10 Forgotten Teamwork Secrets to Success

The first time I went for an orchestra performance I got bored and slept within the first 10 minutes. It was at Perth Concert Hall in a sold out concert. It was “a bit” different from the Hip Hop and RNB clubs that I was used to. My friend who was sitted next to me must have heard me snore. He elbowed me on my ribs and hissed in Swahili “Wewe amka!”. I woke up startled.

Then I started paying attention. I opened my eyes and heart and started enjoying the performance. It was a masterful teamwork performance. The performers worked together to entertain their clientèle in ways they would not have done as individuals. I quite enjoyed the show. You can use teamwork to propel you to greater heights  in life.

If you have orchestra tickets, please let me know. I promise not to go to la-la land again .

A team is a group of people with a unity of purpose. A team of people working together can perform complex tasks with interdependent subtasks. For example, a team of footballers consists of attackers, defenders, goalkeeper etc. Each of those tasks are interdependent but could not all possibly be preformed by an individual.

I have heard the word TEAM defined as “Together Each Achieving More”. Being part of a team helps create leverage for your skills and brings a good mix of talent to the table. Together, everyone in the team gets more than they could if they were alone.

When I was a student, I used to tell myself that the statement “Behind every successful man is a woman” meant that successful men had to leave women alone and not chase skirts in order to be successful. As I grew older, I got to understand that the statement meant that the support of a good woman can make or break a man. Together a husband and wife team can achieve more. Gentlemen, I hope you got that.

1 – Love Your Team

To be able to give the best to your team, you have to absolutely adore your team. Can you imagine a Brazilian Soccer Player who is not proud to wear the yellow jersey? Or an Aussie swimmer who will not do his best to wear the gold and green swimsuit at the Olympics?

If you really are serious about succeeding in life, focus on doing what you love. You will be more productive that way. There is no point slaving your way in a job that you loathe. Why turn up for practice to play for a team that you hate or are not excited to play for. Cut yourself some slack and only do that which you love.

If you are in a relationship that puts you down and you are straining your neck trying to reach out for the greener grass out there, get out. If you are stuck in a rut at your job or business because you feel it is not your calling, get out. Do not put your team members at risk, you might be dead weight at sea if you are not pulling your weight.

Do what you love, even jumping out of your team might do your team good. If you are there to stay, stay and give it your absolute best. Yes, nothing but the best, or else get out. Sorry for being so blunt, but it is true.

Do not just work for money. Henry Ford once said that a company that only makes money is a poor family. Do not turn the best part of you day and your life to a job or career that you are doing it for the money.

Follow your passion and discover the giant within you. You will achieve more and make a bigger impact with your life if you are passionate about your teams and ventures, as opposed to being there only for the money.

If you really love your team, you will be more productive and will be willing to make sacrifices. You may be part of various teams at any one time. Look closely in your life. Are you part of some teams that you do not love?

2 – Team Bonding

Football team members bond during practice sessions. That is when they discover each other’s personalities and create a harmonious relationship. No man is an island. Try and spend time with your team. The more you bond with your team the more likely you are to work together.

Do you have a favorite radio team? I love Hamish and Andy, radio team in Australia. Listening to them on Radio in their show “Driving you home”, reminds me of how team bonding can enhance performance. I think that duo spends a lot of time together and are good friends and that comes across in their work.

If you are thinking of having a good working relationship with someone, try and bond with them in as many spheres of life as appropriate.

3 – Play Your Part

Lets say you are a striker for football team and you spend most of your time near your own goalkeeper. You will still be counted as being in the pitch, but you will not be playing your part. Know your number, your role, and do your part. Do not let the team down by sleeping on the job. Live to your end of the bargain.

Use every opportunity to refine your skills to enable you to become a valuable team member. Perform your role like no one else can. Give to your team till it hurts. Be the best at your station in life. Give your best and hope everyone else does their best. Do not be the weakest link in your team. Your competition is watching your team. If they detect a weak midfield or defense, they will be sure to exploit that. Do not be the point of exploitation.

4 – Understand Each Others’ Roles

A good footballer needs to make a split second decision before passing the ball. You need to have a firm grasp of what your team members roles and capacities are. Do not pass the ball to the wrong person in a situation. That may cost your team victory or loss of opportunities.

