“Individuals play the game, but teams win championships.”
John C. Maxwell
I have had the privilege of being a part of championship sports teams. I have been able to coach individual champions, but even more fun to be a part of were the team champions. These past few days though I was able to be a part of a world class team of champions.
You may be wondering what I am talking about on the last part, but I will get back to that. Maybe you have a huge dream you are trying to accomplish as a leader or let’s just call it a vision. The vision could be to meet a specific financial benchmark or reach a specific amount of people in your market or in the world. Maybe it relates to something entirely different and when you think of your vision it overwhelms you. . . . good!
If our dreams can be accomplished with just us as individuals then we are dreaming too small. During the last week I got to be a part of a team of leaders with The John Maxwell Team and John Maxwell himself who were in Costa Rica training 15,000 leaders from every area of influence to lead roundtables. These individuals who have been trained now will be able to train others in this same process and be able to transform their organizations and ultimately their country. How did you do that in just a few days you may ask?
Teamwork.
Each coach invested their time and resources and decided they would go to help this launch. What does all this mean for you and your leadership?
- As I was a part of this experience and have seen championships won in the past, the common theme is that each team member had bought into the common vision. Recently I read that if someone isn’t buying into the vision that is OK, give them respect and time to work through barriers and then, if necessary, let them move on. They will surely find a dream they want to align themselves with, but apparently not yours.
- The teams I have experienced accomplishing great things have valued the collective goal more than their personal goals. We are all selfish so as the leader we need to help people see how the bigger picture aligns with their individual desires. This may be the entry point, but at some point a great team player will see the team’s goal as more important and use their strengths to fulfill their role on the team. This is the superstar player who may not get the ball much, but makes the play at the right time to help the team.
- The team I was a part of in Costa Rica knew something critical to team success: the leader cares about us more than his ego. John Maxwell is a very authentic and transparent leader and even though I don’t get much time with him I know he cares about me and this trip was about serving the people of Costa Rica and not exalting John. When we know that everyone is aligned with the common goal of serving the people it makes it much easier to align with the leader’s goal and serve as one unified team.
How big is your dream? Do you have a dream that is bigger than you? Is your vision a vision that makes you appropriately uncomfortable and you see that you need a bigger team? Are you willing to let go of control and empower others to help you accomplish the vision? Who do you need on your team? You may not know right now, but keep thinking and you will. Keep pursuing the vision, build the team, and accomplish the dream. Lead well.
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