TEAMWORK: BUILDING TEAMS THAT WORK: Who Will Lead?

Teamwork: Building Teams That Work with Douglas Castle

Dear Readers:

Teams are cooperative units constructed of persons with complementary skills who are each and all working toward the attainment of a common objective -- whether that objective is to build subscribership of 100,000 in readers for a fabulous publication and resources provider (I will not use any names here, and in particular, I shall make no mention of "THE NATIONAL NETWORKER," "TNNW," "We ARE Networking," at all -- I treasure subtlety and discretion, and seek to exemplify these attributes at every opportunity), or building a toolshed.


While the skills of each of the members are indeed critical, as is their ability to interrelate and focus on the mission at hand rather than on personal or irrelevant issues, every team requires a leader to serve as its person of ultimate responsibility and coherent and cohesive focus. Without leadership, entropy (disorder) can rapidly destroy teams that comprised of even the finest participants.


It is critical to understand some of the most significant attributes of a leader, and I've provided a quick summary of what these are. If you do not personally embody these attributes, you should not lead, and you should find a replacement who better "fits the guidelines." In exceptional cases when we are dealing with a very determined individual, many of the attributes of leadership can be developed through diligent training. Some interesting "shortcut tools" to becoming a better leader can be found at http://www.internalenergyplus.com/ .

At any rate, becoming a better leader requires becoming a better person, and a better personal example.

What is required and expected of every leader:

1. Clarity of vision, and the ability to explain and assist others in seeing that vision;

2. Passion for the mission...a dedication to the mission objective over any personal concerns;

3. Absolute, laser-like focus on the mission objective;

4. Constancy and reliability -- the ability to exhibit stability under pressure;

5. Maturity -- no childishness;

6. Decisiveness -- the ability to make clear, defined decisions, and to be certain that all members are aware of their respective roles and responsibilities in any decision which affects the attainment of the mission objective -- leadership involves tough choices;

7. Communicative Ability --A leader must be able to clearly and concisely put his or her thoughts into words, and to help others visualize the mission objective;

8. Integrity -- A leader who either cannot be trusted or who is a hypocrite will lose the respect of the team and foment desertion or rebellion;

9. Tenacity -- a leader is not permitted the luxury of weakening in his or her resolve to succeed;

10. The ability to listen, as well as to speak. Every Member has a need to be heard, understood and appreciated;

11. Assumption of command and authority -- a leader who is reticent, hesitant or skittish about his or her assumption of the role of leadership will fail;

12. Professionalism -- subversion of the personal ego (but not necessarily the personality) to the promoting, monitoring and leadership of the team toward the successful achievement of the mission objective.

It pays to develop your leadership skills and to keep them sharp. Ironically, true leaders can indeed make excellent teammates, provided that the ground rules and roles are clearly understood at the outset of the mission.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

DOUGLAS CASTLE

THE NATIONAL NETWORKER- We Are Networking

BRAINTENANCE - Stay Razor Sharp
INTERNAL ENERGY PLUS - Human Potential
THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE
THE GLOBAL FUTURIST
_______________________________________________________
Posted to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

To subscribe for your free newsletter, go to http://www.thenationalnetworker.com/.

For the complete National Networker Relationship Capital Toolkit and a free, continuous RSS feed (available either by traditional RSS or by direct email), go to: http://thenationalnetworkerweblog.blogspot.com/.
You are also invited to click our buttons:

Forward/Share This Article With Colleagues And Social Media:

TEAMWORK: BUILDING TEAMS THAT WORK: Who Will Lead?