If you are working with a business partner, for example, you must understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Say you are running an online business, you need to understand who in your teams is good with customer service, technical stuff, accounting etc. Let others shine in their area of expertise. Do not try to be everything.

5 – Manage Expectations

Every fan prays for their team to win. Unfortunately not everyone can win in the same match. There will be times you will lose and there are times you will win. The stake holders such as fans, sponsors, advertisers, competition etc might not see things from your perspective. You need to become adept at managing expectations.

Satisfaction is the difference between results and expectations. If you promise too much, you are more likely to disappoint. If you promise little and deliver more, then your stakeholders will be elated. Always attempt to over deliver instead of over promising.

Clear communication is the only way of managing expectations. This is true in sports teams, business teams, relationships and even in a family setting. Be sincere on your strengths and weaknesses and you will avoid disappointing people. Do not chew more than you can swallow.

6 – Shared Goals and Values

Team members must have a unity of purpose for success. Good teams share goals and values. They respect the team and set the interests of the team before individual goals. Team members that no longer share the vision will sabotage the team.

It is of little wonder that companies ask their potential employees about their future goals. If you are in Nairobi and your goal is to head to America in the next six months, then you will not be the best team member for a job that requires long term commitment. Unfortunately many people lie about their goals and values in order to get to the team.

If you are looking for a potential team member or partner, be careful about the person’s true objectives before making a commitment to add them to your team.

8 – Stay Positive

Teams have ups and downs. You do not want a team member who defects to the opposition when her team is losing. Do not be that person. Stay with your team through tough times and be the beacon of hope.

Some team members may be toxic and spread negativity to the whole teams. If you are the team leader, you need to identify those members and do what you can to save the team. Attitude is a big part of teams and you cannot afford to have negativity spread through your team unchecked.

9 – Team Leadership

Talking of team leadership, a good team need to have a strong, unwavering leader that will be a good steward of the team’s vision. A leader needs to have empathy with team members but be firm to ensure that the team members are pulling in their weight.

A power structure needs to be devised for the team, team members should not lack direction or experience a power vacuum. At the same time, shun dictatorship and have a leadership style that suits the team, and that brings out the best from each member.

Team members should be empowered to make decision in their areas of expertise. In a complex medical procedure, the doctor needs to give power to the nurses who might be more specialized in various aspects of the procedure.

How can you enhance your leadership skills to be of better use to your team? Are you happy with the leadership in your teams? What would you improve? What impact would your improvements have on the team?

10 – Celebration & Achievement

I love watching soccer when Manchester United is winning. The euphoria of celebration and the moment of glory makes me happy beyond words. I love celebrating achievement in sports and in life. Have you ever noticed how grown men pinch each others asses on the pitch, jump on top of each other, do funny things to celebrate a goal?

Does your team have a culture of winning? How do you celebrate achievement? Your team may not have the adrenaline rush of a world cup final but you still need to learn how to celebrate milestones and objective that your team sets and meets.

Rewarding and recognizing team members shows appreciation and gratitude. It encourages a winning culture and gets more from your team. Regardless of what kind of team that you are involved with or want to start, make sure you make a provision for celebration of achievement.

Lastly, do not celebrate too long. Even in football, there is only so many minutes or seconds that are dedicated to celebration while the game is in progress. Even after the final whistle, there other challenges in life and celebration should not go on and on. This is particularly important piece of advise for small business owners. If your business makes some headway and wins a few “matches”, do not rest on your laurels. Instead, think of how to streamline your processes and assure a future winning streak.

Summary

I hope you have learnt something about team work and how you can get the most out of your teams. There are many hidden success secrets in sports and we shall explore many of them in this series.

I am not sure what kind of team you are involved with, but I do know that if you love your team, spend time bonding and do your part, have good leadership etc together you will achieve more.

If you have enjoyed this blog post please share it with your friends. If you have any ideas of specific strategies for enhancing team work in a particular kind of team, please feel free to post your comments below.

I would love to hear your thoughts. You can talk about any type of team, from sports to music, from business to family and from associations to virtual teams…any team, any tips to enhance teamwork.

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