I wrote my new book You Are the Team—6 Simple Ways Teammates Can Go from Good to Great because of a thought that kept coming to me which was, if teammates can change themselves, they can change the team.
And the change starts with teammates who are thinking like servants. It’s about members of the team serving teammates and the team as a whole. It’s what I call servant teamwork.
Most of you have probably heard the term servant leadership. Servant leadership is about the leader’s desire to serve those she leads. It’s putting the needs of those she leads first. The test and measurement is to see how well those she leads develop and grow as people.
Servant teamwork is similar, it’s about the desire of each member of the team to serve those on the team individually and collectively. It’s about members of the team putting the needs of teammates and the team as a whole ahead of their own needs. The test and measurement is to see how well the team develops and grows as a group.
To be more specific, servant teamwork means that members of the team are selflessly looking out for what’s best for the team. They are serving each other, putting teammates needs ahead of their own and putting the team first.
They are trustworthy; telling the truth, doing what they say they will do and having the courage to speak up when necessary because that’s what’s best for a teammate and/or the team.
They are humble; meaning that they take accountability for what they do on the team, they admit to mistakes when they make them and they readily and easily receive constructive feedback from others.
They are positive teammates. They look for ways build others up, not tear them down. They find ways to celebrate a teammates success and they bring the team together to do so.
They are respectful and kind to each. They demonstrate both patient understanding and tireless empathy with teammates.
And finally, they strive to be great because they know as they work on being great, the team will become greater.
Servant teamwork is about each member of the team stepping up individually so that they can be better collectively. It’s about each member of the team realizing that they are part of something bigger than themselves, but in order to make it work, they have to become bigger and better themselves.
Servant teamwork means that every member of the team is completely committed to the team’s outcomes and to each other.
I wrote You Are the Team to get to the heart of every teammate. Again, I really believe that if teammates can change themselves, they can change the team.
Happy Teamwork!
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