“If you want your team to go further and help team members to sharpen their talent and maximize their potential, when things don’t go well, take more than the fair share of the blame, and when things go well, give all of the credit away.” (John C. Maxwell)
Lions hunt as a pride. The pride is comprised of between five to fifteen members broken down into one male lion, a sizeable number of lionesses and the cubs. When one lion commits to taking down large prey like zebras and giraffes, it takes that risk because it knows that it has back-up support. There is no way the other lions watch whilst their colleague struggles on her own. The reason why the lion develops the guts to attack dangerous prey is because of the total trust it has on the other team members. The level of confidence is therefore high because of the assurance that comes from other team members. It is such assurance that brings a solution provision that is of a high standard. Nothing much is achieved in a team if there is mistrust, uncalled for competition and disrespect for each other.
In any team, it is important for total trust to prevail between the team members. Where the level of trust is high, its easy for the team to function optimally. The team cannot afford to function at levels that are lower than the ones where trust is at the highest level. Trust opens doors that might have appeared impossible; this is because of the committed effort from every member of the team. Trust within a team creates magic of intense magnitude.
It is an art to exhibit the qualities of a good team player. A team player is one who performs effectively and efficiently, knowing fully well that the ‘Me’ is always subservient to the ‘We.’ There is no team member who is bigger than the team nomatter how talented they might be. Getting along with everyone at work is considered an art; the good thing is that the art can be learnt through the interaction with others and the commitment to make good of the team. Being a team member or a team leader per se is for the purpose of working together and getting along till the objectives are achieved. It means friendship in the pursuit of the team goals. Teams are made up of individuals that will, now and then, differ with one another. What drives great teams is placement of the selfless agenda ahead of the individualistic selfish ego.
The level of risk exhibited by the lions as they go for the kill is a clear sign of their belief in the power of the team. As a team member, it is important not to go it on your own. Learn to execute at the highest level with the deep rooted knowledge that you can achieve greatly as a team. The lion risks all the kicks and pain because it knows there is total support that accrues from others.
Those people who stand with you in times of trouble should be cherished. When they are in need, make yourself available to them and offer the best that they would desire in their lives. Take calculated risks knowing fully well that those people will give the necessary support. That is the whole essence of teamwork. Never forget that life pains come but they also teach us to rise to greatness especially when you stand alongside others and vice versa.
What makes a team aggressive in achieving the goals is the attitude to take those differences and turn them into opportunities for development rather than turn the teammates in opposition to one another. This is called strategic alliance for the sake of the common objective that must be attained by team effort.
To get help from someone you must have helped them before. It is a give and take affair in a team. A player who doesn’t contribute anything to the team is soon resented by other players. This has an effect of retarding the growth of the team as a whole. This therefore must be taken as a forward thinking action and should propel us to lend the helping hand in our different team assignments. Learning to be nice to people around us does not cost at all. In particular, do not hesitate to ask for help from people who have rich experience. Most of the time, team members hesitate for fear of being labelled as ignorant. It is however better to be called a fool for one day than live the rest of your life as an ignoramus.
Members of a team need to give and take from one another and be open and receptive to new ideas. Anyone can achieve his/her best when working in a team. Those of us who have worked in different teams realise that working together closely as a team is difficult in reality but it is necessary at all costs. All of us have had our share of difficult colleagues and teams but this should not limit us from doing what we are called upon to do and contribute to the overall accomplishment of the team goals.
