Teamwork!

I am a big fan of teamwork. Most of my life I have worked in settings that require some form of group effort to get the work done. Currently, one of my roles actually involves a task that would be completely impossible without teamwork. It's amazing when it works well, and it's a real challenge when it doesn't!

Teamwork Challenges

Let's start with some of the things that get in the way of teamwork working well. 

1 - Ego. If one or more people on the team let their ego get in the way, things get bogged down. Some people think there are certain tasks that are beneath them, so they aren't willing to help with that if the person responsible for that is struggling. Other people think they can do everything, so they just jump in and act like the savior in every situation. 

2 - Ego. Some people think they know the best way to do something or to handle a situation, or they think they should know how to do something and they allow their ego to prevent them from asking for help. When our ego causes us to work from a place of arrogance, assumption, or ignorance, the work gets bogged down and critical mistakes can happen. 

Clearly it seems like Ego may be one of the biggest barriers to great teamwork!

Teamwork Synergy

So, what are some of the factors that can help create powerful Teamwork?

1 - Appreciation. When the members of a team recognize the role each unique individual plays in the overall task and they appreciate the unique strengths each of those people bring to the whole, it's easier to let each person take ownership of their own task. When we can trust each other and the abilities we each bring to the whole, there is a sense of accomplishment that only comes from the whole of the team together!

2 - Initiative. While it is critical to trust each member of the team to accomplish their unique part, great teams are also filled with people who are constantly looking around for opportunities to jump in and help their teammates when they can, and when it's appropriate. This isn't about taking over for someone or even becoming the savior of the team (see Ego above!), but is remembering that while we each have unique roles to accomplish, there is still a larger, overall task we are all working toward. If there is something I can do to help someone else toward the greater task, why wouldn't we take the initiative and help?!

What are some of the characteristics of great teams you've been on? Are there lessons you've learned from poor teams that you don't want to repeat again? In what ways are you tempted to let your ego get in the way of being a great team member? What would it look like for you to lean into appreciation this week, and how could you take initiative in a way that helped toward the greater task?

Here's to being a great Team Member this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

Traditions With Intent

Hot Take: Every tradition started somewhere!

I know, shocking, right?!  

Seriously, I was thinking about some of the traditions that are about to happen in my life over the next couple of months and I can honestly say, I am not sure where all of them came from or how they got started? Like when did we decide that in our family everyone gets new pajamas on Christmas Eve? And why is it important that there is something cranberry flavored at Thanksgiving, even if it means you open a can and dump a jelly cylinder on a plate?

I once heard a joke about a family who always cut the ends off the ham before they put it in the oven and one of the young children asked why. The parent responded, "Because that's what my mom always did." So, they asked grandma, who said, "That's just what my mom always did." So, they asked great grandma who replied, "Because I didn't have a pan big enough to fit the whole ham."

(Insert Dad Joke Eye Roll Here!)

Back to my hot take - every tradition started somewhere.  If that's true, then it seems like we can play an active role in the traditions in our lives.  If they are working for us, we can continue them. If they aren't working anymore, then we can end them, because if they had a beginning, they can also have an ending! And maybe there is something new we would like to start that just might turn into a beautiful tradition in the days and years to come. 

It seems like the thread that holds this all together is Traditions With Intent. Every tradition was started with some intention. If it's working well, we can intentionally keep embracing it. If it isn't working that great anymore, we can intentionally stop it. And if we want to do something new, we can start it with a sense of intentional purpose.

So, if you were going to lean into the coming holiday seasons with some purpose and intent, what would you do? Are there things you absolutely plan to continue because they still hold deep meaning and value? Are there some traditions you might want to reexamine and consider if they are still serving a purpose? Is there something new you want to start that has special meaning and purpose for you in this season of your life?

Regardless of what traditions you may already have, here's to embracing our Traditions with Intent this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

Your Mask First!

I travelled this weekend to a lifelong friend's wedding that required being on a couple of airplanes.  I've been on enough flights that I am pretty familiar with the safety briefing, but sometimes there can be various circumstances that make the familiar new again.

Last week I had several conversations that included the topic of self-care practices - the activities and strategies we use to help us refresh and recoup our energy. Most of those chats involved people who are in some type of helping profession whose primary role is to constantly be giving of themselves to others. In those circumstances it's easy to just keep giving and giving, often sacrificing time for ourselves and many of those self-care practices, because there is so much need around us. I suspect this is sounding pretty familiar!

This is why the oxygen mask part of the safety announcement stood out to me a little more this trip. They tell you that if you are travelling with young children or people who may require assistance putting on the oxygen mask, that you should put on Your Mask First, and then assist those who need help with their mask. From a very practical perspective, if you help them first and then you happen to pass out from a lack of oxygen, they can't help you put on your mask. But, if you take care of yourself first, then you will still be capable of helping them with their mask.

I don't think I need to connect too many dots here for you! If we are running low on critical elements of our own healthy functioning, like energy or emotional well-being, it's possible we could get to a point where we don't have any capacity left to help those people who are around us. But if we take a little time for ourselves and make sure we have what we need to function, that isn't being selfish, it's acting in a way that is actually the most caring for those people who are around us.  The struggle is, it's counterintuitive. It feels like what we need to do is just keep helping everyone around us, but it's possible to reach a point where we aren't any good to anyone else around us, and we might actually be doing more harm in the long run by incapacitating ourselves!

If you were going to take some time this week to put on Your Mask First, what kind of activities would you engage? Are there some small steps that you could prioritize this week that would help bring a sense of care and healthy stability for yourself? Would it help to just take a small walk on your break, or listen to music in your car while you eat lunch? Maybe you need to go to bed early one night or spend 5 minutes just being quiet and taking deep breaths? It's important to recognize that small acts of self-care have a cumulative effect on our overall wellbeing, so you don't have to come up with some big gesture, maybe just a series of small actions that help to prioritize you!

Here's to putting on Your Mask First this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.