Synergy

In my men's group, we all recently took a survey called Your Unique Design which provides us a snapshot of how we were made. I have done these types of thing before, and though this provided me with similar results, it was done so in a different way which was helpful to me.

The big thing for me though, was how different the results were for everyone in our group. I was reminded as others in my group were sharing, that not one of the guys was made wrong. They were not a mistake and God knew what He was doing.

The thought also occurred to me that if everyone was the same, it would be a very boring world. Besides, life would be much more difficult.

Yes, people who are different than us might frustrate us or annoy us. They might even make us angry because they do things so differently. However, when others are different, that means that they have strengths that we don't have. This can be very helpful if we work together as God designed.

The definition of "synergy" is: the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. I believe that is what God had in mind when He created each of us. This wouldn't be possible if we were all made the same.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

Romans 12:4-6a

Unselfishness

One thing that seems non-existent in big-time sports anymore is taking one for the team. What I mean is, it is rare to see someone who is not only about themselves. Most players on TV are doing some sort of celebratory dance to draw attention to themselves.

That’s one of the reasons I am a huge fan of Todd Boeckman.

Boeckman, Ohio State’s senior quarterback was first team All Big Ten last year (his first as a starter). He led the Buckeyes to a birth in the BCS national championship game against LSU. He played very well most of last season but his performance slipped a little in the last couple of games.

Much was expected of him this season. He was supposed to lead the Buckeyes to their third straight national championship game. However, that was not to be.

An early season drubbing at the hands of USC changed all that. Boeckman did not have a stellar performance and the following week was replaced by Freshman Terelle Pryor.

Expectations would be that Boeckman would complain and throw a fit because he was being benched. Boeckman, one of the team’s captains didn’t do that however. He supported Pryor and said that he understood why Coach Tressel made such a move.

Was he upset on the inside? I’m sure he was. Did he want to be playing? You bet.

But, he put the well being of the team ahead of his own. Very classy.

And, he comes in at the end of Ohio State’s victory over Michigan to throw a picture-perfect touchdown pass. Great stuff! What a great way to end your career!

In my book, Todd Boeckman is MVT – Most Valuable Teammate.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

Teamwork - Part III

The past two days I have shared about teamwork. I did not intend to do it a third day in a row, but I must.

I had an incredible day yesterday. We conducted a couple of private briefings for Truth At Work, a ministry I am helping to bring to NW Ohio and SE Michigan. We had over 70 Christian business owners and leaders in for the two meetings to learn about Truth At Work.

I was humbled and literally brought to tears when I saw all of the help I was receiving:

• Ray and Matt, the 2 co-founders of Truth At Work came to Toledo from Indianapolis to lead the briefings
• One of their members, the owner of ServantHR took a day and a half away from his business and his family to come share about how much Truth At Work has helped him
• Many incredible leaders in the Toledo area (Al, Jim, Ed, Clint and others) have stepped up to help me by introducing me to others, giving me words of encouragement and praying for me
• Bob Borcherdt, a former teammate of mine at UT and president of Midwest Paper Specialties, not only let me use his facility for the meetings, but he had employees of his park quite a distance from the entrance so as to free up parking spaces. Two of his sons (college and high school age) were there bright and early to help with parking. He also had members of his staff helping with room setup, etc...
• Two women from the Greater Toledo House of Prayer shared with me that they had been praying for me since they heard about this and they feel led to continue to pray for me, Truth At Work and the business community in this region.
• My good friend Rod, who was extremely busy, yet found time to come and help with registration in the morning.
• My wife Connie (who is not a morning person), got up early and picked up the bagels, coffee and such by 6:45 AM. Then she cheerfully helped get everything organized and registered the guests.

And I have missed countless others who have encouraged, prayed for me and supported me.

All of this truly humbles me. I feel so blessed to have such an incredible group of people helping me, loving me and supporting me. What a great team! Thanks Lord!

Team Hoyt

The son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together.

Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Check out this inspiring video about Team Hoyt.

