Category Archives: Teamwork

by

A Little Book with Big Ideas

Chess Not CheckersA review of Mark Miller’s book, Chess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game

I have been a fan of Mark Miller’s ever since I heard him speak at a workshop many years ago in Florida. When I first heard him, I wished that his insightful content was available in book form. I heard him speak again several years later and was delighted to hear him say he was working on a book. That was five books ago. Each of his books has hit home with me and helped me grow as a leader. His latest offering, Chess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game is no exception.

This book continues the fable style that is popular among business authors today. We ride along on Blake’s (a character from previous books) leadership journey as he accelerates his pace as a leader by taking over as the CEO of a small company. Blake soon finds that leadership at this level is more complex than it was in previous roles. The rest of the book describes four moves leaders need to make in order to up their leadership game. I won’t regurgitate the content here. There are other reviews that do that and I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book for yourself. It’s an easy read but has powerful principles that have big impact on how we lead.

Here is how the book impacted my leadership development:

  1. I will plan my departure from the organization my first day at the organization.

As a leader, one of my main jobs is to identify and invest in other leaders. The question that I ask myself is, “What do I want the leadership bench to look like when I leave?” If I have a hard time identifying leaders from day one, I have my work cut out for me. If I can identify a few key people with leadership potential, I can then devise ways of helping them tap into and refine their leadership skills. One principle in the book is, “Bet on Leadership.” For me, that means I need to invest in leadership by talking about leadership and offering resources to help people grow as leaders so that the day I leave the organization, another leader can easily step up and take the group where it needs to go.

  1. I will focus on WE not ME.

We are weary of hearing about selfish CEOs who command multi-million dollar contracts and ride around in corporate jets. It’s easy to get caught up in the perks and power of leadership and forget about the teams we are leading. Leadership is not about us. It’s about the people we lead. Our role is to serve the people under our care. Too often we have seen walls that are built between the leader and the team. In the book, the principle that counteracts this tendency is, “Act as One.” The people we lead need to see and believe that we are on the same side as them. As with most other things, it comes down to what we do rather than what we say. We’re all pulling on the same side of the rope.

  1. I will be humble enough to find a mentor who can help me at this stage of my growth.

The great thing about leadership is that we are never fully formed. There is always room to grow. In the book, Blake gets a new mentor who helps him in his current situation. I’ve found it a matter of Providence that the right mentors come into my life at the right time. There are mentors whom I no longer need because I have learned and gleaned all I possibly could from them at that stage. As my leadership growth needs change, so does my need for specific mentors. We can never believe that we have arrived as leaders, but instead are asking, “Who can I learn from at this stage of my growth?”

Chess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game challenged me and I will be using it as a resource for many years to come both for myself and for those I lead. I am going to be sharing this book with every person on my leadership team.

promo_01Thank you, Mark for stirring up the potential in those of us whose task it is to continually elevate our leadership game!

 

You can check out a trailer for the book here:

 

by

How Leaders are Like Video Game Designers

Image courtesy of Idea go at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Idea go at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It was a case of mistaken identity.

I walked into my local Papa John’s to pick up a carryout pizza. I’m too cheap to pay for delivery and tip the driver. My order was delivered to the counter quickly and I paid. As the well-intentioned young man behind the counter was handing me the receipt he said, “Thank you for your service.” I smiled and nodded, not knowing what he meant. It wasn’t until I got to the car that it dawned on me. He mistook the Dallas Cowboys star logo on my coat sleeve for a United States Air Force star. I live near a United States Air Force base so it is not uncommon to see our service men and women around town. Easy mistake.

I have to admit I felt guilty for getting praise I didn’t earn or deserve. I don’t want to take anything away from the brave men and women who volunteer to serve our country.

I was raised to believe that you strive to do your best because it is the right thing to do. Give your best effort as a matter of pride not as a matter of praise. Applause is something you earn for being exceptional.

Image courtesy of nirots at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of nirots at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I remember going through some old boxes with my father. Years earlier, he served in the United States Marines Corps and the box contained mementos of his military days. He did his basic training at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Several shiny items in the box caught my eye immediately. They were marksmanship qualification badges that he earned while enlisted. He reached the highest rank of expert and was rewarded for his skills.  I don’t recall seeing a medal just for showing up.

