ABCs of TEAM BUILDING....

The following concepts are what I consider the fundamentals of team-building:

A is for action. No team can function without a plan of action, even when the final outcome is to take no action at all.

B is for brainpower. If two heads are better than one, I would submit that a cohesive, well-assembled team should have enough brainpower to attack any project.

C is for cooperation and communication. Team members need to cooperate, even if they don't necessarily agree. Clear communication is the roadmap to cooperation.

D is for dedication. As members of a team, you must be dedicated to the goals of the team, or you are on the wrong team.

E is for ears. Use your ears more than your mouth because listening skills are critical for team success.

F is for fun. Work should be fun, and working together is usually a lot more fun than working alone.

G is for the group effort. The motto needs to be "all for one and one for all" in order to be a real team.

H is for help. Ask for it if you need it, and offer it if someone else needs yours.

I is for the ideas that come from brainstorming and picking each others' brains. Let the ideas flow and then choose those which hold the most potential.

J is for juggling. Combining all the company's needs and desired results will often require a juggling act, but a competent team will be able to achieve that balance.

K is for kinetic -- energetic, dynamic team members keep things moving.

L is for leadership. Every team needs a leader, and every leader needs to be able to depend on the team.

M is for motivation. Nothing motivates a team like trust placed in them by management to solve a problem.

N is for negotiate. Give and take is as important within a team as it is with outside clients.

O is for open mind. Team members need to be open to options they may not have considered, and willing to expand their perspectives to find the best answers.

P is for planning. A plan doesn't need to be rigid to be effective, but it must provide enough direction to keep the team on course.

Q is for questions. Asking questions is the best path to finding solutions. Don't be afraid of asking any question. If you don't understand something, chances are others don't either.

R is for results. The whole point of forming a team is to achieve results. The only variation on that theme is that the results may not be what had been originally anticipated.

S is for solutions, which differ from results in that there may be more than one solution to any given problem. Then the team can implement the best choice.

T is for time management. A well-managed team uses their meeting and planning time efficiently, and understands when it is time to finish the project.

U is for unity. Once a decision is made, the team needs to be unified to implement the plans. If the team can't act as a unit, then it may be necessary to reconfigure the team.

V is for voice. Every team member has to have a voice in the proceedings, and it is up to the team leader to insure that all voices are heard.

W is for work ethic. Each member needs to complete the given assignments and should have confidence that others will demonstrate the same commitment.

X is the X factor -- the chemistry that makes a team productive because all members are committed to the same goal.

Y is for yes -- say it as often as you can. "Yes, I can help. Yes, that's a good idea. Yes, let's move ahead. Yes, we did it!"

Z is for zeal. Passion, eagerness and enthusiasm are contagious; share your zeal with the rest of your team.

Weakness or Strength

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grap your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Bits & Pieces, August 15, 1996, Economic Press Inc


Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, The Holy Bible