Fostering a spirit of teamwork is critical to any organization's success. And a key element is trust. Trust for the leader and trust for each other. Our book, The Power of Teamwork is inspired by the ultimate team...the Blue Angels. It was written by Scott Beare, a former Blue Angel pilot, and Michael McMillan, who is also an award winning graphic designer.
Great stories from Scott, and great graphics from Michael, are used to reinforce the nine key principles of teamwork used by the Blue Angels. And each principle ties back to what it means to your company and your team. It is guaranteed to create many "a-ha" moments.
Michael McMillan wrote the foreword to this book, and I wanted to share what he had to say about Scott Beare, the Blue Angels, and...trust. Enjoy! Live with passion,
Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths
After meeting Scott Beare for the first time, it hit me! What had impressed me so much about Scott during our first meeting was his use of words. They were direct, straightforward and honest...a rarity in today's politically correct world. You may be wondering what this has to do with our book on teamwork. In short, everything.
Working with Scott affirmed what I've always known – the dictionary doesn't define words – people do.
Words are symbols. They mean different things to different people at different times. This point is critically important to understand when it comes to words commonly used to discuss teamwork.
Take the word trust, for instance. Trusting someone to deliver a package on time, score a goal, or deliver a sales presentation all represent certain levels of trust. Trusting someone to fly directly at you and pass within inches of your aircraft at a combined speed of 1,000 miles per hour, represents yet another degree of trust. What level of trust do you suppose is needed for the person providing your verbal commands, the mechanics who service your engine, the guys who inspect your gauges, and all the others responsible for any number of details? As a Blue Angels pilot, the word carries significant meaning...to an abnormal degree.
Recognizing this, many of the words in our book may appear similar to those used by others writing about teamwork. But don't be confused by spelling and pronunciation. I've been on many teams throughout my life – baseball, football, track and wrestling – creative teams, work teams, sales teams, and the like. But the definition of teamwork adhered to by the Blue Angels is outside my scope.
To Scott Beare and his teammates, these common words used to describe teamwork, the ones we've used to write this book, are far from common.
As you read them, ask yourself, as I have numerous times throughout this project, what these words mean to you. What do they represent to the members of your team? Once our definitions begin to align with those of the Blue Angels, we can be confident we're ready to operate at peak performance...and understand the true power of teamwork.
If you haven't seen our 3 minute movie on The Power of Teamwork, you're in for a treat. Just click on the link below to watch it, and don't forget to share it with...your team.
Click Here To Watch
The article above was excerpted from the book "The Power of Teamwork" By Scott Beare and Michael McMillan. It is reprinted here with permission. You may share this story as long as you do not edit the content; leave the links and this resource box intact.
Posted by Ingrid Dreyer
www.personal-development-growth.com