As leaders, we have some people on our teams, who think they deserve a medal just for showing up. They have been praised for doing the minimum or taught to believe everyone should get a ribbon. These low expectations work against us.

We fail as leaders when we allow low expectations to continue unchecked.

The art of leadership means finding the delicate balance between high and low expectations for our organization. If our expectations are too low, we can unwittingly impede their progress and allow them to be lazy. Our organization will suffer from mediocrity and our team members will quickly disengage from meaningful contribution.

On the other hand, if our expectations are unrealistically high, our organization will have little to celebrate and team members are in danger of becoming exhausted and discouraged also resulting in disengaged team members.

When our expectations are just right, we see a steady progression of growth in both the organization and the individual team members.

We have that in common with video game designers.  A game designer knows that if you make a game too easy, people are going to get bored and not play. If you make it too hard, people won’t continue to play because they don’t see progress. The key is making each level challenging enough to entice players to stay engaged so they can progress to the next level.

So how do we walk find this fine line?

Image courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of anankkml at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here are a couple ideas:

  • Build relationships with people on your team, so you know what motivates them.
  • Set a baseline of minimum expectations and communicate them regularly.
  • Praise progress rather than low performance.
  • Reward people when they do an excellent job.
  • Find ways to help people step up.

People will rise to the level of our expectations.

What expectations do you have for your team members? Which team members are doing well and which ones are demonstrating an attitude of entitlement for just showing up? How long can you afford to allow low expectations to impede the progress of the team?

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you keep challenging your teams.

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Make Peace

Glynn Archer 2Blessed are the peacemakers – Jesus, Matthew 5:9

We don’t have to look far to see the need for peace in our world.  Conflicts are ongoing in several parts of the world at this very moment. As leaders, we feel the conflicts closer to home, among our team members.

I was reminded recently that sometimes our role as a leader means being a peacemaker. I visited the Key West Cemetery where one of the best leaders I’ve ever known is buried.  His name is Glynn Archer, Jr.  He came along at a time in my life when I was still trying to get my head around the responsibilities of leadership.  He was a mentor to me.  He was involved in the local community and was especially helpful in the bringing together of three distinct churches as they merged into one. I watched as he masterfully heard each side’s point of view and distilled each group’s concerns down to the common elements.  Then he built relational bridges between the groups so that they could meet in the middle and work together.  He realized that working together was the only way forward.

It’s tough to be a peacemaker because each side in the conflict thinks they are right. I’ve enjoyed reading Ed Catmull’s fantastic book, Creativity, Inc: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Mr. Catmull is the President of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation.  He describes one of his early meetings with the late Steve Jobs as they are trying to figure out if they could work together.  Catmull gently asks Jobs how he handles it when people disagreed with him. Jobs replies, “When I don’t see eye to eye with somebody, I just take the time to explain it better, so they understand the way it should be” ( Amazon Kindle, Location 743).

We all share Jobs approach at times.  Everybody else is wrong and we are right…right?

That’s why we need peacemakers. Leaders have to wade in where angels fear to tread and get messy with the conflict.  We risk being yelled at and misunderstood.  We have our motives questioned and are accused of playing favorites.

But when the conflict is resolved, there is nothing like the sweet sound of harmony as team members work together again.  The mission moves forward.

Buck up your courage; be a peacemaking leader.

The world needs you.

And so does your team.

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Get Mad, but Don’t Get Even

Image courtesy of coward_lion/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of coward_lion/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. ~ 12th Century saying

Has another leader ever ticked you off?

I’ll go first.

YES!

It happened recently when I called the leader of another organization to ask for a little favor.  It was small in my mind, at least.

His negative reaction caught me by surprise.  He was unyielding, uncooperative and downright rude in his response. He was unwilling to work with me. I wanted to hang up on him.

I stewed about it and told others on my team what a jerk this leader was and that he was the cause of their inconvenience.  (Not my finest hour.)  I was frustrated for me and my team.  Fortunately, I calmed down and realized why I didn’t tell this leader where to stick it.

