After Further Review ... The value of Teamwork along with how it works has often been discussed in this column. The acronym T.E.A.M., meaning Together Everyone Accomplishes More, has been part of every presentation I have given for more than two decades.
President-Elect Obama stressed Teamwork in his campaign emphasizing that anyone in a leadership role must utilize the T.E.A.M. concept in order to achieve a higher level. A leader who surrounds him or herself with competent people, and then lets them accomplish their tasks and/or responsibilities increases the strength of that leader. (https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08splashnd)
It takes courage to lead, but it also takes courage to trust in the efforts of your T.E.A.M. Too often we see leaders not willing to delegate responsibilities fearful of losing power. The power that works best is what I call “personal power” - not position power.
An example of personal power happened on national television recently when the Denver Broncos played the Cleveland Browns in an NFL Network Thursday night game. Many NFL fans may not have seen this contest, because it was not accessible on cable or network television. (http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork)
The Broncos trailed the Browns 23-13 in the third quarter, yet rallied to win 34-30, scoring the go ahead touchdown with 1:17 left in the game. That final touchdown pass from Broncos QB Jay Cutler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cutler_(American_football) to WR Brandon Marshall (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7868%20was the game winner. (http://www.denverbroncos.com/) (http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/)
Marshall was about to “celebrate” his TD catch by displaying a glove that he had hidden inside his football pants. The glove was painted half-white and half-black to demonstrate the “unity” Marshall felt was exhibited by Obama’s victory. While Marshall’s tribute was honorable, NFL rules prohibit “possession or use of foreign or extraneous object(s) that are not part of the uniform, etc.” (See NFL Rule Book page 83, 12-3-1-(h)). WR Terrell Owens was responsible for this inclusion as unsportsmanlike some years back, when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. (http://www.nfl.com/rulebook) (http://www.49ers.com/home.php)
As Marshall prepared to pull out the glove -- teamwork happened! Broncos teammate Brandon Stokley (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4755) rushed to Marshall and in a matter of seconds, talked Marshall out of it. “Stokes” was aware that if Marshall displayed the glove, a foul could be called, resulting in a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff – meaning the Broncos would have to kickoff from their 15-yard line. This would give the Browns, trailing by 4 points, a favorable field position with more than one minute left in the game. “Stokes” showed the kind of teamwork that puts T.E.A.M. ahead of self. (http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/11/07/brandon-stokely-stops-brandon-marshall-from-performing-an-obama/)
Will you have the courage to “step up” to help your teammates for the good of your T.E.A.M?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment