I have recently become very aware of how little self care I find time for when working on a team and how much my commitment and contribution to the team wavers when I am tired, hungry, haven’t exercised or taken time to meditate. When we think of teams we think of “work” and “output” and “winnng” and “power or strength”.
Teams need to be about support, care, backup, understanding and cooperation. Each member should be cherished for their individual strengths and cared for in their individual needs. No two team members are the same, but none can work in a vacuum either. We need to get to know our team, know what each needs to be their best self and do their best work. There is no BOX that fits every idea and as such there is no box that fits every team member.
How can we build better teams in our work place, in our family, in our home and in our community?
BY LISTENING AND ASKING QUESTIONS
Before we make a schedule, make a gameplan, assign tasks, we need to sit down and ask what do you need to do your best work. THEN, we need to actually listen to that and build around it, to support our teammates in life in the best way we can. Only then can they support the team in the best way possible, providing their best work, in a way that they feel supported, respected, cherished and needed.
I am a bit of a helper junky. I appear to thrive off of helping, but in my guts I am a maker. If I am not creating some personal work from a place deep inside me, I am not happy. I need 9 hours of sleep a night, I need to exercise every day, I need to make some personal art every day, I need to talk about my feelings, get hugs and I need some bit of quiet alone time every day. These are non-negotiables for my peace of mind, yet when I get caught up in a project or mission, I find myself pushing through, through pain, through sickness, past emotion, past the point where I could have been any help to the team. I am turned into a tired, sore, grumpy state of nonbeing. I am not myself in those moments, I am not living, I am meerly functioning.
Functioning and Being are two very different states and I am making a promise to myself today to “BE”.