I didn’t because, for purely selfish reasons, I may need a bigger favor down the road.  In addition, this leader may need a favor from me down the road and I’ll have the upper hand at that point. (Both terrible reasons.)

But then I had a flash of insight that made sense.  As leaders, there are times when we have to take the high road for the good of our organization.  It is not fun, it’s not our first choice, but nevertheless, it is the road we walk as leaders.  The organization we lead comes first. Life has a way of turning the tables.  Circumstances change.  There may come a day when our two organizations will need to work together.  That time may come after I’m already gone.  I don’t want to be known as the leader who blew up the bridge between the two.

We’d all rather be known as leaders who built rather than destroyed.  So we restrain ourselves and take the high road.  Our nose will thank us… and so will our team.

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Set the Pace

Richard Petty Rookie Exp

He who hesitates is lost. 

Adapted from Joseph Addison’s play Cato (1712):”The woman that deliberates is lost.” 

One of the most exhilarating experiences of my life was driving a race car around the Atlanta Motor Speedway in excess of 150 mph.  I was fortunate to take part in a morning session of the Richard Petty Driving Experience.  After a short instruction period, we were led to the track to take our place behind the wheel of a 600 horsepower speed machine.

In session one, I ran 8 laps before being brought in for some coaching by an instructor.  He told me, “You are getting too close to the pace car. Make sure you follow his lead and don’t get so close.”  I kept my distance and did better the second session.  My lap speeds by 10 miles per hour.

It’s been said many times, “Speed of the leader; speed of the team.” We, as leaders, set the pace for our team members.  This is where leadership becomes an art.

If we move too fast for our team, we run the risk of losing touch with those who are following.  Team members become tired from trying to keep up.  Eventually they become discouraged and quit.

If we move too slowly, top team members become bored.  Other members get distracted and have a hard time staying on track.  Petty squabbles and divisions soon cloud pursuit of the mission.

When we find the right balance of pace, the organization’s mission is accomplished in a way that energizes those who follow us.

Balance is the result of knowing ourselves as leaders.  Do we demand perfection or have expectations of our team members that are too high? Do we know the strengths and limitations of our team members?

As leaders, we set the proper pace so that our team members feel great about being a part of our team and accomplishing the organization’s mission.

What tips do you have for setting the right pace? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

by

Monday Quick Tip – Count the Cost of Your Life

Image courtesy of digidreamgrafix/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of digidreamgrafix/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Every man is his own greatest enemy, and as it were his own executioner. — Sir Thomas Browne

It all came together this week during my daily commute along a fast and busy highway.  One of those rare moments when the “university on wheels” curriculum matched what was going on outside of the car.  I was listening to Tony Schwartz and Jean Gomes’ book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working.  They posed a question that grabbed me and caused me to turn off the sound so I could reflect on it.  The question was, “Is the life you’re leading worth the price you’re paying to live it?” (The question is on page 26 in the printed version.)

As I traveled in the “slow lane” I noticed cars moving past on my left at high rates of speed. Then I saw a highway patrol officer in front of me, lights flashing.  The fast moving cars were about to pay a price for their excessive speed.  I silently wondered, “Is the price of a ticket and the hassle of getting it taken care of it worth a few minutes gained?”

As leaders, we want our team members and the people we lead to be healthy so that they can give their best energy for the good of the team.  Our followers require the same of us. They want leaders who are healthy and practice good self-care.  Rare is the person who will follow an unfit and unhealthy leader.

At the beginning of a new week, it is good to count the cost of the choices we are making.  Are we taking care of ourselves so that we can offer our best to the people we lead? Do we have time built into our day to simply enjoy ourselves?

Excessive speed will cost us.  Eventually we will slow down.

Can we do it before someone makes us and we have to pay a high price for it?

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Think Beyond the Obvious

Image courtesy of Idea go/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Idea go/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A drowning man will clutch a straw. – 19th Century Proverb

We’ve heard it said often that “desperate times call for desperate measures.”  I’ve found in leadership that the default mode in stagnant organizations is “desperate times call for comfortable measures.”  We tend to do what has worked in the past without considering that times, people and conditions have changed. The familiar approach ends up becoming the straw that the proverbial man grasps while sinking.

A better approach is to think beyond the comfortable obvious.  Lately, this idea has smacked me in the face to wake me up.  Here’s what I mean:

  • In the movie Moneyball, Billy Beane (Played by Brad Pitt) argues with his scouts telling them that they can’t choose new players the same way they used to.  They have to think differently.  They have to define the real problem. To the scouts, the problem is obvious. But to Beane, it is something entirely different.
  • In the DIY television series, The Vanilla Ice Project (http://www.diynetwork.com/the-vanilla-ice-project/show/index.html), Rob, (A.K.A. Vanilla Ice) buys rundown Palm Beach mansions and renovates them. I enjoy watching the show because he is continually thinking beyond the ordinary to add what he calls the “wow factor.” It’s a way of thinking beyond the obvious.  Having seen firsthand, two of the homes he has redone, he has definitely succeeded.
  • In the late Randy Pausch’s book, The Last Lecture, he tells about an assignment he gave his Carnegie Melon students to virtual reality world. They could not use shooting violence or pornography.  Realizing the default mode for 19 year old males is to create a game with sex and violence, he required them to think differently. He was amazed at what they came up with when they thought beyond the obvious (“They Just Blew Me Away,” Pages 120-122).

As leaders we help define reality then help our team members think beyond the obvious.  If team members were already thinking that way, they wouldn’t need us.

Our challenge as leaders is to throw the life ring of extraordinary thinking so that clutching a straw becomes impossible.

How will you help your team members think creatively this week? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Don’t Take the Blame

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“A poor workman always blames his tools.”

As leaders we are in the business of making others successful.  I had a boss at General Electric who used to say, “Your success is my success.” His words were backed up by a commitment to meet with me regularly, coach me, guide me and make sure I had what I needed to get the job done. He understood that as leaders we are there to serve those we lead.

We provide the tools and resources for our team members to get their jobs done well.

What do our team members need to succeed? Here is a very partial list:

  •        Tools – Computer, phone, supplies, etc.
  •        A listening ear
  •        An open door
  •        Our presence – Encouragement by walking around
  •        Checking in with them
  •        Following up with them
  •        Offer to help – “How can I help you today?” works wonders
  •        Time off maintain balance between work and family

The art of leadership is figuring out what individual team members need in order to succeed. Each person is different.  For some, all it takes is a listening ear. Others need to see us involved and working alongside them.

The above proverb reminds us that poor workers naturally look for others to blame.  Sometimes, that blame is directed at us because we “didn’t train them well enough” (or whatever excuse they want to use).

However, leaders with integrity do what it takes to set their team members up for success.

If a team member doesn’t measure up, it won’t be because the leader didn’t try their best to set them up for success.

In that case the blame will lie squarely with the team member.  We give them what they need to succeed and the rest is up to them.

What are some things you offer your team members to set them up for success?

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Take Down Your Worst Enemy

Image courtesy of Gualberto107/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Gualberto107/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We have met the enemy and he is us. – Pogo, comic book character

In a recent post I talked about “stinking thinking” that we can fall prey to in our role as leaders.  (Read it here.)  The same phenomenon also happens in our self-leadership.  Self-doubt can grip us in its scaly tentacles and we find it hard to break free.

When I find myself in this state, I know it is time for me to check out “the view from someone outside my head.”  It’s like staying inside the same house all the time.  Our view becomes only what we see from that limited perspective.  Soon we believe that is reality, but in fact it is only our perception.

The voice of self-doubt shouts to us to err on the side of safety. It says:

  • You can’t
  • You shouldn’t
  • You won’t
  • You will never
  • That won’t work
  • You must not
  • That’s too risky
  • What are you thinking?

It’s helpful to pay attention to our emotions when we are caught in periods of self-doubt.  The voice of self-doubt becomes louder during times of stress, exhaustion, risk, and as deadlines draw near.

Our best strategy for silencing the voices of negativity is to listen to our cheering section, our fans, our positive partners and our encouragers.  They give us the perspective we need to break free from the hold of self-doubt.

No one makes it alone.

These treasured people remind us of what we have going for us and how far we’ve come.  Sometimes we need them to come along side to give us a good swift kick in the behind to get us back on track.

Take down the voice of self-doubt. Go find your eagles, so you can soar once again.

