I ATTENDED A CONFERENCE  THIS WEEK, AND ONE OF THE SPEAKERS GAVE A BRIEF LESSON ON... THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY.  MILLIONS OF DIFFERENT PARTS, EACH WITH A SPECIFIC ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY, EACH KNOWING THEIR ROLE AND NOT TRYING TO BE SOMETHING THEY CAN’T BE.  EACH INTERCONNECTED TO THE OTHER AND INTERDEPENDENT ON OTHERS TO WORK IN CONCERT WITH THEIR PART.  IT MADE ME THINK TO MYSELF, “WOW. WHAT A TEAM EACH OF US LEADS, MOSTLY WITHOUT EVEN REALIZING IT!” SO, WHEN IT COMES TO OUR BODIES AND OUR BUSINESSES, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE TO TAKE CARE OF BOTH IN ORDER  TO GET THEM TO PERFORM AT PEAK LEVELS.

IN LEADERSHIP, WE ARE CHARGED WITH BUILDING A TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS THAT MUST FIRST CONCENTRATE ON THEIR OWN ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.  EVERY DAY, FIND WAYS TO, FIRST, IMPROVE YOURSELF AND YOUR SKILLS TO BE THE BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMER YOU ARE CAPABLE OF. WHEN YOU DETERMINE THAT YOUR FIRST PRIORITY IS BECOME A BETTER YOU AND WHEN YOU FOCUS ON THAT, MANY OF THE NON-CONTROLLER ELEMENTS GO AWAY.

AS PRESIDENT OF “THE BRAND OF YOU,” THE FIRST THING YOU REALIZE IS THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON THAT IS 100% IN YOUR CONTROL.  MANY THINGS THROUGHOUT THE DAY ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL, AND PEOPLE LIKE TO FOCUS ON THOSE THINGS AS TO DEFLECT ANY SHORT COMINGS OF THEIR OWN PERFORMANCE. AS LEADERS, WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER TO, FIRST, MAKE SURE OUR PERFORMANCE IS AT THE PEAK BEFORE TRYING TO HELP OTHERS.  THIS SOMETIMES GETS CONFUSED TODAY WHEN SOME WILL TALK ABOUT “WHAT’S FAIR TO ALL” AND “BUILDING COMMUNITY FIRST.” I DON’T AGREE WITH THOSE PHILOSOPHIES WHEN IT COMES TO LEADING AND BUILDING THE TEAM.

REMEMBER ON THE AIRPLANE THEY TELL YOU: “FIRST PUT ON YOUR OWN MASK AND BREATH BEFORE HELPING OTHERS PUT THEIRS ON!”  WHY?  UNTIL YOU ARE FUNCTIONING AT YOUR PEAK YOU REALLY CAN’T HELP OTHERS FIND THEIRS.

NOW, I DO BELIEVE IN TEAMWORK!  NO GREAT ORGANIZATION CAN BE GREAT WITHOUT THAT CLEAR & COMPELLING VISION WITH EACH PERSON PULLING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.  SURE, IN ANY BIG MACHINE THERE MAY BE A COG THAT IS STUCK OR GOING BACKWARD, BUT THE MACHINE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE AHEAD BY GOING AROUND OR IGNORING THE BAD LINK.

IN THIS WAY, WE ARE ALL LINKED AS ONE BODY, AND WE MUST WORK AS ONE.  THE HAND CANNOT SAY TO THE NOSE, “IT’S YOUR ITCH, SCRATCH YOURSELF!”  OR THE EAR TO THE HAND, “LISTEN YOURSELF!”  THE PARTS WORK TOGETHER, BOTH KNOWING THEIR SPECIFIC CAPABILITIES AND PERFORMING AS THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE.

 

SO, IF YOU FEEL LIKE THE TEAM IS NOT GETTING WITH THE PROGRAM OF “BEING ONE,” START FIRST WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR SPECIFIC ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, AND HELP BRING CLARITY OF WHAT ROLES AND VALUES EACH BRINGS TO THE BODY.

AND PUT YOUR MASK ON FIRST!