Every leader is who he is because of his team and there can never be a leader if there are no followers. This is one of the most important foundations to a better leading. Teamwork is very crucial to success as duly noted in the popular saying, "Together we stand, divided we fall."
As an individual you can only achieve so much but together in a team effort you can do a whole lot. A team is a group of people with a common goal that work together to achieve such a goal. Each person contributing a relevant amount of effort towards the achievement of their goal(s).
Note: For clarity and time factor I'll use "he" to represent any gender inclination and this does not imply that one gender is superior to another.
Why Create a Team?
To identify a cause is easy but to stay through to the end is not easy. Many people give up on their goals when things go a little haywire and there seem to be no way around it but to quit. Well, that's one option but all this could have been prevented if they had created or joined a team. Every leader needs a team; people he'll work hand-in-hand with to achieve their goal or purpose. A team is necessary because they keep you going even if you are on the verge of quitting. Your sense of responsibility towards them is very powerful. As a leader your team can be your family, they can be your closest friends and most importantly you can rely on them in times of difficulties. Also, it can be really lonely working alone. You might even get bored and abandon your work but when you work with others, you get to interact with others and have meaningful conversations while working. Therefore, as a team, you are more likely to achieve your goal than as an individual.
Imagine two men trying to reach for fives apples on an apple tree. They are both not tall enough to reach all the apples but if one carries the other, then they can reach and pluck all the apples. That is what synergy is all about. The whole is greater than the individual parts. Every leader must know the importance of this and should take advantage of it by creating a team. Steve Jobs understood this and that is why he joined force with Steve Wozniak to bring up what we now know as Apple Inc. He had the innovative ideas and Steve Wozniak was the engineer. On their own, they could have done something but it wouldn't have been as great as they have achieved together. As a leader, know what synergy is and always find an opportunity to engage in it. Be warned: not everyone would accept this idea of synergy.
This stems from the synergy point. Every individual is made up of talents, strengths and weaknesses. We all have what we are good at and what we perform poor at. That is why creating a team is crucial for every leader's success. As said earlier, in a team, the whole is greater than the individual parts. That is, where someone is weak, another person may be strong and so will make up for the weak spot. For instance, if a leader is innovative but lack attention to detail, he may be more successful if he assembled a team which include someone who pays attention to detail. Leadership is not a cautious journey though, but sometimes some risks are better avoided. A little attention to detail will not hurt.
Sometimes, it's not about weaknesses and strengths but about having an additional set of eyes on your tasks. We all view things differently. What you may see as black and white may a little bit of grey in between on a closer look. When there are different people looking at the same picture, with effective communication and interaction a more clearer interpretation may be revealed. This is mostly seen in proofreading. Just when you think your article may be devoid of errors, over 10 errors are presented to you for correction. Every leader needs to assemble a team if not for anything, for an extra set of eyes.
After some reasons why you should assemble your team as a leader, it is only fair to show you how to build an effective team of your own. In building your team there are several factors to look out for and these would be covered in my next article. Thanks for reading.
For now, Peace.
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