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On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams - Softcover

Butterworth, Bill

 
9780385519694: On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0385519699 ISBN 13: 9780385519694
Verlag: Crown, 2006

Inhaltsangabe

In the On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams, Bill Butterworth brings his trusted brand of motivation to an issue that affects us all, no matter what kind of team we belong to, be it a company, a division, or a group . . . even a family.
 
As this charming little book makes clear, it is possible to learn how to be a better team member: by facing your insecurities, eliminating unhealthy competition, improving your communication skills, and overcoming your fear of change. Designed to be read in one short plane ride—or over a hot cup of coffee or two—this book reveals the traits that all successful teams share and offers common-sense advice on how you can bring those same skills to your team. Filled with stories about teams of all shapes and sizes, the On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams will change the way you think about teamwork—and yourself.
 
There’s no telling what you’ll learn when you read on the fly.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

bill butterworth’s blend of humor, storytelling, wisdom, and practical advice has made him one of the most sought-after speakers in North America. A highly regarded author, Bill has written on topics ranging from sports to psychology and self-help issues and has been a columnist, editor, and scriptwriter. Bill lives with his wife, Kathi, in Newport Beach, California.

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Introduction

Everything I Know About Teamwork I Learned at Carnegie Hall

“Dad, we’re gonna sing at Carnegie Hall!”

So bellowed my sixteen-year-old son, John, as he ran down the hall of our California home. An eleventh grader, John was a member of his high-school choir. They had previously submitted an audition tape to join a five-hundred-voice all-American high-school honors choir, and John had just learned that they had been accepted.

Most folks I know have heard of Carnegie Hall. Few have ever been there.

When I walked through the doors on that cold winter night in March, I made two discoveries. One, Carnegie Hall is not as big as I had imagined. Don’t get me wrong, it’s big–a couple thousand seats at least. But to a guy who has attended too many concerts in arenas and stadiums, it seemed almost small.

Two, the Carnegie Hall stage doesn’t have a curtain. All onstage activity comes and goes through a set of double doors on the right side of the stage. I’m guessing it has something to do with the hall’s acoustic perfection, but there is no big, heavy, velvet curtain like you’d expect. This is not a problem aesthetically, except that, between acts, what would be considered backstage movement is in full view.

The high-school choir was the main attraction, but obviously it needed an opening act. And who better to open for the five-hundred-voice all-American high-school honors choir than the five-hundred-voice all-American elementary-school honors choir?

That’s right, five hundred eight-, nine-, and ten-year-olds marched onto the stage and proceeded to sing their set. I saw proud parents beaming from every seat in the hall. Many people wept as the children sang (I’ll let you determine why their singing would reduce an adult to tears), and I quickly decided that this concert could not fail.

Everyone in the hall was related to one of the performers.

The elementary-school choir performed its last piece, received well-deserved applause, and marched off the stage.

Now for the good part, I thought and smiled. The high schoolers.

Not yet. After the first choir was completely offstage, two very tiny children strolled onstage with the smallest violins I had ever seen. Their instruments looked like knickknacks you might display on your coffee table back home. Nonetheless, these two talented mini-people played a beautiful classical piece to the delight of several thousand ears. The applause was deafening as they wandered offstage, their little violins in tow.

The time had finally arrived. The double doors opened wide, and out of them came five hundred beautiful teenagers. The young ladies wore formal gowns, the young men tuxedos. I craned my neck like a giraffe and looked for John. But as student after student glided onstage, I could not find my son. The first row was in place, but no John. The second row, no John. As the third row assembled, I realized what was happening. The choir was lining up front row to back row, shortest to tallest.

John is six feet four inches tall.

“Oh no,” I groaned. Most certainly, John would be sentenced to the back row.

Sure enough, after approximately 483 people walked on stage, John appeared at the double doors. My chest swelled with pride, but I was still disappointed that he was in the back row. This isn’t at all how I imagined it, I thought. It was gonna be John up front. John with his 499 backup singers. Johnny and the Pips, live at Carnegie Hall.

It was at that moment my disappointment turned into joy. As John took his place on the back row, he happened to be dead center. A spotlight shone on him alone, lighting him up like a Roman candle. No one else looked like he looked, at least to me. He had an angelic glow, a halo, like in one of those Renaissance paintings of Jesus.

The choir was now in place. The double doors were closed in anticipation of the conductor’s appearance. The excitement was palpable. All eyes were on the double doors. But they did not open. “Where’s the conductor?” parents whispered to one another. “What are we waiting for?”

The wait seemed interminable. Even the choir was getting restless. After what seemed like an hour, the double doors opened to show us a middle-aged man in his best blue suit.

As he walked onstage, we could not keep our enthusiasm to ourselves.
We applauded.


We applauded like there was no tomorrow.

We applauded so wildly we had to stand to accurately show our appreciation for this unforgettable moment.

So amid this thunderous standing ovation, imagine our surprise when we discovered that the man strolling toward center stage was not the conductor.

He was a stagehand.

The two little violinists had neglected to take their music stand with them when they finished their number, so we were wildly applauding the Carnegie Hall stagehand! He picked up the stand, walked back offstage, and the double doors closed once again.

Almost immediately, however, the double doors reopened, and a handsome man in white tie and tails proudly marched to the center of the stage. This time it was the conductor, but he was greeted with lukewarm applause. We had given it all up for the stagehand, so we didn’t have much left.

I was immediately struck with the thought, When was the last time I was at a concert where we gave the stagehand a standing ovation? Clearly he was important to the evening’s festivities. The concert could not proceed without his clearing the stage. He was every bit as vital in his way as the conductor. But in our world, we tend to applaud only the conductor, only the quarterback, only the CEO, forgetting all the other people responsible for a team’s success. Examples from business abound. Even the design of an organizational chart, though necessary for efficient business practices, states, or at least implies, that there is a pecking order in the company. Those higher up the ladder are more important than those on the lower rungs.

As the concert unfolded, I knew I was observing something special. Beyond the obvious pride of seeing my son’s performance, I knew I was also witnessing teamwork in action. Every person on that stage was making a contribution; each one was necessary for the complete success of the team.

This book explores the many ways you can maximize your own team’s effectiveness. We’ll talk about team leaders and team members, new teams and old teams, big teams and small teams. We’ll talk about your relationships within your business team and the responsibilities your team places on you. My contention is that whether you’re a CEO or a personal assistant, the sooner you realize you are a critical member of a dynamic working team, the more efficient you will be.

I will explain how you can determine the needs of your teammates, overcome the barriers to teamwork, and recognize the great traits of effective teams. Throughout the book, you will find helpful Team Tips to reflect upon, as well as questions and exercises that will help you put the book’s lessons into practice.

I wrote this to be read during a short plane ride, to jump-start your thinking. Be warned: although it’s a quick read, it just might change for good the way you view teamwork and your position as a team member. Yet I believe that if you practice these truths, you will learn how to increase your effectiveness as well as the effectiveness of all those around you.

And then there’s no telling what you’ll be able to accomplish.


One

The Three Great Needs of Team...

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Verlag
Crown
Erscheinungsdatum
2006
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0385519699
ISBN 13 
9780385519694
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
112
Kontakt zum Hersteller
preigu GmbH & Co. KG
mail@preigu.de

Lengericher Landstr. 19
Osnabrück
Niedersachsen
49078
Deutschland