Teaming Up for Takeoff; Six Strategies That Are Out of This World

Teaming Up for Takeoff; Six Strategies That Are Out of This World

Six men and I sat atop four and a half million pounds of explosives waiting for the fuse to be lit to begin our flight on the Space Shuttle Discovery.  We knew that for the next seven days our lives would depend on our acting synergistically.  If anything went awry during the flight, if we didn’t work together, we might not make it home safely.

How did we come to that moment in time?  We had been selected for the Astronaut Corps and this particular flight because we had proven track records of being good team players, both as leaders – and as followers – and had the requisite skills to accomplish a variety of space missions with varying payloads.  Many of the skills I learned about teamwork are applicable to any group coming together to accomplish their goals.  Here are some of the specifics.

Everyone has been a part of a team at one time or another whether it be on the playing field or at the office, or even in your own home.  Can you recall a mediocre team, a terrible one or a lazy disorganized one? There are strategies to choose team players, to mold them into a great team, to define their goals, to motivate them for success, to deal with “outliers” and to learn from failure – and success.

CHOOSING AND DEVELOPING TEAM PLAYERS 

When you are considering putting a potential team together or adding new members to a current team, the interview process is crucial.  Do applicants have the requisite skills or must they be trained?  You should consider whether each of these people has experience working well with similar teams.  Can he or she give examples of types of projects those teams have worked on and how success was achieved?  Also be sure your current team feel comfortable with this candidate.

MOLDING A GROUP OF PEOPLE INTO A TEAM 

Not all groups of people can come together to form a great team.  You’ll find natural leaders, potential leaders and excellent followers who will carry the ball down the field for the rest of your team.  Each of them has a role to play.  It is up to your leadership to learn the competencies and capabilities of each one of them and how to put them to the best use to accomplish the work that needs to be done.

DEFINING TEAM GOALS

Your team will only be effective if there are clear cut, well-defined goals which all of the  team members understand and are willing to work toward.  The role of your management or team leaders is to be able to state these goals precisely and make sure the team understands and is on board with achieving the goals.  Your leadership should take responsibility for monitoring progress of the group and each individual.  Should the goals of your team change, all team members much be briefed so there is clarity going forward.

RECOGNIZING WHAT MOTIVATES YOUR TEAM 

It is imperative that you understand what motivates the people on your particular team.  For some team members learning new skills, a sense of accomplishment or a feeling of success will be the best motivators.  Others may value the opportunity for advancement or recognition. Financial rewards, raises or prizes may work in your company.  Often the praise of their fellow members is sufficient.  Have you considered a little friendly competition?  Only by asking the team members will you find out.

DEALING WITH OUTLIERS

What if one of your company’s team members is not performing well or is ill-suited to the team, making the workplace uncomfortable and jeopardizing success?  Can you show data that his or her performance is not up to the standards you have set and expect?  What about negative reports from coworkers?  A frank in-person discussion about these issues is crucial and it is imperative you solve the problem or let the person go so as not to poison the morale of the entire team.

PRACTICING AND LEARNING FROM FAILURE –  AND SUCCESS 

When things go wrong, it is imperative that you seek to learn all the causes and fix them right away.  You must also be sure that team members learn from the failure so the same mistakes are not repeated.  Never forget that learning from success will make your team and your outcomes better, too. Incorporate processes or procedures that worked well in the past and be sure to recognize those team members who made significant contributions to the achievement.

Teams of all sorts are ubiquitous.  Whether at a work site, on a sports team, in a nonprofit organization, or in a hospital operating room (or in today’s world, virtually or in-person), teams are everywhere.  Undoubtedly you have been a team member and perhaps had the opportunity to be selected or hired as a team leader.   Great teams that produce superior results are built following the following simple principles that lead to outstanding teamwork.  You must:

– choose and develop great team members

– mold them into the best team for your organization,

– define your organization’s goals,

– motivate the team appropriately,

– deal with problem team members,

– learn from success and failure

And you’ll find you have built a team that is out of this world!

About the Author:

Dr. Rhea Seddon is a renowned speaker, Astronaut and the author of “Go For Orbit”, a memoir about her adventures spending 30 days in space aboard the Space Shuttle.  She is also a former surgeon, healthcare executive and entrepreneur.  Dr. Seddon speaks to audiences of all kinds on the topics of teamwork, leadership and taking advantage of opportunities.  Visit www.RheaSeddon.com.

3 Tips for Leading a Successful Entrepreneurial Life

3 Tips for Leading a Successful Entrepreneurial Life

The life of an entrepreneur – or at least the idea behind that life – can seem enticing to just about everyone.   You launch a new enterprise that makes millions – and maybe even changes the way people lead their lives.  But why do some people follow through on such visions with great fanfare and success, while others fail miserably – or never follow through at all?

“There’s just this mindset that the very best entrepreneurs have that positions them for success when others around them are struggling and unable to stay the course,” says Peter J. Strauss (www.peterjstrauss.com), an attorney, entrepreneur and author of the upcoming book The Accidental Life.

Strauss says that anyone who is feeling the entrepreneurial tug, and wants to mimic the most successful entrepreneurs, would do well to consider these three points:

  • Remember that fortune favors the bold. On the outside entrepreneurs may appear confident and assured in their actions, ready to take the steps needed to achieve success without hesitation. In reality, Strauss says, most successful entrepreneurs have a voice inside them imploring them to wait, to not take that chance. The difference between them and others is they ignore that inner voice. “In my career, I tried to prepare myself as best I could for my next step, but I always had to take a leap of faith to some degree,” Strauss says. “There’s never going to be perfect time or situation that is a guaranteed win. For any significant opportunity, there is always a risk.”
  • Take the “life gives you lemons” approach. Things don’t always work out the way we hope, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept defeat. Strauss points out that Steve Jobs was once fired by the board of the company he founded. “Steve Jobs easily could have decided that his life as an entrepreneur was not meant to be,” Strauss says. “Instead, he built another company and eventually found himself back at the helm of Apple. Jobs knew that whatever happened, his was not going to be a story of failure.” It’s inevitable that life will throw you curveballs, he says, so learn to hit them. “The good news is that adaptability can be learned,” Strauss says. “The more you train yourself to see possibility in the curveballs, the more you will adapt to hitting singles, doubles and even home runs.”
  • Understand the “family” connection. Businesses often describe their organizations as “family.” Sometimes that’s just lip service, Strauss says, but in the best corporate cultures the team respects one another and holds each other accountable – much like a family. “If you are in a leadership position, it’s up to you to instill this mindset and to be the role model for it in your company,” he says. He even discovered that the business family he created as an entrepreneur helped make him a better parent. “If I don’t set clear goals and expectations at work, I can’t be disappointed or surprised when my team falls short,” he says. “The same holds true at home. Framing expectations as a dialogue will make your family and your team feel valued.”

“Ultimately, no matter the obstacles, entrepreneurs just find a way to persevere and get the job done,” Strauss says. “But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. There are real risks involved. People rarely see all the ins and outs and ups and downs of what it takes to reach a place where you feel real success.”

About Peter J. Strauss

Peter J. Strauss (www.peterjstrauss.com) is an attorney, entrepreneur and author of several books, including the soon-to-be-released The Accidental Life. He is the founder and managing member of The Strauss Law Firm, LLC, on Hilton Head Island, S.C, and also the founder and CEO of Hamilton Captive Management, LLC. He is a graduate of the New England School of Law and of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management program.