By Heidi Farrell, Chiro Advance Services
Teamwork–one of the most critical aspects of success. After all, nothing great is ever accomplished alone?
Think about your favorite sports team for a moment. Our thoughts might focus on the superstar of the team–that one person who always makes the shot, the goal, the pass. But there are a lot of successful teams out there who don’t have one star player. Yet, somehow they figure out how to be a TEAM and achieve the goal. They accomplish great things…not by relying on one team star but by focusing on a common vision and harnessing their collective energy. They zero in on the results of the team rather than focusing on individual accomplishments. In the words of Herb Brooks, the coach who saw the U.S. Hockey Team to victory in the 1980 Olympics, [quote_center]“The name on the back of the jersey isn’t as important as the name on the front.”[/quote_center]
Just as that hockey team in 1980 achieved victory, so can you and your team, as long as you all understand what you are working toward. Any successful team will tell you that the goal wasn’t all the team hoped to achieve. They were seeking a higher purpose…a meaning to their work.
Consider the Golden Gate Bridge; built in the 1930’s it took more than 4 years to complete at a total cost of over $35 million. Historical records fail to state exactly how many people worked to construct the structure, we can only guess there were thousands. Each of these men had a specific job to do over the course of the bridge’s construction. Their job was to screw, rivet and cable. They did their job day after day, month after month, year after year. Doing their same job everyday must have been redundant after a time but they didn’t quit. They reminded themselves and each other everyday of their higher purpose…they were building a bridge.
So it is for us. We sometimes feel we do the same job. We see new patients, do adjustments, report findings, file paperwork. We do our job day after day, month after month, year after year. Does our job get redundant? Not if we as a team understand our purpose. What it is we are working to build. Our bridge.
Your team must find meaning in all the procedures they do every day. This is what gives a team spirit and this is what elevates a team to action. This understanding takes a team from seeing redundant processes and singular tasks and activities to the realization that they are working toward something greater. Not to be “in the world” but rather “of the world”.
So, what is your bridge?
