You might have noticed I have been focusing a lot lately on the power of teammates (see “Why is it Always The Leader’s Fault? Who’s Responsible for Teamwork?” and “The 3 Most Thought Provoking Questions a Team Member Can Ask“). Often times when we talk about teamwork, we talk mostly about the leader. We expect leaders to magically make teamwork happen.
However, teamwork is a choice that every member of the team makes, including the leader. What’s your choice?
Teamwork is a choice that every member of the team makes, including the leader.Click To TweetI found the following story* that beautifully illustrates the power of our choices at the end of a book I just finished by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy titled “Living Forward.”
High in the Himalayan mountains lived a wise old man.
Periodically, he ventured down into the local village to entertain the villagers with his special knowledge and talents. One of his skills was to “psychically” tell the villagers the contents in their pockets, boxes, or minds.
A few young boys from the village decided to play a joke on the wise old man and discredit his special abilities.
One boy came up with the idea to capture a bird and hide it in his hands. He knew of course, the wise old man would know the object in his hands was a bird.
The boy devised a plan.
Knowing the wise old man would correctly state the object in his hands was a bird, the boy would ask the old man if the bird was dead or alive. If the wise man said the bird was alive, the boy would crush the bird in his hands, so that when he opened his hands the bird would be dead; if the wise man said the bird was dead, the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly free. So no matter what the old man said, the boy would prove the old man a fraud.
The following week, the wise old man came down from the mountain into the village. The boy quickly caught a bird and cupping it out of sight in his hands, walked up to the wise old man and asked, ” Old man, old man, what is it that I have in my hands?”
The wise old man said, “You have a bird.” and he was right.
The boy then asked, “Old man, old man tell me, is the bird alive or is it dead?”
The wise old man looked at the boy and said, “The bird is as you choose it.”
And so it is in everything we do. The power, your direction and your destiny are literally in your hands and the hands of those you lead and/or serve with. Which path are you going to take? It’s up to you, it’s always up to you.
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*The above version of the story was found on the Internet. The Author is unknown.
