"Uniformity is not the key to successful teamwork. The glue that holds a team together is unity of purpose." -- John C. Maxwell
In the book, Be a People Person, by John C. Maxwell argues that to be a People Person, we must understand:
- What draws me to people
- What draws others to me
- How to be confident with others
- How to be an effective leader
- How to motivate others for their benefit
- How to be a person others respect
- How to encourage others
- How to handle criticism
- How to be a person others trust
As a business and leadership coach, one of the things I focus on is personal development (i.e., learning to be a People Person) not only for your own benefit but also for the benefit of those around you; this is how we are able to create positive ripples through our world intentionally. In business and life, people will always be your greatest struggle and your greatest asset. So how can you use what we’ve learned so far to develop a winning team (personal or professional)? John Maxwell gives us four characteristics of a winning team.
A Winning Team Keeps Improving
It’s easy to look at others — another leader, another team, another business — as the competition, but in business (and life), the only competition that matters is being better today than you were yesterday. Winning teams understand that when they stop improving themselves, they stop winning.
A Winning Team Plays to Win
Whatever your industry, you can only win if you are on mission and playing on purpose, and the only way to do that is to maintain an intentional attitude. Simon Sinek once said, “Most of us live our lives by accident — we live as it happens. Fulfillment comes when we live our lives on purpose,” and the same can be said of business.
“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” — Simon Sinek
A Winning Team Takes Risks
Risks are part of life and business; if you and your team try to play it safe, you will never win. A winning team realizes that it’s far better to try and fail than to fail to try. If you and your team are playing on purpose and constantly looking for ways to improve, failure is just another opportunity to grow.
A Winning Team is Made Up of People Persons
If you and your team understand what it takes to be a People Person and are intentional about working for the success of each of the members instead of just looking out for yourselves, then you will go far. Winning teams are made up of individuals who are willing and able to invest in each other.
Reflection
This week, consider the following questions:
- Do you have a winning team?
- What steps can you take to encourage and strengthen your team?
