Gurney-Hydro Toastmasters Club

People have many misconceptions when it comes to working in a team. First of all, is that the onus of whether the team achieves its objectives or not lies solely with the leader.   Not so.   The team leader steers the direction of the team, but ultimately, everyone in the team needs to play their role so that they can achieve success. The second misconception is that each individual is only responsible for their own little part of the team.   Again, this couldn’t be further from the truth and a very myopic view of the big picture. Your job may only encompass a very small part in the team, but nevertheless it is still crucial and at the end of the day, will affect the team’s performance. Think of it like a clock and each individual person in the team is a part of the clock.   Even if a tiny screw is missing, it will make the entire clock stop working. So definitely, when your team doesn’t perform it is your fault. It’s your fault because...

Every once in a while we come across a situation where we are given the opportunity to become more than what we thought we can be. It’s the time when we get to up our game, take bigger risks, fill bigger shoes, do more than we would normally do – it’s when we STEP UP and take ownership of things, be it personal and professional. Probably the most famous example of stepping up in history was during World War II.   At that time, most of the men in the US were drafted into the army.   In order to ensure that the economy continues to function at home, the women went out to work.   They built airplanes and weapons, they filled up the factory lines and the services industry previously solely dominated by the men. For the first time, women proved that they can be equal partners with the men. In our lives we have opportunities to step up all the time.   It’s a matter of doing what needs to be done to get things done.   It doesn’t matter if it is not...