Our Team Had a Mascot

The last team I led was virtual, global and remote. This was not due to the pandemic. It was because we worked for a global company, I was building a global COE and I wanted to create an environment where our learners would see themselves reflected in a centralized learning team. Therefore, I had direct reports in NA, Europe and even Asia.?

Building a strong team was important to me. Building high performing teams is a passion of mine. I’ve had the opportunity to work with executives, managers and manufacturing employees all either having in-person teams, remote teams and hybrid teams. I’ve worked with them to identify their own unique team traits and create high performing teams which are meaningful, distinctive and bring efficiency and effectiveness to their individual and team roles.?

But one thing that stands out among my team was that we had a mascot. Anytime someone joined the team, or we celebrated, or we had a team meeting, we brought out our mascot. It was a cat. Many of our team-members had cats or at least liked cats. Not that that was a prerequisite to be part of the team, but we didn’t hate cats. The cat came about because one of our curated e-learnings had a man petting a cat while sharing his wisdom about strategic thinking. We all thought it was a bit hysterical, so we kept coming back to it and it stuck. Our team would meet regularly to focus on our team objectives, our strategy, ourselves as a team and we often had check-ins on how we felt we were performing. The cat mascot became a uniting bond for our team. It was a commonality which defined how we came together to feel that we were part of this team.?

Research shows that having a team mascot has positive effects on productivity and morale in a team. In many sports teams there are mascots. We all know and love them. My brother, who I mentioned in past newsletters, happened to be the Oriole Bird Mascot for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team in 1983, the last time they won the World Series. BTW, they are having a good year so far ??

A mascot can create a sense of unity and pride among team members, which can improve overall team morale. When employees feel connected to their team and are motivated to work together towards a common goal, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and committed to their work. When employees feel a sense of ownership in their work and company culture, they are more likely to feel connected to the organization and motivated to contribute to its success. For those of us who grew up in sports, universities, schools we may remember our mascot fondly as it evokes emotion and often becomes the uniting and defining coveted symbol of success of the team.

A mascot can be used as a tool for communication, helping to convey important messages and build a sense of community. Whether it's through emails, social media, or in-person events, a mascot can help to bring people together and create a shared sense of purpose. Our team “brought out our cat” which evoked a sense of belonging, pride, motivation to feel we were part of something bigger than ourselves. Overall, a mascot can be a powerful tool for building team spirit, enhancing company culture, and improving performance in the workplace. By creating a visual symbol that represents the team's values and mission, a mascot can help to create a sense of unity and pride that can lead to better communication, collaboration, and overall performance. Sam Rogers Sara Teixeira Jennifer Manna Richard Legge

Has anyone else had a team mascot? Post a pic below!