To Team or Not To Team
The sooner you flip your perspective on this endemic truth, the sooner you’ll start making progress. Like it our not, your success is directly related to the performance of others…yikes!
You’re thinking “I thought MY late nights at the office, MY endless series of professional development courses and MY hard work was going to impact MY career?” Think again. Whether you work the help desk, develop products or work in customer service, the days of “leave-me-alone-to-do-my-job” are long gone. So what’s a loner and independent player to do?
Lead, Follow or Quit
Right now several people are reading this at their place of employment. Though they receive a pay check, they’ve already quit their job. Perhaps they have tired of constant change. Perhaps organizational leadership is lacking. Perhaps they’ve hit their performance ceiling and are simply trying to keep a low profile. Maybe the economy has them scared into submission. Whatever the reason, they can’t hide for long.
Organizations are a lot more focused on collaboration and cross-functional teaming than they used to be. Good leaders know that bringing stakeholders from ALL levels of an organization to the table will result in better outcomes. So if “staying under the radar” is your plan, you might as well follow through and quit.
Lead, Follow or Make Coffee
I once received a rather large and abrupt shift of assignments. It happened quickly without warning and made me dizzy and frustrated. Typically a leader, I now found myself in the new and uncomfortable area of “following”. Though I finally got the life lesson, it took me too long to realize that leading can mean “getting out of the way”. Sometimes, you can contribute just as much by quietly supporting your team through the basics such as showing up with a smile on your face, brewing a pot of joe or listening to others team members as they find their way.
Lead, Follow or Do A Little Dance
Teams function best when roles are defined, objectives are clear and mutual trust has been built. Myers Briggs, DISC and other assessment tools can refine individual and team work styles but they can’t replace a can-do attitude.
Amway Founder Rich DeVos nailed it when he said “Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push, a smile, a word of optimism and hope, a ‘you can do it’ when things are tough.” So when team member heads are down and positive energy has left the building, it’s your turn to do a happy dance. Hopelessness is simply not a natural state for human beings.
