After sharing how our family’s summer plans got completely upended—and why that was actually better—I started thinking about the leaders I work with who navigate constant change without losing their way.
These exceptional leaders don’t just have a plan.
They have something deeper: the values, stories, and shared understanding that bring their diverse staff together around community needs. When everything shifts (and it always does), they don’t discard the whole plan. They have the glue that holds everything together.
I’ve worked with leaders for over 14 years on strategic plans—from full bells-and-whistles versions to nimble, streamlined approaches. The ones who succeed don’t build beautiful plans that sit on shelves.
They create plans that tackle big questions and drive toward meaningful change. Their teams, in fact, use their plan as an ongoing guide for actions and decisions.
But here’s what I’ve learned: for a plan to stay alive in a teams’ hands, you need more than strategic actions. You need to go beyond the plan and tap into the emotions, stories, and desires that drive the work; you could consider this your team’s super glue.
Your “team super glue” consists of purpose (your why), core values, critical needs, impacts, and the unifying story that brings it all together. For this glue to have any real meaning for your team (and to make them smarter and stronger), it needs to include the input of those most affected by and those carrying out your work.
Here’s the good news: you can strengthen this glue at any time, and it’s especially important in moments of instability and quicksand landscapes (umm, like right now).
Use the checklist below to revisit your team’s super glue and ensure that you are all aware and on the same page regarding your super glue.
Here’s to building stronger teams and clearer direction in our own corners of the world.
🏮 BEACONS
Your checklist for team super glue
- Purpose – Why do you exist as an organization?
- Values – What are your top three values that guide decisions and behavior?
Needs – What community needs are you solving? What does your staff need to work well AND support the mission?
Impact – What impact are you having? What unintended consequences need attention?
Story – What are the unifying stories that connect your team to each other and to your purpose, values, and impact? How do you tell them?
Input – What do those most affected by your work (and carrying out your work) say about what you could do improve?
Yes, sometimes these areas directly oppose each other.
Different community members have different needs. Values clash. Not everyone gets what they want all the time.
That’s the work of leadership: finding the throughline, acknowledging the gray areas, and supporting teams to find manageable solutions when there’s no single right way.
This “team super glue” is the adhesive your group needs during successful planning AND to ride through the wild twists ahead. These are the simple basics we know, we need to lead with, and they’re often the first ones we abandon when we’re overwhelmed.
🌊 TIDE TURNERS
More resources & support
Purpose & Values:
- Simon Sinek: How To Find Your ‘Why?’ In 15 Minutes
- Brené Brown’s “Living Into Our Values”
Stories & Connection:
- “Teams That Prioritize Either Learning or Performance Perform Better” (HBR)
- “Notes on a Cultural Strategy for Belonging” (Othering & Belonging Institute)
Input from Others:
Liberating Structures: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/