Developing the Team

All of our efforts in leadership should bring us to the development of a team. Fighting a war is a team effort and cannot be resigned to the effort of one individual. It is the combined effort of each individual for a common goal or task that accomplishes the completion of a mission.

If your people cannot see the use for each other and the need of the team, then you will find yourself amongst chaos when the real tough projects enter into your hands. It would be like watching an opening episode of the celebrity edition of Donald Trump's show, "The Apprentice", with so many egos that they clash instead of grow as a cohesive unit.

Training and retraining are the best keys to building confidence in your leadership and in the team's ability to perform. Training shows each member of the team the strengths of their teammates and builds trust among them. They need that confidence in each other. When they have this confidence in you and in each other, a team is formed. This confidence is translated through their ability to see the importance of the team as a whole. Training provides this.

One of the things I remember from a very, very brief stint at a military college was the motto "Be STRAC". Simply put - "Be studious, tough, ready around the clock."

Being STRAC is achieved in how you train. You get back what you put into your training. Train hard and you find yourself able to accomplish more than you thought you could. Karate has taught me this. Train hard as a team and your team will react as you have led them and above expectations.