Write Your Team A Letter

12/10/2020

Dear Leaders,

I trust Q4 has started to click for you and your team. Something I run in one of my workshops is a simple task, it is handwriting a letter to your team.

I’m 95% confident you haven’t written a handwritten letter to your team before.

‍Why a handwritten letter?
‍A letter is more personal, it shows personality, shows you are really thought through the words and the sentiment you want to share with your colleagues.

There are even behavioural sciences that back this method up.

Say thank you, show you have seen the team develop, identify great behaviours, call out wins, say when you have been proud recently and welcome feedback, yes feedback away from your 1-2-1’s. 

I give people up to 30 minutes to write and rewrite their handwritten letter. 

There are two kickers of the exercise:
(1) You have to give a copy to each member of your team or department (send as a PDF right now)  
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(2) The letter will be shared with the other managers and leaders and the letters are shuffled like a pack of cards and each letter is read aloud to the group. 

This might seem like a trial on a bad reality TV show, however, the openness is imperative and this will push you and your leadership to be more open and more transparent with your team. 

It offers you a chance to say things you wouldn’t normally say, it allows you to continue ongoing in-jokes and an opportunity to be the most authentic you vs the leader you believe you have to be on chat, email and in-person. 

This helps introverts, ambiverts and even the extroverts who will want to read their letters aloud first 😉.

I guarantee you will learn something about you, about your fellow leaders and importantly about how your team or department react. 

Have a good week and happily reply to let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Danny 

PS Next week, leaders letter 20 will be 3 tips to optimise your meetings.