“Build a team so strong you don’t know who the boss is.”
-Unknown
You have probably heard of sayings such as it takes a village to raise a child, there is no “i” in team or a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Today’s quote is no different and although there is no one to stake claim to actually saying it, its message is what any team, business of organization should strive to emulate each and everyday: build a team so strong you don’t know who the boss is.
A strength of a team can only occur when, from its inception, the focus has been on having clear and constant communication with one another, negotiating conflict within the group constructively and seeking to offer help when needed. Now I wanted to take a moment to discuss the negotiating conflict one in particular. When we see or hear the word conflict I’m sure what immediately comes to mind is a sense of negativity but that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes conflict within the group is good. The key point is that only if the conflict is done constructively. If something is done constructively it happens in a way that has or is being done with intent. It is also meant to have a useful or beneficial purpose. In this case, when we engage in certain discussions and conflicts arise within the group as it pertains to differing beliefs, if we are intentional in ensuring that those conflicts will be resolved through listening to one another with the intent to coming to a agreeable resolution then in there lies that constructive intentionality.
Within any team there are people who have certain skillsets that make them valuable members of the team. I believe that in their own right they are the bosses of that skillset which in the grand scheme of things makes the team stronger. It doesn’t matter what their title says next to their name as that is not what defines them. It is what they do within their role that gives that title and more importantly themselves and the team its inner strength. At our school each member of the staff has a special skillset within the job and within their own personality that brings forth that strength, that heart that any team needs. They are their own bosses within their classroom, their kitchen, their offices and what they do within those four walls every day. And despite there being walls to physically divide them they are still connected with one another and that fluidity is seen in each and everything they do. My principal and I may be the administrators of the school but we try not to ever come across as “being the boss” and using that title of administrator to drive our work. Its just not our way. Teams, strong teams, are ones that are looked upon as just being one unit, one entity. When this occurs any team can become an unstoppable, positive force.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards developing your relationship skills?
Becoming The Change 