On 22 February 2011 my son Thomas was visiting his grandparents in Christchurch. Thomas and Dad were in the basement of Ballantynes when the earthquake struck.
It was a dreadfully concerning ten minutes waiting to hear they were okay. I thought at the time it was an hour. Cellphone records showed otherwise.
That’s nothing compared to the loss that hundreds, probably more, family members and friends of those killed still feel.
Seems like the other day so I read my blog of the day after to remind me. I am reminded it was also a big and sad day for Tim for completely different reasons. I’d completely forgotten.
Keeping a journal of reflection can keep memories and insights alive.
The Taupo Great Lake Relay is a 155 kilometre running relay. There’s 18 legs (and aching legs at the end) with hills up and down, flats, dangerous cliff runs, heat, exhaustion, pulled muscles and lots of fun. When our work team went over the finish line the DJ said we’d been supporting the event for at least twelve years.
Lake Taupo is big – you need a team to get all the way round.
I don’t think that there was anybody there from that first team – in fact every year the team is different, but for the three years I’ve participated, I’ve felt the same enthusiasm, connection and commitment.
I’ve run plenty of team building and development sessions and one of the issues which always comes up is “what do we do now that Sarah has gone?”, or Lance has joined?
Should we start all over again and do a new charter, vision and values or what? And what of the cynics who say that the team building is artificial anyway and not necessarily relevant to the work?
A event like the relay this weekend teaches us quite a bit about the process of team building.
You need a goal. All members have a role and if you remember the goal, you should find that part to play that suits – no passengers on board. Flexibility is important – a support person took a leg of the relay today on account of an injury – perfect! it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been there before – others have, go with the flow but new ideas are welcome and expected.
I bet if someone from the team twelve years ago had come along and checked us out, it would be much the same experience that they had all those years ago.
They’d be welcome, just like the newbies were today, and we’d find a role no doubt.
So if you’re new to the team, watch, think about the purpose but get in a do something for the team. Before you know it you’ll realise you are the team. That’s team building.
Not who you know. That’s what was suggested to me at lunch time with a challenge “there’s a blog for you!” He’s not wrong. It got me thinking. The idea is that if you need to spread the word about yourself then it’s a far better measure of who is talking about you than who you can connect with.
The power of leverage. But it raises a more significant question. What are you known from? What might be being leveraged In a wider network? Or maybe it doesn’t matter: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about”.
In a strategic approach to marketing yourself you will want to grow connections (virtual and real) and ensure people are talking about you, and what you have to offer.
An authentic leader won’t be too concerned about the message which is being spread but rather they will embrace Wilde’s message, comfortable about the message which is spread.
But more importantly, the authentic leader will have answered the question posed by my friend and this blog. By making certain they know themselves first.
Apart from the colour they looked quite similar. 303 was a creamy white while 302 chestnut brown. They had two friends, but we couldn’t see their numbers. At our first viewing up the drive from our holiday house 303 seemed quite taken aback and aggressive. it didn’t look like they had too much in the way of human interaction.
They were good looking cows (however you measure looks on a cow I’m not sure!) and were pretty happy in their field of grass, flowers and weeds.
Next time down the driveway, same thing, 303 was on full alert while his mates showed some interest then went back to their grazing.
Each time was much the same, so we called 303 the “boss”.
Once we stayed a while once. Curious. Which is what 303 was. A little aggressive at first, probably unsure, but he seemed just plain curious about us.
Stephen Drain's Leadership Blog 