| By Miki Fairley
The New England Patriots marched into sports
history as they achieved a smashing victory over the St.
Louis Rams, beating the favored team 20-17 in Super Bowl
XXXVI. Team spirit triumphed over individual egos to help
achieve this stunning upset. Noted Denver Post sportswriter
Woody Paige, "In the pregame introductions at the Louisiana
Superdome, the Patriots declined individual notice and came
out as a team. The Patriots played as a team." Although quarterback
Tom Brady was named game MVP, Brady said, "I think it should
be an award to everyone-MVT, Most Valuable Team."
"While
it may be hard to discern exactly what teamwork is,
I have a few examples."
- "Teamwork
is listening to managers when they say ‘all
on-call brace referrals must be done at the time
of the call, regardless of when the call comes in,'
even if it means crawling out of bed at three A.M.
to deliver a cervical pillow. I've seen it done!
Teamwork is not saying ‘I'll deliver the three
A.M. order at eight A.M. the next day and then getting
busy in the office and passing the order off to another
coworker at noon.
- "Teamwork
for the practitioner is committing to working extra
hours until a highly qualified candidate is hired as
a fellow practitioner, rather than moaning about the
lack of help and forcing management to hire a mediocre
applicant. Teamwork for management is increasing the
pay of the remaining practitioners while the search
continues for additional help.
- "Teamwork
for a practitioner is going to a patient's house to
deliver an orthosis because the patient is a personal
friend of a large referral source. Teamwork for management
is springing for airfare and hotel and golf a day early
so that all the practitioners can attend the local
O&P meetings.
"In
summary, teamwork is giving your colleagues the benefit
of the doubt. Teamwork is management trusting practitioners,
and practitioners trusting management. Without trust,
teamwork will never happen!"
Joe
Sansone, TMC Orthopedic |
One person may
achieve the limelight, whether it is capturing a gold medal at
the Olympics, winning the Indianapolis 500, or standing atop Mount
Everest-but it took a team to put him there. Likewise business
success often depends on building a winning team.
Building a great
team takes more than hiring talented people-although that's the
first step. What do you have to do to transform this dynamic potential
into real accomplishments? It takes more than a paycheck-you need
to win your employees' commitment, heart, and spirit to your enterprise.
Here is how
to develop your organization's team spirit, according to BusinessTown.com :
- Hire people
who will work well together.
- Develop a
shared vision and commitment.
- Bring people
together in formal group meetings for open discussion of broad-based
issues.
- Encourage
positive, informal interactions between group members.
- Instill a "winning" attitude
throughout the organization.
- Watch for-and
quickly try to reverse-team building problems such as jealousy,
cynicism, and defensive behavior.
To build a winning
team, you not only need to show people what direction the company
is headed in, but you need to get them to "buy in" to this direction.
You can't expect people to support a group if they don't agree
with where it's headed-or worse-don't even know where it's headed.
Large group
meetings, parties, and celebrations help build solidarity throughout
the organization. However, when people participate in smaller group
meetings in which work is done and decisions are made, they feel
that they are an active, important part of a team, notes BusinessTown.com .
In this issue,
you will learn how various O&P firms built their winning teams.
As Casey Stengel said, "I couldna done it without my players."
http://www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2002-04_06.asp
|
