Introducing…Frank & Eddy!
Frank & Eddy Quarterly, Q3 2023
Well, actually, hello: we’re Fiona and Alia (if you’re wondering who Frank and Eddy are, read more here).
What’s the most well-functioning team you've ever seen? Perhaps the 1990s Chicago Bulls? Or the Mighty Ducks? Your high school debate team? [ed. note: why are there nearly zero popular examples of women’s teamwork besides Hidden Figures and 2016 Ghostbusters?!] It’s clear that throwing together a group of talented individuals alone won’t guarantee amazing results. The key lies in solid leadership and a touch of magic, transforming a random group into a well-functioning team that brings joy to their work.
While we don’t claim to be magicians, we are passionate about enabling great leaders due to their outsize influence on the success of a team. With our firsthand experience guiding leaders and their teams at Spotify, Lonely Planet, and elsewhere we have valuable insights to help you find your own magic. We drew on these insights ourselves, recognizing early on that we, too, are a team coming together to accomplish something we couldn't do alone.
So what’d we do? Following our own guidance (we’ll spare you the dogfooding analogy), we focused on essential foundational ingredients that every team needs:
Clear goals and a compelling purpose that motivate and guide us
A growth and experimentation mindset to help us learn and adapt
Vulnerability and an inclusive space to bring out the best in ourselves and each other
An environment for candid (one might say frank) feedback to avoid leaving important things unsaid
While every team requires these ingredients, the path to achieving them will be unique. Of the many things we did along the way, these are a few of the most noteworthy examples (but feel free to ask to see our Trello board with 176 completed items – phew!).
Clear goals and a compelling purpose
All teams need a clear mission and an understanding of what “good” looks like. Together we identified our ideal client, brainstormed a mission statement, set some big overall goals, and defined initial measures of success. This clarity has guided our priorities, helped us strip away the extraneous, and brought us focus. At one point Alia was going down a rabbit hole exploring small business SaaS products and our clear goals and priorities allowed Fiona to gently say “do we really need to do that now?”
Getting curious to experiment and learn
We had a lot of fears about starting this business, but rather than letting fear paralyze us or trying to know absolutely everything upfront, we got curious. We apply a product development mindset to our business, consistently identifying the biggest unknown and what we need to learn next. Is there a market for this? Will people pay? Can we feel comfortable leaving the safety of a corporate paycheck? Among other things, Fiona experimented with mentoring a few people, while Alia reached out to other coaches – strangers! – to understand their journeys.
Our curiosity is a cornerstone of our approach. We don’t assume we know all the answers, and we recognize that gaining a deeper understanding leads to better results for ourselves and our clients. We’ll always be asking, experimenting, and learning; it’s a fun part of the ride!
Being vulnerable
We don’t just rely on the fact that we know each other well. Collaborating with others is hard, so intentional vulnerability strengthens our mutual trust and helps us meet the other person where they are. One transformative conversation involved sharing how to recognize the signs of each other struggling or experiencing stress so that the other could notice and help. For instance, Alia now recognizes that Fiona can enthusiastically overcommit without prioritizing her time or asking for help. So Alia can say: “I’ve noticed you seem to be avoiding this task – what’s going on?” This and other intentional conversations allow us to easily call out something when it doesn’t feel quite right, adjust when we need to, and support each other to be our best selves (which lets us be better coaches to our clients).
Saying the hard things
From the start, we emphasized the value of open communication and established easy mechanisms for it. One example is our weekly moment for "Strainers and Appreciations.” Strainers are obstacles clogging our sink drain, and sharing them doesn't necessitate solving the issue or taking immediate action. This moment ensures we’re not leaving things unsaid, and normalizes frank conversation. The regularity reduces any sting, allowing us to easily express frustrations like, "Hey, this is moving slowly and it’s pissing me off." We acknowledge that both of us are doing our best, take action together if needed, and we move forward. Appreciations are essential, too. It’s easy to focus on the negative and overlook what we’ve done for each other and the progress we’ve made towards our goals. Cultivating a habit of heartfelt appreciation ensures that our successes don’t go unnoticed.
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Maintaining focus on these foundations will be a daily practice that we iterate on, and building this foundation is something we help leaders uncover.
Through our 1-on-1 leadership coaching or team facilitation, we can help you and your teams develop your own magic. Our company specializes in building leaders that help teams thrive, uncovering your unique leadership strengths, and helping you navigate challenging situations. Our aim is to help you make a greater impact on your business and the world.
To learn more and join us on this journey:
Sign up for our Frank & Eddy Quarterly – we won’t spam your inbox but we WILL share tips and what we’re currently curious about and learning, once every 3 months
Contact us to set up a free coaching session
Thank you for considering Frank & Eddy. We look forward to connecting with you soon!
