Borrowing Brain Power Can Broaden Perspective
“I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.” – Woodrow Wilson
In honor of President’s Day, I’ve chosen a quote from Woodrow Wilson, who wisely acknowledges the value of team work and collaborative thinking.
Being “smart” is relative only to the subject at hand–that in which your expertise lies. Though President Wilson had his Ph.D., there is no way he could know how to manage every possible challenge. He accentuates here the wisdom of relying on those in your team to gain brain power for success.
Borrowing brains can help us in broadening perspective on issues. When we join forces as a team the perspective goes from mine or yours to OURS.
How much of others skill sets we can integrate into project dynamics determine the magnitude of how much you can leverage the existing brain power! Using the special skills all members of a team or company make projects collaborative and fortify them with various perspectives and angles of intelligence. The opportunity to fail decreases as team oriented thinking increases.
Have a great holiday weekend!
Appreciatively,
Lynn
p.s. I always am interested in what you think about these discussions. Please post your thoughts on the blog…your constructive criticism and support is appreciated!
Dr. Lynn K. Jones, Certified Personal and Executive Coach
Your Mojo Maven
http://LynnKJones.com
Photo credit: smokedsalmon / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Lynn, I love your message. A lot of times one has the urge to go it alone. I can do it. Only I can fix this. Or the dreaded, “The buck stops here, I must fall on my sword!”
No, no and no. We need to reach out to our team regularly, to get fresh viewpoints and get out of any rut that may have led us to a problem situation.
If the buck stops here, and it does, that does not mean we have to go it alone. I can’t help it, like a bad comic I love the cliche’s.
Lynn, this is great. Thanks for the encouragement!
Calla Gold
http://www.callagoldjewelry.com
Calla,
You are such a natural team player! I love your enthusiasm for working with a team and all that teams can accomplish–even if you are tempted to go it alone from time to time!
Appreciatively,
Lynn
The use of teams has been empirically demonstrated to be a superior way of solving problems, making plans and completing tasks. The challenge is that workers much prefer to be controlled and to work in the traditional supervisor-employee setting. Making real change in this dynamic is extremely difficult.
You are so right, Curt. Everyone things that they want to have input into decision making until they realize that also means that there is accountability that goes along with it. When I was running the Devereux Deerhaven in New Jersey, we organized the center around self directed work teams. Getting people to realize that accountability comes with empowerment was the biggest challenge. But it was well worth it!
Appreciatively,
Lynn