The Ideal Team Player
Great teams make things happen. And, great teams, have great players.
Recently a great team player left my team to pursue new things. It has me thinking about the ideal team player. There are lots of opinions, but mine is simple. The ideal team player seeks to support more than to be supported.
This kind of team member is the kind that always asks what they can do for you, rather than what you can do for them. They are thoughtful and kind but also willing to push back when they disagree.
The ideal team player thinks as my grandfather did. Until the end of his life, my grandfather would end every conversation the same way. He would say, “is there anything we can do for you?” The “we” he was referring to was him and my grandmother. She passed away years before he did, but until the day he died, he still considered them a team that could help the rest of the family. And, he wanted that team to end every conversation by trying to help someone else. That’s the kind of player I want on my team and the kind of team member I want to be.
What about you? What kind of team player are you? What kind of players do you have on your team? And, what can we all do to be better team players?
Great leadership reading from this week
Generalists Versus Specialists: The Winner Doesn’t Take It All - For years, we all thought being a specialist was critical to success. This article, and the book that Bill Gates recommends, call that idea into question. You may want your next hire to be a generalist.
Leading From Afar: Giving Autonomy Without Losing Control - Remote work is here to stay. This article will help leaders think through how to continue to improve leadership in the new virtual world.
Stanford study into “Zoom Fatigue” explains why video chats are so tiring - Zoom fatigue is real. This article helps to explain why.
Bill Gates: 4 Choices in Life Separate the Doers From the Dreamers - These four things were a nice reminder for me this week. I want to be a doer, and I want to lead teams of doers that get things done.
This week I’m thinking about:
Podcasts
Podcasts are an amazing way to create massive amounts of content, make contacts that would otherwise ignore you, and build an audience. I’ll be writing more on this soon, but in the meantime, I host three podcasts, so if you want to give a listen, I won’t argue…
Tech Talk Y’all - a podcast about this week’s tech news. We laugh a lot and share what is happening in the tech world. We also share weird and wacky articles that we find, and each episode has a tech recommendation.
Real Pink by Susan G. Komen - this podcast is about breast cancer. It features inspiring stories like my interview with an Olympic athlete training while going through cancer treatment, interviews with doctors, and stories of hope.
TogetherLetters - a podcast about the app we are building, how we are building it, and how the company is growing.
Other great reading from the week
Scientists Talked To People In Their Dreams. They Answered - This article is a little weird but fascinating. It reminds me of my friend that used to lean over to his sleeping wife and whisper in her ear, “you are a squirrel,” and then innocently ask the next morning what she dreamed about.
A Thought Experiment: ‘What If Nothing Ever Changed?’ - Give this article a read; it may be eye-opening in many ways. If nothing ever changed in your life from this moment on, how would you find happiness?
That’s a wrap!
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