Who are your positive partners?

by

Monday Quick Tip ~ Don’t Cross the Bridge Until You Come to It

Image courtesy of Phonsawat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Phonsawat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As leaders we are people of responsibility.

We plan.

We worry.

We take risks.

We think ahead.

We try to stay at least one step ahead of our followers.

I’ve discovered that my “futuristic” strength (See Strengths Finder 2.0 and Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath) has a downside in that I can sometimes imagine problems and challenges where none exist. When that happens, my energy is redirected and drained.  I lose focus on the present.

Planning and thinking ahead is important, but we live in the here and now.  We can live in the “there” and miss the “here.”

We can get so far ahead of our team members in our thinking that we miss what is happening in their lives now.

What’s the value in not crossing the bridge too soon?

We can be flexible and adjust as needed.  Conditions change constantly.

Things happen to us that are out of our control.

If we rigidly adhere to a plan, we may take a path that no longer meets our goals or the needs of our team.

Don’t cross the bridge until you come to it is a reminder to be adaptable enough to make adjustments as conditions change.  It’s also a reminder to not allow unnecessary worry to drain our energy.

There are times when leaders are like the captain of a speed boat that takes a direct line across the lake.

There are other times when leaders are like the captain of the sailboat that has no direct path, but adjusts as the conditions change.

What bridges are you crossing that you have not come to yet?

by

How to Lead Followers Who are Different from You

Image courtesy of mack2happy/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of mack2happy/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Leadership is about people. If we’ve led people well, they will follow us and feel good about it. They will sing our praises as a leader.

I’ve become a regular listener of actor, Alec Baldwin’s entertaining and fascinating podcast, Here’s the Thing,  (http://www.wnyc.org/shows/heresthething/) in which he interviews musicians, actors, celebrities, sports figures, authors and community activists.  Alec does a great job getting to the heart of the matter with his interviewees.

In a recent episode, Alec interviewed, Martin Horn, former New York City Commissioner of Correction and Probation.  Horn talks about what it was like to work for 7 years with Tom Ridge when he was governor of Pennsylvania.  Horn admits that they don’t agree politically on many issues, but they were able to build a great relationship in spite of those differences.

In the interview, Mr. Horn said he thinks the world of Tom Ridge and says he was the best boss a person could have.  He knew how to be a leader.

Here are some tips for leading others who are different  from us, gleaned from their experience:

Back up your people

Standing behind our staff or team members shows that we respect them as people and fellow leaders. We treat them as a valued member of our team. The fact that we support them shows that what they do matters.

Hold people accountable

When we hold them accountable it shows that we care about their performance and affirms their value to our team.

Accountability benefits the whole team because the weakest length is not allowed to stay the weakest link for long.

The entire team benefits when each person is held accountable.

Try to be the world’s best listener

We seek to understand where our team members are coming from. The only way to do that is to listen, really listen to their concerns, hurts, fears, joys and events of their lives.

Listening is hard work because we want to jump in and push our ideas and agenda.  Being willing and able to hear our people out demonstrates that we care about them.

Have good values

There is much to be said for doing the right thing.  We won’t follow people we can’t trust to do the right thing. Our integrity as leaders is on display in the decisions we make and in the ways we treat people. Character counts.

Leaders lead with integrity can be trusted to do the right thing for the organizations they lead.

Thankfully we are not all the same. The world would be boring if we were. Life is interesting and leadership is fun because we don’t all agree on everything all the time.

The secret of great leaders is knowing how to navigate the differences and still accomplish the mission of the organization.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you lead people who are different from you. Feel free to leave a comment below.

by

Monday Quick Tip: Give Credit Where Credit is Due

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This seems like common sense, but sometimes leaders get a “big head” and forget that there is no such thing as a solo leader.

These types of bosses are “glory hogs” who act as if their team’s contributions don’t matter.

When it comes time for praise or evaluations, they take credit for the good things the team has accomplished. They are selfish and insecure. They practice “3D Leadership” that demotivates, demoralizes and demeans their team members.

Not surprisingly, their followers don’t stick around. Who wants to be on a team where our contributions are ignored or where credit is taken by the leader as if it was their own?

This week, pay attention to the people you lead.

How are they doing?

What contributions have they made that you are overlooking?

Thank them for being a part of your team. Reward them for their contributions.

Don’t be a glory hog. Instead, do what your mother taught you: give credit where credit is due.

by

The Positive Power of Praising People

Image courtesy of markuso/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of markuso/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This week I watched Rita Pierson’s powerful TED Talk about her life as an educator. Have you seen it? It’s got more than 1.5 million views. You can see it here: http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion.html. She talks about how we all need encouragers and people who bring out the best in us. In a follow-up interview on the Ted Radio Hour on NPR, she said, “I don’t know why we celebrate failure. We think that by telling you what you didn’t do right it will inspire you to do better, but it doesn’t.”  She goes on to talk about the people in our life who “insist that we recognize the excellence in ourselves.”

It is true in every area of life. Everyone needs a champion.

As leaders, we set the tone for the teams that we lead. A team that is praised by the leader for what they are doing right is in a better position to live up to what the leader believes about them.

We are more motivated to be on a team or in a job where our contributions are recognized and our strengths praised. There is tremendous power in praising people.

The opposite is true. Constantly pointing out what is wrong without balancing it with the positive, drains and demotivates people.

Think about our own leadership journey. Who were the people who meant the most to us? It was the leader who stood with us, praised you and challenged us to do better.

What is your team doing well? What individual team members need someone to point out what they are doing right?

As Ken Blanchard reminded us many years ago in his classic book, The One Minute Manager, catch people doing something right and praise them for it. That’s the kind of leader I want to be. How about you?

by

Taking One for the Team

Sea World vendorThe sun beat down on us as we sat in Shamu Stadium waiting for the Believe show to start at Sea World San Diego.  With a few minutes to kill before show time, I watched the vendors hawking toys, over-sized Sea World novelty cups, ice cream and assorted foods.  Suddenly behind me over my left shoulder I heard a commotion and turned just in time to see a red vested vendor dump his entire tray of popcorn bags onto the aisle steps.  A couple bottles of Pepsi he was trying to balance under the popcorn tray toppled over as well.  I felt for him. Blistering heat, big crowds and only a few precious minutes to make a sale, but now any potential profit he makes is bouncing down the steps.

From my right I saw a flash of red making its way up the same aisle steps.  It was another vendor who was working the ground level of the stadium selling Sea World themed toys.  He saw what happened to his fellow red vest and made a beeline towards him.  He urgently excused his way through the crowd.  Still holding his own tray, he bent down to gather the mess of remaining popcorn bags.  When the last bag was back in place on the tray, the popcorn vendor bobs his head in thanks to his fellow vendor.  At first, this mishap seemed like a small thing, but as I thought about it more I realized how extraordinary it was.

We’re taught to look out for ourselves.

We’re taught to compete.  The vendor’s job is to sell stuff to the crowd.  A successful day means sales and profits.  It’s a tough job because the people you are attempting to convince to buy your product have already spent a lot of money to be in the park.  Those same people have a variety of choices when it comes to spending their limited funds.  Rarely will a person buy toys plus drinks plus popcorn plus sunshades plus ice cream before a show. Realistically, people will buy from one maybe two vendors simply because they can’t afford more.  The vendor who came to the rescue gave up his opportunity for sales so that he could help out a colleague in need.  That’s pretty rare, but that’s exactly the spirit and attitude we are trying to foster in the team members we lead.

Create a sense of cooperation.

We’re trying to move those we lead to embrace taking one from the team to taking one for the team. The leader’s job is to create a sense of cooperation among team members in order to fulfill the vision.  Sure, that day the toy vendor probably lost a sale or two, but what he gained was greater in the long run, the trust of his colleague.  Success for him that day was not found in the counting of profits, but in the knowledge that he was a team member who could be counted on to help out when needed.  The day may come when the circumstance is reversed and the toy vendor needs the popcorn vendor’s help.  When it does, it will be the popcorn vendor who can be counted on to help.  When cooperation exists, a team is one step closer to achieving their goals.

“The greatest compliment you can receive is being counted on.” – John Maxwell

As a leader, what are some things you do to foster cooperation among your team members? I’d love to hear your thoughts.