One of the most difficult but also most empowering things to understand is that ... It's now about me.
Chapter two of John Maxwells book lets us understand that law of the big picture is understanding that, it’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s about us working together to accomplish the goal.
A team isn’t supposed to be a bunch of people being used as a tool so that one person can accomplish their personal goal. Members of a team must have mutually beneficial shared goals. They must be motivated to work together because of a common goal, not because of manipulation. Dictators make people do what they want them to do, but leaders gather people with mutual goals and inspire them to accomplish something greater together then they could have ever done alone.
I love these two quotes from the book.
"To really win we must remember that the goal is more important than our personal role" - John Maxwell
“I think an player will tell you that individual accomplishments help grow your ego, but if you don't win, it makes for very very long season” - David Robinson
Six things we need to do to win as a team.
1 - Look up at the Big Picture.
As the leader of the team, my role is to do what only I can do. Paint the big picture for my people. Without the vision they will not find the desire inside of the to achieve the goal.
2 - Size up the situation.
As the leader of the team, I need to gather the team and time to size up the situation. Knowing where we want to go is great, but we will never get there if we don’t first know where we currently are. Where are we as a team? Where are we with our weekend momentum, spiritual maturity, or financial stability? What areas are we strong? What areas are we struggling? These are questions that need to be answered honestly as a team.
3 - Line up the needed resources.
Hawley R Everhart, once said, “It’s all right to aim high if you have plenty of ammunition”. Resources are the ammunition to help hit the goal. It doesn't really matter how talented the basketball team is, they need a basketball to play. The same is true for my team. We can be goal oriented, and gifted, but if we don't have the right equipment, facilities, and funds we are not going to get the job done. The better resourced the team is, the better equipped the players will be to play the game.
4 - Call up the right players.
What is the win? What do we need to play? Who needs to be on the team to win? I can lose with good players, but I can never win with bad ones.
5 - Give up personal agendas.
Ray Kroc said, “No one of us is more important than the rest of us”. I want to be a leader that models a vision first mentality to those around me.
6 - Step up to a higher level.
When we see the big picture clearly, size up the situation we are in, get the right resources, surround ourselves with the right people, and give up our personal agendas for the good of completion of the cause …. we will go to a higher level than we ever dreamed.
Questions I am asking myself and our team.
What is the goal?
Why do I want to accomplish it?
Is it a goal that others have and will want to be a part of?
How well do I cast the vision, helping others clearly see the big picture?
Where are we now?
What resources do have and what resources do we need?
Who is on the team and who needs to be added?
On a scale of 1 to 10 how much of a true team are we right now?
What is the game plan to walk out the six steps to win?