Teamwork

Last Saturday I was mowing our lawn and sweating profusely (it was hot and humid). When I was about half way done, my wife Connie and our son Robbie came out to do some weeding.

It was weird what happened to me. I had been exhausted from the heat, but the site of them coming out to work in the yard gave me a boost of energy. They weren't specifically helping me with the project I was working on, but I felt supported...I felt like I had teammates who were there to help me. It was cool.

Who can you do the same thing for in your work environment today?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12

Teamwork

Is your team ready to take off and reach new levels of success? If you are the leader, the answer to that question will be "yes" only if you are ready.

This short video will give you some great things to think about along these lines. I hope it blesses you in some way!

Power Rangers

An article I just read in Promo Magazine discussed the ongoing popularity of the Power Rangers, who turn 15 this year.

The reason for their longevity?

"The brand has reached pop culture status by maintaining its core values of honesty, loyalty, teamwork and standing up for what's right," says Brenda Lynch, senior vice president, The Rogers Group, Bandai America's PR Agency. "These core values resonate as strongly as they did 15 years ago."

In this day of Hollywood and sports stars being glorified for their lack of values, it sure is refreshing to see this.

Tony Dungy on Teamwork

Tony Dungy continues with his view of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes third value:

Teamwork

Jesus always pointed out that everybody was important, but nobody was so important they couldn’t get by without them. And that’s what you are trying to sell to your team: that everybody has a role. No matter how small they think it is, even if they are not necessarily the star, they are important. But by the same token, nobody is so great that we can’t survive without them. And that’s what good teams have. It’s not a matter of having the most talented guys, but of having the most cohesion, the most ability to work together. Christ and His team had the common goal of spreading the gospel. And if we, as a team, also have a common goal and work together, we can do great things. But if we are fragmented and have different agendas and ideas, if we are not working together, no matter how much talent we have, we are not going to be successful.

How the spotlight affects teamwork:
Sometimes you get a situation in which some players say, “Well, I’m not a starter or a key component, so my job is not important.” You have to make them understand that you do need them. Even if their job is small, they need to do it exceptionally well in order for the team to succeed. The other side of the coin is that person who always feels that everything depends on them because they are in a star position. You need to let them know that there’s not as much pressure as they might feel. It’s telling them, “You’ve just got to do your job. Yes, it’s a big job, but we have other guys who also have to contribute. You aren’t the only one out there.” Ultimately, it’s balancing that spectrum and not letting one group feel too much pressure while another group feels like they are not needed. As a team, we are a unit, and everybody works together. And if we work together as teammates, we can do much more than 53 individuals working separately.

All Team Members Should Be Leaders

I found this on Leading Blog:

British Rugby team England, has enlisted the help of the Royal Marines in Dorset to develop the leadership necessary to create a winning team. Brian Ashton, the head coach is making use of outside consultants too, to bring this team together.

The Times Online reported today that head coach Brian Ashton said “he had been surprised by some of the players in the 45-strong squad whose leadership ability has shone through over the past ten days. He suggested that this was, in part, because they had not previously been encouraged to operate as leaders, which seems an implicit criticism of the previous coaching regime. ‘It’s not about calling lineouts and running back moves,’ Ashton said. ‘It’s the ability to decide what to do when things are going wrong and make them go right.’

It points to the fact that every member of a team needs to operate as a leader, whether they are the point leader or not. An effective team leader will be make sure that all aspects of a task are being covered and that they are coordinating without being dictatorial. This requires a lot of give and take. Additionally it is important that all members of a team know what everyone else is doing so that they can adjust and align themselves to the problems that any other team member may be facing.

The article continues. “’You need to pull players together, put them in a hostile and uncomfortable environment where they must work together to be successful, and they have done that.’ Some of the exercises designed by the Marines involved sensory deprivation, testing the ability to make decisions in extremes of tiredness….’This is the first time this group of players has been fit and available and the process of bonding as a group has been accelerated,’” Ashton said.