The ME in TEAMWORK

"If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." ~Henry Ford

It is said that there is no 'I' in 'TEAMWORK'. My response is that it might be true, but there is 'ME'. What I mean is that there are individuals in a team. There have to be two or more people in order to create a team. The trick is to get all of the 'ME' people working from the same page.

There are many different tips or skills to be learned when organizing and running a team. Most of those tips are pretty basic and common sense when you think about it. What can be tough is getting everyone to learn how important each of them are. Just like people, these tips are good individually. When you bring them all together they are a powerful force.

An obvious example would be the pistons in an engine. Individually, each cylinder can exert quite a bit of power. When you connect all eight cylinders togehter in proper timing, a much more powerful engine will propel you farther and faster. The same will happen with individuals, all in sync and working towards the same goal, farther and faster.

So here are seven skills that individuals need to develop in order be more effective as a team.

Listening

- All of us know that there is a time to talk and a time to listen. Not surprisingly, many people forget this fact. We become so worried with what we are saying that we fail to hear what the other person is saying. Listening teaches us to focus on what the other person is trying to say to us. It forces us to really hear the other person.

Sacrifice

- Every person on a team has to figure out how much they are willing to sacrifice for the team. This could be time or talent and to keep giving towards the team goal when asked. The amount of sacrifice that each individual is willing to make can largely determine the amount of success a team will have.

Sharing

- Like sacrifice, if one individual holds back a key piece of knowledge or solution, it can mean failure. Each member of a team has to be willing to go all in on helping solve problems and contributing all that they know to the success of the team. An individual has to be want for the team even when it means they may not being the one getting the acknowledgement.

Communication

- When we don't talk to each other, nothing gets solved. There has to be open and honest discussion about everything that goes right and everything that goes wrong. Analyzing your goals together as a team, all individuals contributing to advance towards the team goal.

Language

- How you use your words, in a group or one on one has to be done in an uplifting way. Being negative all of the time breeds negativity within a team. Everyone will eventually fall out and the team will disintegrate. Use positive words and statements when talking, discussing or generally working together as a team. And that means everyone on the team because "one bad apple" can spoil the entire barrel full.

Hard work

- Each and every individual must be willing to work hard, both individually and then together as a team. When we each of us work hard on our piece of a project and then work even harder with the team collectively, achieving the goal will be meaningful and greater.

Persuade

- As a team, each individual has to be encouraged to exchange, defend and then eventually rethink their ideas. You may really like your own ideas but in the greater context of the team, pride aside, know that not every idea will have the greatest value to the goal. Some ideas will get used and others tossed to the side.

With any team, individuals have to work together in a collective manner that will greatly increase the good that everyone experiences. Using, adopting, teaching every cylinder to use these skills will result in a team experiencing even greater success.

Stay inspired my friends.