Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.”
We’ve all been a part of that team project. You know, the one where a person takes the lead, making some members in the group feel like their ideas are not valuable, while others in the group just mooch of the rest of the team.
It is understandable then that many are gun-shy when it comes to getting work done as a team. No one likes being part of a group where one person dominates or even worse, relegates certain members to the side-line.
And yet, something magical occurs when teamwork happens the way it’s supposed to happen. It is incredibly rewarding when everyone on the team is equally dedicated to the overall purpose and goal. Teams work faster, find mistakes more easily, and produce better results.
At some point, you reach a synergy and come to rely on each other, knowing that the team has your back.
No matter how smart, talented, driven, or passionate you are, your success as an entrepreneur depends on your ability to build and inspire a team. A successful leader is one who can rally their team members to work well together toward a common vision and goals. I’ve discussed this important part of leadership in a previous blog post, “Developing Leadership Qualities.”
Working on a successful team can be an exciting and liberating experience. When a team is working well, each member knows that he or she is part of something bigger than just the individuals involved. Team members in high-performing teams have open communication and inspiration can flow freely. That is sometimes hard to do as an individual as we are often limited by our own experiences and our ideas are also limited by those same experiences. Despite occasional disagreements, an effective team enjoys working together and shares a strong bond and sense of camaraderie.
Teams that work well together result in an organization with happy employees (which also equals more productive employees) and most people and businesses would rather support a company whose employees have a strong team spirit.
Finally, by teaming up with others at work, you’re exposed to their skills and ideas and can learn from them and expand your own skill set. You can also significantly enhance your problem solving abilities and THAT will make you a much more effective leader.
