Do You Value The Power Of TEAM? by Sally Anderson
Monday November 15, 2010
It is with pleasure that I write this week about the ‘Power Of Team’ – I will speak from my personal experience and my professional experience. My aim is that you will find value! You may wish to apply some of the teachings with your own teams.
The acronym I have created is inspired by my current team:-
T – Tenacity
E – Enthusiasm
A – Alchemy
M – Mojo
I will also speak into my corporate experience and what I learnt from National and International assignments in the context of team. But I wish to start with what I am currently learning about the ‘power of team’ – the art of forever staying the student and always being open to personal growth!
Tenacity
The words that spring to mind when I think of Tenacity are:
√ Stubbornly unyielding
√ Sticking together
√ Dour determination
There is an unquantifiable factor when it comes to having tenacity within your own team and I believe it’s isspiritually driven, it is not seen, cannot be held or touched, it can only be felt. As the team grows and expands so does the experience. To be tenacious I believe you have to access your co-creative state. By co-creative I mean access one’s faith. Access the realms beyond your humanness. For faith is at the root of one’s stick-ability
Enthusiasm
The best definition of enthusiasm I have found is ‘Inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power’. Given this definition it is similar to tenacity for its base comes from a spiritual source, I admire when TEAM can be inspired from that which they cannot quantify. That being said, collective enthusiasm for a cause, product, service, vision can be beyond powerful.
Alchemy
Carl Jung’s version of alchemy represented ‘spiritual growth’. One definition of alchemy is ‘A seemingly magical power or process of transmuting’. Transmutation or Transcendence means to change and or alter in form. I believe any human group collective consciously or unconsciously are growing spiritually from each other and source as a result of being brought together. There is NO coincidence in my opinion as to why different groups are brought together at any one time – what’s powerful about his insight, is that if you agree with it you canleverage the power of it.
Mojo
Gary Bertwistle is a leading Thoughtleader in the area of Mojo. He’s written a great book entitled ‘Who Stole My Mojo’, a highly recommended read. His definition of mojo is. It’s your magic, verve, pizzazz, oomph, get up and go, your zip, your spark. It’s that little bit of extra energy we all need to get the most out of life, it’s the difference between having a good day and a GREAT day.
Mojo from my perspective also is the x-factor required to own ones presence. If as a collective you own the‘collective presence’ your power is formidable.
So I Ask You
1. Does your team have tenacity, enthusiasm, alchemical synergy and mojo?
2. If they did what do you think you could accomplish?
3. The synergistic element of the acronym I have used is ‘the spiritual element’. That being said, have you ever factored the spiritual element/equation when creating and or empowering team? If you did what you do think could be possible?
4. If you tolerate dysfunction within your current team why do YOU think you tolerate it? When one finds evidence for what it is like to be part of a empowered team then one would never tolerate anything else.
Successful Teams
Given my extensive corporate experience where I would conduct global audits of organisations I was exposed to 1000’s of teams nationally and internationally. The one synonymous element I distinguished in all dysfunctional teams was this:-
When team was dysfunctional, the majority of the team targeted who they felt were letting the team down! As a result no solution was found to rectify the dysfunction. Those who were aiming the guns took no responsibility ‘in the context of team’, for who THEY were being.
KEY LEARNING
When team is dysfunctional, it is the responsibility of the entire team to assist those within the team whom are not performing. That is the distinction of TEAM! It is a collective responsibility to win the ultimate game.
That being said how many teams do you know of who are truly willing to look at themselves to that degree? Personally speaking the team that does, will be the most effective team you will ever have the privilege to be a part of.
6 Key Elements of High Performance Team – The Sally Anderson Version
1. Owning Ones Collective Presence
Each human being has the innate birthright of having a ‘presence’. In Maori they speak about a person’s ‘mana’ which is similar – it’s your soul essence.What do you think happens when a team accesses their collective presence?
2. Open Kimono Dialogue
Most individuals within a team are had by looking good, getting it right, having it handled and operating over the top of fear but NEVER declaring it. I stand for unprecedented authenticity, the ability to give up ‘any looking good in front of team’, for fear of being judged, assessed and criticised.
What do you think happens when your team has an ‘open kimono’ policy?
3. Calling The Rhino’s Head or Pink Elephant
| Love the Rhino’s Head analogy. You walk into a room and there’s a rhino’s head on the table, blood, guts, sprawled everywhere, the stench is palpable. There are lots of people in the room yet no one saying anything. So you don’t say anything, but by crikey you know it’s there! Some people term it as the pink elephant in the room.
What do you think would happen if you gave your team participants permission to call it when they see it, or smell it?
4. Spiritual Investment/Acknowledgement
This one is short and sweet. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. If you do not factor the spiritual equation into the evolution of your team, given that it is a makeup of human beings, then how can you expect to produce results that are miraculous.What do you think would happen if you invested in embracing spirituality as a critical element in the evolution of your team?
5. The Power of Choice – commitment; dedication; responsibility; loyalty
When you usually read anything about TEAM they usually speak about
√ Commitment
√ Responsibility
√ Dedication
√ Loyality
√ Being Your Word
I agree all are valid but not, if they are not, CHOSEN. The most powerful element of TEAM I believe is the ‘power of choice’.
Choice is the most powerful distinction on the planet.
At any given moment we have to -
· Choose to be committed.
· Choose to be responsible.
· Choose to be dedicated.
· Choose to be loyal.
· Choose to be your word.
Without choice moment by moment you have nothing.
What do you think would happen if you realised the importance of choice in the context of team?
6. Awareness Of The Whole
There is a tendency when you create team to herd a lot of ego’s. Most people are quite self focused and forget to think about their fellow team member especially when things are going down. The importance of being aware of the whole is critical for creating powerful teams. When I say this I mean:
a. Awareness of fellow team players at all times, respecting the whole
b. Awareness of the overarching vision of the organisation/business/venture/project
To what degree do you promote the practice of embracing the ‘awareness of the whole’?