What if I told you that your leadership style didn’t matter? How about if I told you that the Culture of your brand was irrelevant? Or that your systems, no matter how clever, would never work?
All of three of these questions rocked my conventional thought process, although the paradigm shift happened when I became aware of the missing ingredient that changes everything…… The VIBE.
There is probably an internal argument happening right now defending your leadership style. Mentally listing off all of the time and research that it took to settle on your chosen leadership approach. Not to mention the features and benefits that can be backed up by books, podcasts, thought leaders and case studies that back your informed decision.
Your mind is racing to discredit that the culture of your brand is irrelevant. Especially when you have worked so hard, read so many books, taken surveys and have dedicated yourself to insuring that this buzzword of today is live and well in your organization. After all, how else are you going to keep your existing team members and attract a new pool of talent that is sold out to growing your brand?
If that wasn’t enough to ruffle your feathers, the last straw in your mind was to challenge the fact that your systems will never work. Now, your mind is not softly shouting “You obviously haven’t seen my results, my ROI, or what we have built!!! Our systems are the top of the food chain, tried and true!!!! You picked a fight with the wrong person!!!!!”
I, in no way intended to pick a fight, but now that your blood is pumping, let’s step back and examine my outlandish claims. Humor me and say these statements out loud “My leadership style doesn’t matter”, “The culture of my brand is irrelevant”, “My systems, no matter how clever, will never work”. How did that feel? I can only imagine, it probably felt like you turned your back on your hard work. I have one more request, repeat those statements again out loud, but this time, add “if the VIBE is off!” at the end of each one. This will change the paradigm.
If this is true, what is the VIBE and how can we construct it? I am so glad that you asked. In order to construct something, we must first define it.
The VIBE is not the energy that you bring in to an environment, it is the way that people feel when you leave. When this concept is realized, it opens up the opportunity for exponential growth.
“You mean to tell me that I can choose any leadership style, have any type of culture and utilize any system that fits my brand as long as people feel good about it and believe in it?” This is where the paradigm shifts and I bet you are instantly evaluating areas that aren’t working by asking yourself,”what is the VIBE of my leadership, culture and systems?” How do people feel about them. The holy grail when it comes to your brand is buy-in from your team and consumer, and this is a direct result of people’s belief and to believe in something it has to make you feel good…. it’s the VIBE.
Now that we understand the definition, it is time to build, but first we must understand the components before we start construction. Your VIBE is made up of 3 parts:
- Heartset – your belief system
- Mindset – your intentions
- Skillset – actions
Now that we have the components, we can now construct your VIBE triangle with the Heartset (belief system) on the base, your Mindset (intentions) on the 2 sides and your Skillset (actions) at the apex of the triangle. This creates a firm foundation based on our beliefs, intentions and actions. The components in this order is imperative as you can imagine what would happen if you inverted the VIBE triangle and tried to build on the apex of your actions.
Now that we have defined and constructed the VIBE, the application is as simple as aligning your Heartset, Mindset and Skillset in your leadership style, culture and systems. Unbeknownst to me, my parents gifted me with this priceless foundation. My Mama told me I was awesome, I was beautiful and that I could do anything that I put my mind to. My Pops summed this up by saying, “Boy, you are the greatest…….so act accordingly! It wasn’t until years later that I understood the meaning of these repeated phrases that I would build my life on. You are awesome, separate yourself from your accomplishments. You are beautiful, never compare yourself to anyone or anything, including yourself. You can do anything that you put your mind to, although just because you can, it doesn’t make it right for you. You are the greatest…..so act accordingly, well that is self explanatory. This created my Heartset. Throughout my travels, I learned that when you are kind, make friends and stay curious, things seem to fall in place and just like that my Mindset was formed. When I applied my Heartset and my mindset, I seemed to have freedom to create and this created my Skillset, which is summed up in one word, Relentless. Pitbull mentality, as my Pops called it, lock on and don’t let go until you get your desired result. This is my personal VIBE triangle and although you can use it as an inspiration, it is imperative that you develop your own VIBE.
Once this alignment happens, you will foster buy-in, belief and ownership because you tapped into the missing ingredient that changes every thing… The VIBE.
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