Finding Your Mojo

Mojo is a pretty special word to Crewmojo.

It is a special word for me too, and that is why I already feel so close to our mission.

When a team is working in unison towards a common goal, the collective is stronger than the sum of its parts. It is a state of excellence when everyone feels that they simply belong. It can be seen in groups of friends, it can be seen in families, and it can sometimes be seen in the office. If you are lucky, it can be seen in the office every day.

When you have found your mojo, you are on the same wavelength.

It is our firm belief that mojo is something that is floating under the surface in any given team. Given the right set of behaviours, the right management culture and a commitment to each other, any team’s mojo can erupt into a glorious fountain of positivity. We’ve all had those periods in our careers before where we wish we could bottle the team spirit, but with enough introspection, it is possible to discern the ingredients.

Mojo doesn’t happen by accident.

Some of the blogs in this series will seek to dissect the essence of how a team finds their mojo. There is no single solution, but if there is one word to describe the difference between a “performing” team and a “storming” team, it is this word:

Impact.

When you seek to give more than you receive, your impact on the team will be magnified. When everyone seeks to do the right thing by others before themselves, this influence can reach seismic proportions. “Boom. I’ve spent twenty minutes doing something that will help everyone else.” When you know that every single member of the team is doing the same for you, that is where mojo can flourish.

It is interesting to consider how start-up mojo has driven the current entrepreneurial boom. In a world where smaller companies are redefining the playing field, the we’re-in-it-together mind set is a prerequisite for beating the big boys at their own game. The challenger mentality is more flexible and allows a team to rally around divergent thinking. They are leaving their less culturally flexible competitors in their dust.

That is, until the big boys start taking mojo a little more seriously.

Mojo needs room to manoeuvre. Within a large organisation, each individual department needs to cultivate a unique sub-culture that fits their people and their goals. What makes a finance manager get up in the morning won’t be what makes a sales guy jump out of bed. Leaders within these functions need to understand the circumstances in which their teams perform best, and only then will they be able to compete with the agile outsiders.

As a writer and a solopreneur, the biggest challenge for me is finding my mojo with my different clients. With some, it comes naturally, with others it is a little more nuanced, but if it doesn’t come along eventually, then I feel that I have failed.

For corporates, start-ups and individuals, mojo can always find you.

With everyone putting their bit in, your team can make itself easy to find — and the mojo will flow.