The Power Of An Invitation – Part 1

By Tyler Head

You may or may not remember recess; for me, it was a highly developmental time of my day… still is. Playing outside with classmates, running wild and free, playing in the dirt, organized games like tag, hide and seek, and the infamous kickball. My goodness, what a game to behold; male, female, big, small, young or old, it didn’t matter, all could play, and some were better than others. As a middle schooler, kickball was the holy grail of recess. A highly integral part of this process was picking teams. Even more glorious than the act of picking was the wonder or hopefulness of being invited to or selected by a particular team. Yes, I mean receiving an invitation to be a part of a team, an invitation to be a part of something bigger than myself, with an extremely clear vision of success: Score more runs than the other team.

I wonder, if we too invited our people to be on the team more often, would our internal culture look different?

It’s innate in us to want to be a part of something bigger, chosen as a teammate, and invited into something that has much potential. We leaders must hone in on the art of invitation and practice it fervently. Not in a manipulative, sneaky sales kind of way, but one of open and candid invitation to someone you see much potential in. And believe me, if they are human, they have much potential both in helping your organization and for themselves.

At DRYVE, we define leadership as the ability to help someone go farther than they could or would on their own. But, it all starts with an invitation.

Are you inviting your people in?

Check back later this month for the rest of the kickball story and 3 Reasons why Organizational Invitation is so powerful.

You’re not alone. Hear about other success stories here.