The Power of Team
Through this COVID 19 lockdown, I have been deeply impressed by the power of teamwork. I am seeing it among my staff team at Church Unlimited as they work together to "do" church in a new and shifting environment.
More importantly I am watching "team" at work in our nation. In the NZ Herald, Saturday 11 April, there was an article on Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health. This man has risen to prominence in the midst of the crisis showing calm, wise leadership. It was a great background article, but it was this comment by professor David Johnston, an expert in disaster management, that caught my attention " – leadership is not just an individual. “Leadership is a system as well. It’s a ministry that’s doing it – it’s the team that’s wrapped around it.” Dr Bloomfield, when questioned about his leadership, speaks of the team he has. This is not a one person task, there is a whole team of dedicated, talented men and women "wrapped around the fight". Ashley Bloomfield knows the value of a team working together. He has obviously been assembling that team during his time in office, and ensuring that as a team they are working together in the same direction, focused and energised. Quite frankly, I would love to sit down with Dr Ashley and ask him how he built such a team.
John Maxwell wrote, "Could Tenzing and Hillary have made it alone? The answer is no. Could they have made it without a great team? Again, the answer is no. Why? Because as the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. That's the Law of Mount Everest." [The 17 Indisputable laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell]
It takes a team to climb a mountain, it takes a team working together to manage a crisis, it takes a team to do the impossible.
"Mountain of Hope" is a locally produced documentary (you can watch it on TVNZ On Demand) that follows a group of kiwis climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to celebrate 15 years of their charity, "Orphans Aid International". Sue, the director and an old friend of mine, started Orphans Aid 15 years ago in response to first, the plight of the Romanian orphans and then expanded into other regions as she discovered the plight of abandoned children. Sue likens the journey of Orphans Aid to the journey to climb Mt Kilimanjaro - one step at a time. At the beginning it looks impossible, at times you want to give up, but one step at at time and, I would add, with a team - the impossible is achieved. Sue could not have reached the top without the team, neither could she do the work of Orphans Aid without a great team.
At the end of the documentary Sue challenged her viewers, "What mountain, has God asked you to climb?" It is a challenging question. I would add to it who can you climb with?
Find a great team, join a great team, encourage your team and climb together!
More importantly I am watching "team" at work in our nation. In the NZ Herald, Saturday 11 April, there was an article on Dr Ashley Bloomfield, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health. This man has risen to prominence in the midst of the crisis showing calm, wise leadership. It was a great background article, but it was this comment by professor David Johnston, an expert in disaster management, that caught my attention " – leadership is not just an individual. “Leadership is a system as well. It’s a ministry that’s doing it – it’s the team that’s wrapped around it.” Dr Bloomfield, when questioned about his leadership, speaks of the team he has. This is not a one person task, there is a whole team of dedicated, talented men and women "wrapped around the fight". Ashley Bloomfield knows the value of a team working together. He has obviously been assembling that team during his time in office, and ensuring that as a team they are working together in the same direction, focused and energised. Quite frankly, I would love to sit down with Dr Ashley and ask him how he built such a team.
John Maxwell wrote, "Could Tenzing and Hillary have made it alone? The answer is no. Could they have made it without a great team? Again, the answer is no. Why? Because as the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. That's the Law of Mount Everest." [The 17 Indisputable laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell]
It takes a team to climb a mountain, it takes a team working together to manage a crisis, it takes a team to do the impossible.
"Mountain of Hope" is a locally produced documentary (you can watch it on TVNZ On Demand) that follows a group of kiwis climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to celebrate 15 years of their charity, "Orphans Aid International". Sue, the director and an old friend of mine, started Orphans Aid 15 years ago in response to first, the plight of the Romanian orphans and then expanded into other regions as she discovered the plight of abandoned children. Sue likens the journey of Orphans Aid to the journey to climb Mt Kilimanjaro - one step at a time. At the beginning it looks impossible, at times you want to give up, but one step at at time and, I would add, with a team - the impossible is achieved. Sue could not have reached the top without the team, neither could she do the work of Orphans Aid without a great team.
At the end of the documentary Sue challenged her viewers, "What mountain, has God asked you to climb?" It is a challenging question. I would add to it who can you climb with?
Find a great team, join a great team, encourage your team and climb together!
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