Knock On Wood If You’re With Me

It’s a simple thing; when Raiders football coach Jon Gruden held team meetings, he checked in with his players as he spoke by rapping his knuckles on the podium and asking them to knock on their desks. “Knock on wood if you’re with me” was how he asked for focus on him and synchronicity among team members. The sound of his knuckles on the podium was a reminder for the team to check in with him, and with each other. If someone didn’t rap along with the rest, they got a longer and more deliberate check in later.

I love this little tool because it’s direct and simple. The sound cue is immediate and familiar. It’s a small movement of the hand (knuckles) on any surface.

Working remotely with teams spread out over the globe, fighting time zones, exhaustion, burn out, distractions and boredom, as a CHRO I often struggled to create a feeling of unity and shared purpose. “Knock on wood if you’re with me” became my go-to sound, phrase and move to recenter my teams – and myself. As this simple device caught on, I found team members simply “knocking on wood” to keep the team together during long sessions. The sound reminded the team to listen, focus and center themselves individually and as a team. Sometimes, I only needed to raise my hand and make a knocking movement to re-engage the team.

There is comfort in shared movement. In school, as children we did our jumping jacks and calisthenics together. In unison. We marched two by two to lunch and recess. We held hands as we crossed the street. Then, and now as adults, we rarely dance alone – we dance together with a partner or with a group. We parade together with unified movement and sound – chanting or singing. Why do marching bands exist? Because there is joy in shared movement and creation.

This principle comes alive when intentional breath and movement are employed individually and within a team. When we breathe and move intentionally, we are allowed focus on our minds and bodies. We acknowledge how we feel in that moment and can consider how we want to feel, or how we need to feel to complete a task. When we breathe and move together, we connect with ourselves and each other on the deepest level of our humanity. Breathing. Moving.

As leaders, our jobs are often expressed in our “management” of people. In many cases, we are managing their “time”. But leadership isn’t about managing time -which is finite. It’s (or should be) about creating amazing performance from each individual and team. Amazing performance requires intentionality about what each person needs to be present, focused and committed. “Managing” the energy, the drive, the ability by investing in each person’s internal and external motivators.

Focusing your team not on accounting for time and metrics, but on generating energy that fuels engagement even at the end of the task, the day, the week. And beyond. What could be more basic than being intentional about the connection between body and mind?

Yours, and that of your team? If connecting with your mind and body -as you did naturally and without intention as a child – doesn’t feel right as a leadership tool, know that this principle is fully supported by research science and clinical experience.

Take a break and focus on your breath and your body. Move intentionally to create the mental environment that allows your best work to flow. Then try it with a colleague. And a team. Trust yourself. Surprise yourself !