a hot cup of coffee — "great!" says
Donna Rae Smith, founder and president of Ohio-based Bright
Side, a company that provides customized, interactive individual
and team leader development and education.
"We like our coffee best when it’s hot, not lukewarm,"
Smith says.
Smith coached nearly 40 ASBPE members at a luncheon in Cleveland
on how to effectively build a great team through "positive,
encouraging, uplifting thoughts and ideas," and what she
refers to as "trisk" — trust plus risk, which
is necessary for becoming bold leaders of change.
"We grow through risk," Smith says. "There is
a risk in trusting your own ideas, but self trust leads to mutual
trust."
Making It Work
"Fear, especially of looking stupid, is the greatest learning
disability. It’s a monster on everyone’s back, and
it needs to be thrown off and stomped on in order to be bold
and have change," she says.
These tactics can be implemented into the business press world
not only for building a publishing team but to keep it energized,
focused and efficient. And when what Smith refers to as "toxic,
emotional energy" (a.k.a. negativity and cynicism) is present,
it predicates a loss of focus, goals, and vision.
3 steps
to help you build a team
Here are some strategies
to use with your publishing team to create positive
energy, a positive
workplace, and to follow when building a team:
• Fun
— The joy of creativity and learning. Have fun.
• Faith
— Belief and self confidence. You need both.
• Fire
— The heart for passion, courage, and enthusiasm.
Fire is the key to making changes happen and building
the team.
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Instead, the negativity, which may bar crucial communication
between editors, should be replaced with an awareness for the
needs and feelings of the entire team — and the recognition
of "poisonous and toxic" interaction is important
so it can be eliminated to make a great team. Then, Smith says,
the team-building process can truly begin.
Energizing Others
"You have to learn how to create emotional, positive energy
so you can energize others," Smith says. "Emotions
are on-off switches to learning and change." The more frequently
negative emotions and energy can be channeled elsewhere, the
more conducive it will be for a team-building environment and
an increase in productivity. Although the majority of business
press editors have received extensive schooling, Smith points
out that many have never received any training or taken any
courses on how to be a successful leader.
Learn To Lead
"Most of us have had 12 to 18 years of education, but
many haven’t learned how to generate energy to be bold
in life," Smith says. "But we need to 'trisk,' switch
on the learning, and be a leader of change."
The result? A publishing team that’s as great as a hot
cup of coffee.
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