Each ingredient serves a purpose. Without an ingredient, the cake changes. If an ingredient is off, the entire cake can be distasteful or the other ingredients have to mask the bad taste of the one. Similarly to ingredients in a cake, you serve a key role within your team, and it’s important to understand how your role contributes to your team’s success.
When all the ingredients add their role to the team, the cake tastes good, feeds many and is cause for celebration.
IDENTIFYING YOUR PURPOSE ON A TEAM
Each ingredient serves a purpose. Each ingredient has a role and function to play in a team. Knowing your role in the team comes from the hiring process, the job description, how you are measured, your supervisor, and primarily how you choose to contribute to the team. Consider a sales person who contributes to the team yet does not contribute sales. This is similar to a cake with no flour because the ingredient withholds its role and benefit to the team.
What and how do you contribute to the cake? What roles do others on your team contribute?
COLLECTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS LEAD TO TEAM SUCCESS
Last winter Learn2 had Crispin Duenas, one of Canada’s hopeful medalists in London 2012 illustrate his skills at a staff retreat for the Canadian Olympic Team. Crispin explained how he is one ingredient in the team even if he is the most obvious. After we learned from Crispin and his coach Joan Macdonald, each department within the COC explained how they contribute to the Archery
Team. Often moments like these help us understand our contribution and the contributions of others.
Action: Choose an outcome – make that outcome happen.
IDENTIFY INGREDIENTS TO TEAM SUCCESSES
Here at Learn2 the outcome is delivering amazing training programs that transform teams to produce results. Have each team identify what and how they contribute to the result. Then for advanced groups, ask the team to consider what and how they contribute to allow the other ingredients to be successful.
