Teamwork. It’s beautiful when everything is clicking just right. But how do we really know when that’s happening? Teamwork is beyond statistics, more than relationships, and well past shared vision. Henry Ford set the bar in a more abstract way when he said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” Teamwork, according to Ford, is advancing in unison and reaching a milestone. Helpful, but still ambiguous.
There is no metric to chart optimum teamwork. Neither is there a magic formula to induce your people to mesh. A silver bullet for synch has yet to be invented.
Achieving the holy grail of perfect teamwork means having a group of individuals who work in functional harmony. Actions by one are anticipated by the others. Transitions are seamless. The unit operates more like a single body than a gathering yet the members continually challenge each other to greater results. Processes are in place but the team acts as much on instinct and familiarity as anything else. In short, they are in a perfect groove.
Alana Muller, President of the global entrepreneurial support organization Kauffman FastTrac, discussed this in a guest post on Forbes.com. She stated, “The greatest moments for me are those times when we are ‘in the flow’ as a team: working toward common objectives, speaking the same language, supporting one another as we advance toward our goals. However, arriving at that point is much easier said than done.” She goes on to explain the importance of hiring the best and brightest, developing trust, and allowing every member to help define success. Only then will the team be ready to achieve greatness.
Teamwork is difficult to describe, even for the experts, but you know it when you see it. The musical group Walk Off The Earth put together a video performing the song Somebody That I Used to Know which does exactly that. Take a listen. Note the perfect harmony and complete integration of actions. Each plays his/her role and they function as one.
From Ecclesiastes to Ephesians the scriptures are replete with messages touting the importance of teamwork. Our individual personal ministries rely on it as much, or perhaps even more, than our projects on the job. Paul explained this to the people of Corinth when he said,
“The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.”
Identify your team, passionate people to fill the various roles you need. Bring them together building trust and synchronicity. Integrate them. The work, and ultimately success, will flow from there. Henry Ford summarized this when he said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
Your job and personal ministry projects need teamwork. It is an elusive state, difficult to describe, and even more arduous to maintain. There are no measures and no magic switches. Yet teamwork is the free-flowing condition we all need to be successful. It is a recognizable and familiar friend, something that you used to know. Find the brightest people you can, build trust, allow ownership, and let them achieve greatness.
