Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Leading with a 3 year old

TS: I'm a really good team player when I am in charge.
ES: I'm a really good team player too when you are in charge.
Our biggest issue from the Hungary experience was difficulty working with another team. Two issues were very different styles of leadership from the point leaders and differing expectations of capacity and skill between teams. Both of these aspects could only have been worked out when the teams were brought together.

The quoted exchange above is a true one, I actually said that. Realizing that teams take on the persona of their leader [no matter what kind of team], I know that some of the difficulty in working with another team could have been something that I projected. And I know that if I'm a good team player only when I'm in charge, working with me could be like working with a 3 year old. It's something I need to be keenly aware of.

In the end though, once everyone got into their groove and over their jet lag, a lot of grace was given on both sides. We also experienced the 'cause creates community' idea, since our team had a bit more to concentrate on than just trying to get along with each other and this team was one of the most cohesive that I've helped lead, probably for that very reason. All of us together - the CalifTeam, us and the two fabulous ladies from Boston - shaped and molded a fantastic environment for the kids of CAI.

Photo: A photo of some StrengthsFinder scribble. [More on this later, but CAI has a team of missional consultants from LeadershipVision that come to every conference as well as visiting specific projects to work with their teams.]

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