I work with teams on a regular basis and many of them are athletes. One day the athletes were performing a drill on an agility ladder which looks like this:
While on the ladder they had to hold a twenty-five pound weight plate (similar to below) over their head and pass it along to the next person when they reached the end of the ladder. Picture a relay race with complicated footwork and a large “baton.” The athletes were competing for a little while with some talented groups not succeeding while less talented teams did. As I watched this I paused the action and brought to their attention four principles that can help bring success:
- Do your job to the best of your ability. Every person has different strengths when they are a part of a team. Just like a body has many parts that each fulfill a purpose on a team each individual fulfills their responsibility to help the team function as a single unit. As long as each individual does their best they increase the possibility for the team to have success.
- Have a plan. Imagine a football team taking the field without a plan. No one will know what to do and they will not only look like a bunch of crazy people running around, but most likely they will get hurt. The coach provides that plan so they can have a path to success.
- Execute the plan. Having a plan or idea is great, but if implementation never occurs it remains an unproven idea. Maybe fear prevents the team from moving forward. Fear of failure, fear of not having the “perfect” plan, fear of success or a number of other fears. Face the fear, put faith in the plan and then learn and adjust along the way.
- Communication with team members. No matter what kind or how big a team is, this area can be the greatest challenge. If the plan is not clearly communicated then execution will falter. During implementation if people fail to effectively communicate then execution will be less ideal. During the relay races if both verbal and non-verbal communication was ineffective the handoff of the “baton” was delayed and slowed the entire team.
During the relays, the teams who communicated a clear plan and executed with each individual giving their best performed at a higher level than those who were ineffective in some or all of these areas.
You may not be running a relay race, but how are you doing on the team you are a part of? Are you giving your best to what you have been entrusted with? If you are the team leader, do you have a clear plan? Are you executing the plan? Are you communicating plans and informing the team well when adjustments need to be made to the plans? Take a moment to pause and reflect on where you need to grow in this area and share your plan to grow below.
