Teamwork: It's Easy!

Recently, in the span of less than twenty-four hours, I was involved in the same conversation in two separate workplaces.

The question: how do we make our team work better together?

Many people have made a lot of money writing books to answer this question. But in my experience, the answer is actually very simple. The problem lies in the execution. It’s all about mindset.

Next February, my wife and I will be married for thirty years. She often tells me (normally in the morning), that she “chooses to love me today.” I’ll be the first to admit that some days it’s an easy choice, and other days it takes a bit more effort—those are the days when flowers are required. This is just an example of how the choices we make, how we choose to think about things, will greatly impact our lives.

Imagine if you walked into work every day thinking, “how can I make the jobs of my team easier today?” Having a mindset that puts the team before yourself is the first step in making the team work better. But for this to work, everyone on the team must think with a “you before me” mentality.

If I put no effort into the relationship with my wife, her choice to love me today would become harder and harder to make, and eventually a completely different choice would be made. Every member of the team, from management on down, needs to hold the mindset that everything they do should make the jobs of the team easier.

And how do we get to this wonderful place? We talk about it together and work on it together. After all, that’s what being a team member is all about.