Even as someone who prefers to work alone, I know that team work product is better than what I could do all by myself. The very best teams are the most chaotic in the creation process of a project. It requires a certain amount of thick leather hide to endure this chaos, and a singular understanding of the common goal by each teammate.
The end result is something quite remarkable. As this process is repeated for each new project, endurance of the chaos evolves into an expectation that it is required for an excellent outcome. A little like not wearing your formal attire out to work in the muddy garden, you mentally prepare to get messy. (You can put your formal wear back on when you celebrate success with the team).
Sadly, most teams come together with the idea that they somehow have to leave their individual talent at the door to become some sort of milk toast collective, trying to preserve delicate feelings and egos in perfect political correctness rather than come up with novel solutions. Great leadership that gives permission to be messy is essential. But so are ground rules.
The chaotic process for true innovation can permanently damage people if the team does not care for each other. You can only have constructive dialog with someone if you respect them. If you do not value the PEOPLE on your team the process will take over and the people will be trampled. This is the main reason teams break down. They have a plan, a method that is proven, but they entered into the engagement without a will to care about the people they work with.
I suppose some people get very, very good at faking respect. Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe that you can truly HEAR and leverage what the other person says if you are only faking respect for them out of protocol. So how do you respect someone you can barely tolerate most days?
You have to see them with bigger eyes. I cannot love people with the limited capacity of my own selfish heart. I must ask the Lord to show me... to let me see them as He sees them. As my vision changes of these difficult people, I see them as precious children, sometimes misguided, but always having intrinsic value. And, I understand that the moments I spend with them are merely a slice of a very full and challenging life I can't possibly understand since I don't walk with them like He does.
People rise (or fall) to our expectations of them. Let's expect the very best, so all our mavericks can come together and create something amazing.
The end result is something quite remarkable. As this process is repeated for each new project, endurance of the chaos evolves into an expectation that it is required for an excellent outcome. A little like not wearing your formal attire out to work in the muddy garden, you mentally prepare to get messy. (You can put your formal wear back on when you celebrate success with the team).
Sadly, most teams come together with the idea that they somehow have to leave their individual talent at the door to become some sort of milk toast collective, trying to preserve delicate feelings and egos in perfect political correctness rather than come up with novel solutions. Great leadership that gives permission to be messy is essential. But so are ground rules.
The chaotic process for true innovation can permanently damage people if the team does not care for each other. You can only have constructive dialog with someone if you respect them. If you do not value the PEOPLE on your team the process will take over and the people will be trampled. This is the main reason teams break down. They have a plan, a method that is proven, but they entered into the engagement without a will to care about the people they work with.
I suppose some people get very, very good at faking respect. Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe that you can truly HEAR and leverage what the other person says if you are only faking respect for them out of protocol. So how do you respect someone you can barely tolerate most days?
You have to see them with bigger eyes. I cannot love people with the limited capacity of my own selfish heart. I must ask the Lord to show me... to let me see them as He sees them. As my vision changes of these difficult people, I see them as precious children, sometimes misguided, but always having intrinsic value. And, I understand that the moments I spend with them are merely a slice of a very full and challenging life I can't possibly understand since I don't walk with them like He does.
People rise (or fall) to our expectations of them. Let's expect the very best, so all our mavericks can come together and create something amazing.
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