Play to Your Strengths

In another near-miss airline disaster over the Hudson River, we see the value of teamwork. When their engines were shut down by an unexpected flock of birds, Captain Sully and his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles had to respond fast.

 

They both knew their roles and executed beautifully. It was Captain Sully's job to figure out where to land the plane.  His co-pilot raced through a checklist of procedures to restart the engines. Working as a team, with not a minute to spare, they successfully landed the plane and saved the lives of 150 passengers. 

 

Clear roles, high trust, rapid decision-making and disciplined action helped Captain Sully and his crew survive. In a crisis, they stuck to the principles of great teamwork.

You might think that investing in teamwork is a luxury. But if you want a nimble, high performing team you must make this investment. Lack of teamwork is the number one cause of lost opportunities, lackluster performance, duplication of efforts and organizational inefficiency.

As a leader it's your job to build your team. Don't assume employees can do it without you. Start by sharing why you believe it's important to be a team. Then follow through and take consistent actions over time to develop your team. Time spend on teamwork is money in the bank.

Then like Captain Sully you'll be rewarded with a nimble team that can take you anywhere you want to go and respond at lightening speed in a crisis!