Team Work ~ a Caution

I love collaboration which is the essence of team work, isn't it?  Each person shares a common goal and brings specific gifts to the process. When an author writes a book for example it takes a village to get it to press.  You've got an editor, a production team including a copy editor, an artist to design the cover art and someone to write the blurbs for the back cover.  And then there's the PR and Marketing team.  You get the idea.

When I work with clients I very often bring one or two assistants.  I hand pick my team to match the personality and needs of my client. But not all teams work seamlessly, do they?  If you toil in a corporate situation you may find yourself working with folks who are jealous of you, impatient or not qualified.  Be very careful that the teams you put together are a great mix of people with the right attitude and the best talents for the project.

I'm specifically thinking about the times you seek out help to get organized.  You may not want to pay someone like me so you decide to ask an organized friend or relative.  Here's the one thing you need to be vigilant about: be sure that whoever is on your team is not only qualified but has your best interests at heart.  Aunt Sally may have the most organized home in the world but if she loves to belittle while she helps she should stay home.  If your best friend is a mini Martha but can't help asking how you live like this she should call Aunt Sally and meet for lunch.  They can eat at The Toxic Cafe.

You don't ask a baby to walk before it crawls.  And you don't belittle it's first awkward steps, do you? Be sure you are as kind to yourself as you would be to a baby in any arena that's tough for you to master.  We flower with support and we wither under a volley of harsh words.  If you hand pick a critical team you may find that deep down you don't want to succeed.  Do some more soul searching and begin when the time is right.  What did Victor Hugo say?  "All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come." Amen.