“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford***
Who’s on your team? Who’s leading your team? How does each contribute? What does it all look like day to day? Exciting? Boring? Exhausting? Why? What contributes to your team’s sluggishness or exuberance? Take some time to think that through. What slowed them down or lit the spark underneath them? As you contemplate these important questions, go back to the first questions and answer, Who’s on your team? Who’s leading your team? Now what needs to change?
Many components make up the whole of any unit, whether it is a machine, an electronic device a person or even a place. Team development is one of those units that is shaped in part by those who make up that team. It is also made up of the leadership that guides it. As you begin to delve deeper into the substance of a team, Surface-level characteristics of its specific team members like gender, age, job title can hold great influence but there are deeper dynamics that may have even greater impact. Studies suggest that some of the invisible personal elements like personality traits, values and mindsets tend to have a much bigger impact.
These deeper dynamics shape what researchers call the ABCs of teamwork: the attitudes, behaviors and cognitive states that mutually effect whether a team achieves its goals and objectives. When you think of your own team what specific behaviors or tendencies stand out? Let’s walk through some interesting thoughts…
Six Observable Characteristics of Individuals in a Work Team
Pretending
Some spend their lives pretending. Their time is spent pretending to be smart, pretending to be knowledgeable on the subject at hand, pretending to be astute, pretending to be upright, pretending… Pretending to be everything they are supposed to be and in all of that pretense unfortunately they don’t find the time to be real and actual arrive in a designated place in life.
Don’t get me wrong, some are masters at it, but in my opinion, at some point one would tire of the pretense and just want to relax and be who they are or who they were meant to be. If they wait to late, they may miss the opportunity to discover and uncover who that is and they end up an empty soul, a wandering spirit and deflated body.
Doing
Then there is the person who spends their time Doing. They Do things. Like action figures they take action. They get the job done. We love people who get the job done. They swoop in, start moving around, switching this and changing that. They have the quips and the kicks to make things happen. They are the fast and the furious. The magnanimous personalities with charisma and a resumé to boot. But caution to all who fall for this character because they are likely to swoop in steal your admiration and favor and swoop out just as fast. Don’t fall in love, they don’t stay long. They have other flaming perils to put out! No matter how much you want them to hang around and help more and do more, they get bored and move on to the next project… Action figures. It’s what they do.
Being
Then there is the person who spends their time Being. They are who they are and they expect you to live with it. Why not? They do. Yes, they are the ones who may have heard their parents or meaningful adults in their lives repetitiously tell them throughout their lives, “It will be a miracle if you can even keep a job” or the not so dramatic and much less heart rendering, “Life is what it is. Don’t go getting all these fancy ideas in your head. It’s enough just to keep your head above water in this world. Just be thankful for what you’ve got.”
This one won’t swoop in and swoop out. He or she won’t kick up a bunch of dust making changes and wooing you. No. This person won’t do all that. They will come in and do what they need to do; not too much more, maybe nothing less. They have no plans except to be there and do what they came to do; no ulterior motives, no propaganda, just do what needs to be done. That’s their best… or so they believe and that’s all anyone can expect. They’ll be there until someone locks them out or tells them it’s time to go. Loyal, dependable, probably bored, predictably content. Never reaching for the stars; content to maintain the status quo.
Running
Then there is the person who spends their time running. In the working world, they’re the job hopper. In the church world they’re the church hoppers. They are constantly on the prowl for a new gig, a new girl, a new guy, a new gimmick. Always something new, a new idea before you’ve had time to get used to the old one; a new love before you’ve had time to get to know the last one; a new recipe to love, a new recipe for life and a new recipe for living.
When I was single, (say it with me: “when she was single”) there was this guy, I’ll call him Mason. Mason was a really nice looking guy, well groomed, good conversation, funny, had leadership skills and a decent job. I met him through my own job. We initially spent time discussing work issues, him picking my HR brain for his management needs, then of course the conversation began to incorporate a few personal insights and observations. We might occasionally run and grab a bite to eat after attending a meeting or event. It wasn’t long before jobs and focus changed and our paths didn’t cross as easily and we lost touch.
Then, because he had my home phone number (no cell phones back then…IKR?) he called. Some things we already knew about each other from past conversations, some things not. We began to reacquaint ourselves with one another, now more deliberately sharing more personal information. After all, we no longer had work connections and were both single… or were we? Turns out he was separated and the father of a small child. Hmmm. We began this “conversational, every now and again grab a bite to eat kind of friendship.” Why all that? Because I am a bit more defined then what I described of him. I have always needed substance and clarity. Even if I didn’t have it, I knew I needed it. I did not care to create bonds with partially married men, nor was I interested in a “relationship” full of surprises. There was something very unclear about this person.
So we proceeded to embark upon an occasional start and stop habit of communicating and hanging out, then not hearing from one another for months. And every time we spoke, he would share the details of his life. Here are the highlights: He had found a new church. He had a new job. He had new hobbies and had a new plan for his future. It became quite clear to me. He was a runner. Running and hopping, hopping and running, this was his thing, Running.
