Dr. David Rafeedie

Note: This is the sixth in a series on the characteristics of a healthy team. You can read that article at (https://davidthecoach.com/blog-1/2017/11/14/characteristics-of-a-healthy-team

Characteristic six: Excellence is a fundamental value of healthy teams. They are constantly looking for ways to improve and are not satisfied with the mundane or status quo. Excellence is what makes champions. Healthy teams have a deep desire to be the best. Great teams do the fundamentals very well. It gives them a foundation to build on.

The Keg is one of our favorite restaurants because they serve an excellent steak. When we are in the mood for a good steak, the Keg is our first choice—unless I am BBQing, of course. You can find a Keg in the west and southwest of the U.S. and all across Canada. Along with their great steaks comes great service.

Recently my wife Ellen and I went to the Keg on McGilvery in Winnipeg to celebrate her birthday. We like our steaks cooked to medium. At the Keg, we have never been disappointed as they always come just as we ordered. This time something unusual happened. Mine was perfectly medium, but my wife’s steak came more towards the well side.

We had a great server, Mike Adams, who was very professional and very friendly. He checked on us often to make sure we didn’t need anything and that we were satisfied with the food. My wife mentioned, not as a complaint, but as information, that her steak was more on the well side. Mike offered to “fix” the situation several times. Ellen told him it wasn’t necessary; that she was enjoying her meal.

The next thing we knew, the manager was at the table asking Ellen about her steak. He was very insistent, despite her protests, that the charge for the steak would not be on the bill. When Mike came back to the table, Ellen again said we were willing to pay for the steak because she thoroughly enjoyed her meal. But he said it was a done deal.

I asked Mike if it was normal for a server to tell the manager something of that sort. He said whenever a customer has a complaint, or anything is out of the ordinary they report it to the manager, and the manager comes to have a conversation with the customer.

My wife’s mention that her steak was more done than medium was a small thing to her. But it was a big thing to Mike and the Keg. They “fixed it” beyond our satisfaction. We felt a bit guilty, but the manager and Mike were insistent.

I share that story not to tell you how to beat the bill at The Keg. I mention it because of the excellence we experienced. There are great lessons for any team in the way The Keg handled everything.

1. Mike is an excellent server who knows his stuff. He paid attention to the details of our meal from the point of taking the order, to the paying of the bill, and everything in-between. On a healthy team, team members are skillful at their roles and take pride in what they do. They pay attention to the details and do them with excellence. Skill and attention to detail are two of the hallmarks of excellence.

2. The restaurant has a strict set of standards and a system to monitor the quality of their service.  If there was something that didn’t meet their standard, they were on top of it quickly to fix it. A healthy team builds excellence into their operation. It begins with standards that are not compromised but monitored to ensure the standards are being met. High standards are fundamental to excellence.

3. At the Keg, Mike and his manager were on the same page. Their thinking and actions were aligned to accomplish their goal—our satisfaction with The Keg experience. Alignment of effort to accomplish the mission is a mark of a healthy team and necessary to achieve excellence.

4. Like Mike and the staff at the Keg, on a healthy team, the team members know what the mission is, how to accomplish it, and they don’t take their eyes off the goal. Clarity on the “win” is critical to focus and excellence.  

• Skill and attention to detail—training and development are important to health on a team.

• High measurable standards that are monitored and built into their operations.

• Alignment of effort around mission—everyone knows their part and pulls together in the same direction.

• Team members keep their eyes on the target—everyone has clarity on the win.

On a healthy team, team members push themselves to excellence. They challenge and encourage one another to grow in their pursuit of accomplishing the goal. Healthy team members never rest on their laurels. If you are doing everything you can do, you can be content in your efforts. But never be satisfied until you reach the goal you have before you.

What do you think? Start the conversation.

I can help you coach your team to excellence, or if you prefer, I can coach you and your team together. Working with you and your team, I can help you get to where you want to go faster than you thought possible. Email me at info@davidthecoach.com and let’s have a conversation. I would love to explore the possibility with you.

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