Leading in an organization, group, or even amongst peers, requires a collaborative discussion about vision, reality and strategy. The leader starts by orchestrating a team dialogue about what the future might look like; how the organization or group can flourish in the future; where we are going and what are ways in which new life must be breathed into what we are doing.
Beyond just supervisor or overseer level, these discussions need to move out into the areas or members that are comprised to make up the team.
These discussions in and of themselves have the potential to release the energy inside people. Dreaming creates it and the invitation to the conversation releases it. Good leaders know that an entire culture can be ignited by the discussion about what’s next.
Many leaders are afraid of opening up this type of dialogue. They don’t understand that collaboration is not abdication. Collaboration releases energy and passion and unique contributions from those that have actual hands on. It is a dynamic force that most leaders often vastly undervalue and therefore underutilized.
Collaboration is not a promise; it’s an invitation. Hearing people does not mandate that you will always follow what they say or suggest, but it is a significant way for you to value and engage people. It brings issues to the surface that need to be tackled but more importantly it creates a shared vision that ignites the imagination and efforts of the entire team.
Vision is a team sport; not a solo endeavor!
Teamwork is defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary as “a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group.” This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.
Teamwork is all about delegation, trust and being goal oriented. When asked, top CEO’s sited teamwork as both a hiring non negotiable and an area of needed improvement. Someone once said “Individually we are just a single drop, but together we are an ocean”.
Your Dream Team Needs:
- A team needs a clearly defined purpose to excite them to action; never under-estimate the force of morale.
- A team needs an opportunity to shine for you; a cause is the fuel for a revolution. People want to fight!
- A team needs a coach to empower them not a commander to rule them; leaders are not just ‘tellers’ they are inspirers too.
- A team needs camaraderie and accountability to be a balanced power; you can’t have one without the other!
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said “Super stars win games but a team wins championships”.
As with other issues that seem to keep us locked into a comfort zone, teamwork is sometimes be viewed as a ‘necessary evil’. But in reality, teamwork is far more than a means to an end; it is the foundation to accomplish all causes. We have seen what a group of insects can do to a farmer’s crop, or the strategic actions of a flock of geese traveling hundreds of miles without a modern GPS. All these things are accomplished by harnessing the force of teamwork.
The bottom line is that we are not islands, and we don’t have to build our dreams by ourselves. With the right plan, a good amount of patience, and some persistence, it’s possible to build your dream team and achieve more than you ever imagined together. In other words, a group of like-minded people working together towards a common goal are more likely to be successful than an individual effort. Your vision will only be as realistic as the dream team you build around you!
© 2012 – 2013, Cherese L. Jackson. All rights reserved.
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