Everybody knows that teamwork is one of the major foundations to success. One can only reach so far on his/her own. The beauty of teamwork is that a goal can be reached faster, more efficiently, and the skill sets of each team member can be fully utilized. However, one must also realize that in choosing team members, there has to be a naturally similar desired goal in mind. A team can literally hit the ground running from the start if everybody is trying to achieve the same goal.
On the other hand, if you choose a team member that needs to be convinced of the desired goal, that already creates difficulty from the start. If the team member’s beliefs do not align with those of the goal, you may or may not have chosen the right team member. One must always remember that the key to achieving a goal collectively is to ensure that you have chosen the right team members. A book titled “Good to Great” by Jim Collins summarizes this concept very well so please take the time to fully absorb what Jim is stating below:
“In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. And they stick with that discipline—first the people, then the direction—no matter how dire the circumstances.”
and…
“When it comes to getting started, good-to-great leaders understand three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,” you can more easily adapt to a fast-changing world. If people get on your bus because of where they think it’s going, you’ll be in trouble when you get 10 miles down the road and discover that you need to change direction because the world has changed. But if people board the bus principally because of all the other great people on the bus, you’ll be much faster and smarter in responding to changing conditions. Second, if you have the right people on your bus, you don’t need to worry about motivating them. The right people are self-motivated: Nothing beats being part of a team that is expected to produce great results. And third, if you have the wrong people on the bus, nothing else matters. You may be headed in the right direction, but you still won’t achieve greatness. Great vision with mediocre people still produces mediocre results.”
Above are powerful words that will take you, your team, and your goals to levels that you have never imagined. Or perhaps a better way to say it: to levels you have always imagined.
The purpose of this teamwork post was to introduce my new partners in crime: Lauren Rains and Diane Lang. In speaking with these two amazing individuals, I discovered we all have the same philosophy in life: to share the power of positivity to create happier lives to those we come in contact with and to play our roles in making this world a better place. Lauren and Diane will both be featured writers on this website, so please take the time to get to know them on a more personal level and to support them as you have supported me so far! Just a quick bio about Lauren and Diane below:
Lauren Rains
www.TheMadtoLive.com
Hi, my name is Lauren Rains and I write The Mad to Live to inspire myself and others to figure out what it is they want in life, and then to go and get it. I started The Mad to Live in 2010 when everyone around me, including myself, seemed either stuck in a rut, bored to death, or lost in general. This blog is about about how to live life each day with the Mad to Live Mentality – with unbridled enthusiasm, fervent excitement, and as an ongoing adventure. Alongside this blog, I’m also a world-travel addict, personal life coach, and blogging geek who loves nothing more than good life-talk conversations be it with close friends or interesting strangers. To contact me, whether to say hi, share a story, ask a question, or suggest ideas, just shoot me an email at Lauren@TheMadtoLive.com.
Diane Lang
www.dlcounseling.com
Therapist, Educator and Life Coach Diane Lang has dedicated her career to helping people turn their lives around and is now on a mission to help them develop a sustainable positive attitude that can actually turn one into an optimist, literally. A therapist and educator of Positive Psychology, she has seen that it can provide a strong foundation for finding great happiness and is gratified that it is becoming a mainstream method of treatment. Lang has an M.A. in Counseling and a B.A. in Liberal Arts from the New York Institute of Technology. Please visit her website for more information: www.dlcounseling.com or email Diane directly at: Lifeline36@aol.com.
Please feel free to reach out to Lauren, Diane, or myself to discover the amazing projects we will be building together! The next couple of articles will come from Lauren and Diane, so mark your calendar for their debut on this site!
Best of luck everyone and thanks for your continuing support :)
