Favorite quote - "It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required." Winston Churchill
Just yesterday, I got an e-mail from my good friend Ann Miller, who coordinates programs for four year olds here in SDOC, among other things. She was lavish in her praise of one of our own, Lauren Gay. It seems as though Lauren was screening at Ravenel for next year's programs when Mrs. Miller found out they needed help with registration in Westminster. True to form, Lauren volunteered to go to Westminster and help them out while another teacher finished at the Ravenel. The other teacher left early, leaving screening still to be done back at Ravenel. Lauren volunteered to go back and finish what her replacement had left undone, after she had helped out at Westminster. This story provides a clear contrast between one set of actions that were team oriented and dependable and another set which were neither of those. What makes the difference?
According to Maxwell, the attributes of dependability are;
1. Pure motives
2. Responsibility
3. Sound thinking
Lauren did not act to make her colleague look bad. She acted because she had taken the responsibility for that screening and was determined to see it through. She knew that if she didn't somebody else would have to.
How to become more dependable
1. Check your motives
2. Discover the value of your word
3. Find an accountability partner
Every team improves when its members become more dependable.
No comments:
Post a Comment