Becoming
There is the person who spends their time Becoming. What is it? Becoming. Becoming is the process of coming to be something by undergoing change and development. It is passing into a state of something different, hopefully a better state of existence.
The person who is Becoming, is one who is on their way somewhere. They may not always know where somewhere will ultimately be but they know they are on their way and they have every intention of getting there safely and successfully. For those who are becoming, success for one may not be success for another. It’s personal; it’s purposeful; it’s powerful, and their on their way. For one person it might be a busy place, another, a quiet place, it may be driving rigs down long stretches of highway, and for another it might be flipping houses and for yet another? CEO of a fortune 500 company. Becoming is working through the process of growth and development, ups and downs of spirituality, life, career and family to grow into what they are destined to be. Sounds dreamy doesn’t it.
Dreaming
But then there is the Dreamer. They spend their days dreaming of becoming, dreaming of running, dreaming of doing yet they never quite getting to the accomplishments they dream about.
The Dreamer is not the visionary. The visionary sees what can be and works to make it happen. The Dreamer dreams of doing but never quite manages to get it done. They dream of becoming but can’t muster up the courage to arrive in that space. They dream of running, just to escape the unpleasantries of life but realize it’s too impractical to achieve. They just manage to keep dreaming… maybe one day their dreams will come true.
5 Simple Things You Can Do To Cause a Positive Shift in Your Team… And You
We need two things in the category of “becoming.” One, is people who fall into that category to join our teams and help us make things happen, and two, is a Becoming attitude of our own. What do we look for to get more of these individuals on our teams and to rise up within ourselves? Look for:
1. Those Who Like to Win
Past behavior is a predictor of future performance. People who are Being, Doing, Pretending, Dreaming and Running, do not suddenly turn into said terms, they evolve and then settle into such roles. If a history or pattern presents itself in past work, volunteer or service experience, one can assume this pattern of behavior is likely to continue. Now, I am a woman of faith and I do believe people can change but when I am leading an effort, I think I can pray for and support those who are changing without handing them the keys to the vault. Key word: “baby steps.” Change takes time and practice. Leadership takes timeliness and wisdom so we can know the right person at the right time for the right opportunity. If I have a need to fill a supervisor position for a very strong willed group of people, it is not wise for me to hire my best friend’s shy, timid daughter who hasn’t held a job for more than 6 mos. and who has just relocated back to town to get her life together (Runner) and has never worked in this industry. I might have another opportunity with less responsibility that she would be good at but the former opportunity is clearly not a good match… for her, for me nor for my team!
2. Those Who Have Heart
People with passion for the work you are doing will also be passionate about making it happen. They are more likely to run the race with you and not against you. No matter how right you think you are, if someone believes you are wrong in your goals, strategies or outcomes then you will have an uphill battle trying to change their minds and halt their deliberate or unintentional intrusions. What’s worse is, you run the risk of spending an excessive amount of time trying to convince them that your way is the right way and you won’t have time for the people who are already persuaded and willing to get the work done. They will suck the energy and the life out of you and detract from those who truly desire and deserve your time and attention.
3. Those Who Hunger for Knowledge
Train, develop and repeat; that’s the cycle you want to create for those who love to learn. Teach and develop their skills and knowledge the way you want your skills and knowledge developed. Teach them what success in your corner of the world looks like. Some will not be interested but those who hunger for learning will rise to the occasion and will stand out. Then you nurture those people. Continue to add these individuals who want to grow so you can shape your team with people who care to learn how to win.
4. Those Who Are Bold
Those who are going places have faith and stand on their convictions. They commit to what they believe in… where their faith resides… and that keeps them focused and moving in the right direction. To be bold one must have a taste for achievement, and when you think about it when one achieves anything, it is not something that necessarily came easily. Seek people on your team who are bold enough to get what they want.
5. Those Who Value Their Own Integrity
It’s one thing to appreciate integrity in someone else but that doesn’t make you an honest person of character. On the other hand, someone who values their own integrity is one who will guard their integrity and operate honestly, truthfully and ethically.
Concluding Thoughts
Now, this refers to your team members but these are the same characteristics you should value and possess within yourself. A strong team deserves a strong leader. Imagine a team of people who are Becoming and you’re anything but. How long will that last? Ask yourself if you are Pretending, Doing, Being, Running, Becoming or Dreaming.
Regardless of which one you honestly assign to yourself, see it as a temporary rest stop, on your trek to Becoming. People who are Becoming something great don’t stop, they keep going until they arrive “somewhere” meaningful and once they arrive, they thrive but guess what, they keep moving forward and keep building upon the foundation of Becoming that they’ve achieved. So even if you are not there yet, you can make a change and start Becoming who you want to be and who you were meant to be. Everything you have experienced up until now, was a precursor to your future. Keep going! Keep moving! Keep Becoming!