The E in TEAM.

 
In some teams only the leader/s are important. What they do gets mentioned and acknowledged. The successes and victories are normally theirs. The failures and mishaps are always somebody else’s.
 
For a team to function as a team e v e r y b o d y on that team should be seen as equally important and needs to know it.  For the team to be successful and obtain wins, every team member needs to function according to his/ her strengths and be given responsibility and authority to fulfil their task.
 
I just recently visited a medium sized organization where I experienced the incapacitating and demoralizing effect on individuals and a team as a whole, of having responsibility, but not the authority to make any decisions!
 
The most important aspect of an effective and winning team is not the hierarchy or pecking order, (that is so last century!) but a clear knowledge and articulation of the function and role of each team member.
 
Empowerment of every team member to fulfil their particular function is equally important.

Empowerment includes, but is much more than just the transference and accumulation of knowledge and best practice.

I believe that God has a picture, or dream for each one of us to fully and uniquely become who He imagined us to be, when He created us.

Empowerment should be that of the whole person and should enable us to transform and move towards the realization of that unique picture and plan that God has for each one of us.

When everybody on a team are empowered according to their strengths to fulfil their function and purpose and if they cooperate on the basis of trust, (see last week's post) a real team will be established and flourish!

For me the E in team stands for EMPOWERING EVERYBODY!

The T in team.

 

I know this has been done before. -Many have used the word TEAM as an acronym and assign a concept or principal to each letter. Here is my version at this point in time:

Over years I've seen that one of the most important, if not the most crucial ingredient in the mix of team dynamics, is trust. For me the T in team thus needs to be a upper case big fat letter T, standing for TRUST.

Without a reasonably high level of trust friendships suffer, marriages falter and teams are bogged down in the trenches of hidden agendas and suspicion.

Where does trust come from? Is it just something you do when someone say:

"Trust me." ?  Is it something that is expected from you, or that you expect from others? Can you train team members to trust one another?

Some people are more trusting than others. They seem to trust others easily and sometimes without any apparent reason. This type of trust many a time is thwarted and I've heard how people painfully resolved "never to trust anybody again."

In essence trust cannot be learned or expected.
Trust is earned.
You can built trust.
You can only trust what or who you know.
Trust can be destroyed and in some cases it is very difficult and even impossible to restore.

How do you built and earn trust in a team?

-Built authentic and caring relationships.
-Be there for one another.
-Be consistent and truthful.
-Show that you as team member or -leader is not only looking out for yourself,
  but for the growth, benefit and happiness of each team member.
-Value the contribution and view point of each team member.
-Spend time together: Talking, eating, planning and having fun.

The most important factor in all of the above, is time. Trust cannot be microwaved.
At the end of each of the above sentences, add the words "over time."

It takes time to built trust, but it can be destroyed in an instant.
-Guard it! 
This is the responsibility of each team member, but especially that of the leader.

 

Common sense and leadership.

"Common sense is not so common after all."
These word have been attributed to the philosopher Voltaire.

Another philosopher and writer, Rene Descartes said: "Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it."

A few years ago somebody published an obituary lamenting the death of Common Sense, in the London Times. I could not establish above doubt who the original author was. There are quite a few adaptations of this going around and I have copied one of them at the bottom of this post.

What is common sense? -The dictionaries describe it as practical wisdom. -To do what should obviously be done, on the basis of a simple, sound and prudent understanding and judgement of facts and circumstances, based on simple straight forward perception....

We are indeed living in times where many people seem to have lost the ability to apply common sense to their daily lives. It seems that a lot of people do not know (anymore) that boiled water is scalding hot and that a wet tiled floor is most probably slippery!

Even in politics we badly need common sense.  I thought of stating a "Common Sense Party" -Might get a vote or two from people with common sense....

Common sense plays a mayor role in leadership -or it should!

Leadership starts naturally form a point, or in a situation where somebody realises that something needs to be done and that someone needs to start doing it. The person who takes the initiative then (at least for some time) becomes the leader in that context.

Geese fly in formation to save energy and probably for direction. One of them needs to fly in front. Hunting dogs run in packs, but one of them takes the lead. -It is just common sense to them. As far as we know they don't even "think" about it -they just do it.

Most leadership decisions and actions are not rocket science, but (should be) based on a healthy dose of common sense. 

Can common sense be improved?

I think so.  -I think you can improve your common sense by reading wide. By listening to a lot of different people. -Especially well seasoned leaders and also to "unschooled" leaders.
You can improve your common sense by making and taking more time to think and to reflect on your life experiences and challenges.
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The death of common sense.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; accidents may happen; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults are in charge, not children).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 8-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home but the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little on her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughters, Responsibility and Integrity and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights; I Want It Now; Someone Else Is To Blame and I’m A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone...

 -What appears to be the original article can be viewed at www.loriborgman.com