Teamwork is a Choice

I like this quote from Laurence Haughton's, It's Not What You Say, It's What You Do:

“Teamwork is a choice employees make based on how they feel. Those feelings are the result of how each member of the team relates day-to-day.”

As a manager, think about what this statement means..... How might it change your approach and expectations?

Comments

[Nick Smith]

Lisa, I think that quote is so true because it deals with the cause: How you FEEL about yourself -> how you think --> how you act.

Reminds me of another one by Maya Angelou (perhaps relevant to leaders too).....

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

[Eric Boehme]

Great question, Lisa.

Managers often do not look at their teams as groups of people that are human beings. They see them as a group of FTEs. How sorry is that?

Teams should have fun together and develop a healthy relationship. A word many do not like to use is "intimate." In an appropriate way, teams that are more intimate are more productive.

[Lisa Haneberg]

I think choice is an important word here. Anyone can be a great team member or a lousy one. What do we do as managers to push people in one direction or the other?

I have seen rock stars struggle after a change in leadership because the new manager does not "get" this point at all.

[taorist]

I TOTALLY agree with this.

There would be times where people were "forced" to work with each other and "forced" to work on a project they don't believe in. Obviously, management was pretty much confused as to why such a mediocre output was created.

People need to believe in a project and each other if something needs to be done well.