The Power of Team

The all American sport of Baseball vividly demonstrates the Power of Team. Players practice to hone their personal skills, but also spend countless hours collaborating with teammates to master force plays, double plays, outfield relays and the like. They wear uniforms that signify their common purpose, and when they take the field they work together, even at the expense of individual statistics, in order to win the game.

Coping with failure is a fundamental part of the game. Even the best hitters do not succeed more than 30% of the time, with a 70% failure rate as a desirable norm. The success of a team hinges on how players help each other through tough times to concentrate on each game, one at a time.

To see the dynamic at work, just look in a baseball dugout. Players will be encouraging their teammates as they go up to bat. When a player comes back with a sense of frustration, there is no mood of blame or anger, just a friendly pat, and the words “get ‘em next time”. They are there to cheer each other on, celebrate victories, and remain a safety net of strength to each other when needed most. As baseball is uniquely played by innings, not time, there is always an opportunity to win as long as a single out remains, making the retention of each player’s focus every player’s priority.

If a player refused to practice, not only would his individual skill level diminish, but the dynamic of the team performance as well. A weak link may be exposed by the strategies of the opposition, to change the outcome of the game. A player who cannot be relied upon to embrace the unity of the team will soon find himself elsewhere.

What kind of player are you?

Do you make an effort to go to practice in order become the best player your position? Do you share your insights with others, and accept theirs in return? Are you there cheering your teammates on when they hit home runs, and being there to support them when they have just struck out?

Or, are you investing time and money to learn how to be a stand out player in your position, but failing to realize the “Power of Team”? Have you somehow become disengaged from your team, and drifted down a path of isolation? Have you fallen behind while your teammates work in tandem to get things moving? Have you even questioned your own ability to play your own position?

None of us is as good as all of us. There is so much power in what you can accomplish as a team. Don’t question your gifts or greatness…share them. If you are in a dark place, plug into teammates strength, and you will be illuminated. Your skill set will complement those of your teammates, and vice versa….this truly is “Power”.

Doesn’t everything we have come from “The power of Team”? Your family relationships, the car you drive, the home you live in, the clothes your wear, the food you eat…are all products of the team concept. If an individual tried to take any one of these from concept to completion on his/her own, the outcome would not be the same. “Together Everyone Achieves More”.

It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, a family member, a business owner, or member of a group or a plethora of other things that include two or more people. If you don’t work together, your team will fall apart. But when you coordinate your talents and effort, you can build something much larger than yourself.
Your contribution will lend itself to overall success, not only for the growth of your team, but for you personally. The reward and outcome for those who take the journey together is unmistakably “The power of Team”.

© 2012 Jacqueline Hadden Enterprises, LLC

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Culture Transformation Specialist Jacqueline Hadden is devoted to helping you master your team, and maximize your bottom line. To learn how to create change, and increase revenue now, register for her free weekly articles at www.jacquelinehadden.com.

What are your Core Values?

How do your core values measure up? Do you realize that the foundation of how your employees behave at your workplace result from the culture that you create? Employee guidelines are a great start, however, those are not the heart of your organization.

Are you aware of your company commandments or culture fit?

The best comparison I can give you would be to look at the Ten Commandments. They were etched in stone, and the followers did not waiver. Have you set your team up to follow what is best for the culture of your company?

The modern day commandments don’t have to be so serious, but they do need to be followed. Take Zappos for example. I was fortunate enough to sit down for a two hour interview with Tony Hsieh, the CEO of this incredibly successful organization. Tony’s foundation for building the Zappos culture was his implementation of his10 core values. These are values that the Zappos executives base how they hire, and have even been known to let people go because they were no longer a culture fit.

From the core of Tony Hsieh

Tony has set precedence up of ethics, morale, and true Happiness in the workplace. His Core Values have created an amazing culture…one that every company should emulate. For the record, when I asked Tony how he created such an amazing culture, his response was “I didn’t do it, it was my team.” If you’ve ever read the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, you will concur that Tony is a level five leader…and then some! Speaking of great books, Tony is now an author of a wonderful book called “Delivering Happiness”…this is a must read!

Authentic Values come from within

While taking on the challenge of developing your set of core values, think of it this way. If your employees were on camera, how would they behave? This is usually a great way to measure if you have plunged into the core of your core values. It’s not just coming up with these values that will make a difference in your culture. You have to practice what you preach, and make them a priority for the way your employees conduct themselves even when no one’s watching. The best way to do that is to first hire based on your company core values, and then make sure your values mirror an authentic and driven team. The only way to create a culture like Zappo’s is to implement your values live them, and treat them as if they are the “the law of the land” so to speak.

You will reap what you sow

The law of attraction is a perfect example of the culture you should be aiming for. By creating and implementing core values within your organization, you will create an atmosphere filled with positive energy. This will detour bad behavior, and attract your employees to thrive on the energy of your core values. You will not only see a change in your organization, but the law of attraction will profoundly increase your bottom line.

You may realize that when you implement the values that you have created, some of your employees no longer fit in. If you have one bad apple…it truly will affect the entire bunch. Again referring back to Tony Hsieh, he will let people go if they are a threat to his culture. It does not matter how great of a sales person they are, if their actions are destructive, negativity will spread throughout the company like cancer and affect the morale and growth of the entire organization.

Create the exact culture you desire

Visualize your ideal culture, and then begin to write down your “ideal employee”. This will help you come up with the core values that you need in order to have the company you want. Include your team in brainstorming for fun titles. Sometimes the simplest verbiage will ignite the most powerful values.

As you go through this process, don’t forget to have fun. You will feel empowered and your energy will be infectious. When you step into your core values, you will attract the employees and customers that will electrify your team, and your bottom line.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Culture Transformation Specialist and connection expert Jacqueline Hadden is devoted to helping you master your team, and maximize your bottom line. To learn how to create change, and increase revenue now, register for her free weekly articles at www.jacquelinehadden.com

©2011 Jacqueline Hadden Enterprises, LLC