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Build An Indestructible Team
Career and business coach Hetal Shah shares with us his Top 5 Tips for building a powerful and effective team.
1. Surround yourself with positive people
Pretty obvious yes but still so many of us surround ourselves with negative people. Look at your current network and review it for positive like-minded people.
You can always create a new network of people - this website has hundreds of such people from the team of coaches to all the members of the bulletin boards - plenty of like-minded people focused on positive action!
Go on, create your own team - it could be just you and your coach or it could be 10-12 of you forming a success group. Try it and let me know how it is working for you.
2. Give as much as you take
In a great team people give as much as they take. I have always achieved my greatest successes by giving to others. Giving is about listening, motivating, supporting others - letting them take up some of your time and effort. You will find this rewarding and I guarantee you will also benefit from it.
We have become a take society and the people who give as much as they take do stand out and achieve success. So once you've built your team give a little and experience this great feeling.
3. Share successes
Great teams share successes. Be happy for other people and enjoy what they have achieved. Strong people do not get intimidated or disillusioned by others successes - they use this to energise themselves. It's a natural feeling to look at someone else being successful and to be disillusioned with ones own situation. Instead use it to your advantage to motivate you and drive you forward.
The Ryder Cup team celebrated each players successes - the players that lost their matches could have looked down and depressed but instead they were jubilant and exuberant in the winning players efforts. That's teamwork. Also sharing what you have done will energise and motivate others.
4. Communicate with your team
Once you have built a solid team around you, communicate regularly. Once per week at a minimum to share ideas, thoughts, feedback on actions etc. This keeps the momentum and ensures the positive energy is there and is building each week.
Communication may be just an email or it may be meeting, phone calls whatever - make sure you are consistent.
5. Be personally accountable
Teamwork is great but this is not a substitute for self-reliance. The team around you is there to support you but you must take action and move yourself forward to your dreams and goals.
The team will not do that. So you have to be self-reliant. You have to be accountable because it's your life you are improving. Each Ryder Cup player played for the team but did not hide when their performances were not great - they made themselves accountable and took full responsibility. You must do the same.
So - while you are still on the website begin to build your team - get a coach or post a note on the conversation board - I challenge you to take action!
See also Hetal's article on the top-level teamwork that won the Ryder Cup The Power Of Teamwork.
