Who is on your team?

    Karl Morris

    The success of your business and that of your golf club is not down to any one individual but to a group of people. When a group is unified as a team and share a common purpose amazing things can happen, writes Karl Morris.

    At the start of the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand a fascinating documentary was aired on Sky Sports called ‘Beyond the Black’. A vivid portrayal of just what it meant to be an All Black. From a population of less than five million people the New Zealand All Blacks have become the dominant team in world rugby. The footage highlighted that, from cradle to grave in this remote country, pulling on the famous black shirt was the ultimate. The value on being part of a team revered by a whole nation was immense.

    What was also clear was that the ethic of the All Blacks is about the collective good as opposed to any singular individual glory. Stories about how even the most senior players still had to clean up in the dressing room. Each individual being part of something much greater than himself. The lifelong friendship and camaraderie shone through and the sense of being part of something incredibly special. Also part of the ethos is the idea of each single training session being sacrosanct. No slacking in intensity is allowed and each day is seen as an opportunity to grow as a player by pushing the limits of your own capability. Every single day is a collective collaboration towards potential future success. The beauty of the ordinary day given equal value to the extraordinary days of World Cup finals.

    In our own world closer to home we are clearly unlikely to be part of a team of world champions but, nevertheless, it is important for us to remember that our own individual success or failure will be, to a large degree, a result of how we treat and interact with the ‘teams’ around us. The teams don’t necessarily have to be formal teams, a team can be two people. It could be the family team, the work team or the golf team. For many years on the European Tour I heard players talking about ‘my team’ when in fact what they actually had was a bunch of individuals throwing information and advice at that particular player without any form of real team cohesion.

    How is your team?

    The team at the golf club, the team in your store, the team in the pro shop. How does your team function? Do you get the best out of people? Could it mean more to be part of your team if you changed your approach? Could it be better? What would it be like if your team really came together and performed more as a unit? What could be possible in the next 12 months if you really took a change in leadership direction and transformed the day to day operation?

    I have seen it too many times for it to be a coincidence; when a team is unified and pointed in the right direction amazing things can happen. It is not for me to say what your team is going to look and act like. It is also not for me to try to tell you how to do it. But I have found that when I have worked with organisations and teams in the past to try to make some real progress then a couple of key questions emerge as being the glue that holds the whole operation together. The key to the questions are that you, as a unique team, need to answer the questions in your own personal and distinct style.

    That way you will own the process

    The first question is deceptively simple but the answer needs to be written out: What does a good team look like on an ordinary day? It is the ‘ordinary’ days that count. We can all be at our best when the situation creates a ‘big day’. The key is what is going on when the day is just a regular one. Nothing special, just another day. What does the team do on days like this? This is such a big key because, just as the All Blacks treat each training session as sacrosanct, then if you can make those ordinary days into something more, then wonderful things can happen. Momentum with start to build. It is the seemingly small actions taken on the ordinary days that can lead to extraordinary results.

    The other question is: What is the one single thing I need to do today to make my team better? By answering that question and taking action you go from thinking to doing. Nothing whatsoever will change without action. Make a commitment, it is surprising what can happen when you do.

    Could the Mind Factor transform you or your team? Get in touch with Karl at www.themindfactor.com to find out.

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    A graduate of Cardiff University’s highly respected post-graduate magazine journalism course, Andy has successfully edited four different publications across the B2B, trade and consumer sectors. He is skilled at all aspects of the magazine process in addition to editing websites and managing social media channels.