Team building and common interests

Reza Hossein Borr

You can only succeed in building a team when you can bring the contrasting interests and turn them into common achievable interests. If the members of a potential team find out that their interests will not be achieved when the mission is accomplished, they will not give sufficient input into the functioning of the team. It is even likely that they may obstruct the smooth functioning of the team as well. It must be mentioned that the preservation of interests becomes more important than collective achievement if the collective achievement does not guarantee the preservation of individual interests.

When few people are chosen to work as team to accomplish a mission, the question of the individual interests must be somehow addressed before they begin working as the team. They must be assured that their interests will be understood and recognized by the leader and appropriately rewarded after achieving the task. Nobody would be engaged in any kind of activity without knowing that his fair share in action would be acknowledged and recognized. When few people work in an organization it may be considered that the salary they receive at the end would be considered as the reward. This is an illusion. In addition to salary, people need specific rewards for achieving specific objectives. The rewards maybe the recognition of their endeavours or some financial gift.

Nobody knows exactly what kind of rewards and interests each individual may request. The best way is to talk to them individually and discover what kind of reward motivates them to go for the collective achievement. Individual achievements are usually recognized. The collective achievements are not recognized in the way that members of a team feel satisfaction. The art of finding what kind of reward satisfies each individual is the responsibility of the team builder. The team builder can achieve this goal by asking a series of questions about how the achievement of the task collectively can satisfy that individual need. What may motivate one person may not motivate another person.

Recognition of individual interests is the most important step in facilitating team functioning. Once I was talking to a client. Whenever my statement about an issue was raised, he asked me this question, "what is there in it for me?" I tried to define the issue from various aspects, but each time he asked me the same question, "What is there in it for me?" This was the first time that my attention was drawn to focus on the interests of other people when it comes to any kind of negotiations with them. If there is something in what we do for them they will participate. If there is nothing indeed for them, whatever we do and say, will not affect them.

If we want the cooperation of others in achieving something we have to make clear for them what will be their reward.

Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com

The man who turned every project into success

Doing well what you do not like all

Reza Hossein Borr

Few years ago I met somebody in one of my seminars. He had a reputation for turning every project into success. He told me his secret, "I know that I have to excel in doing what I do not like to do. When I take on a project that I do not like at all, I take its full ownership and treat it as if I really love it."

The great achievers are those who do well what is required of them, not what they like. Everybody likes doing well what they love to do. The problem is that the absolute majority of the people have the jobs that they do not like. They get married to people they do not like any more. They have colleagues they do not like. They have parents they do not like. They have children they do not like. They have neighbours they do not like. So if you do not establish very enjoyable working relationships with all these issues and people your life will not be very much enjoyable.

If you do not do your job very well, even if you do not like it, you will be sacked. If you do not treat your partner very well, even if you do not like him or her, you have to go for separation. If you do not treat your parents well, even if you do not like them, you will deprive yourself of the greatest love. If you do not treat your children very well, even if you do not like them, you would lose your children. If you do not treat your neighbours very well, even if you do not like them, you will be engaged in continuous disputes all your life.

The art of living well is about doing well what you do not like and treating well those you do not like. Doing is related to your performance. If you do not perform well you will be assessed as a bad worker. The other people do not evaluate you about your likes and your do not likes. They evaluate you for the quality of your performance. What you like and what you do not like is your personal choice, however, it is not your personal choice to do certain things well and other things not well. If you do not do everything well you will not be considered a reliable person who can turn different projects and assignments into successful endeavours.

You build your own reputation by the quality of your work and the quality of your performance. The other people possibly will not tell you, unless they are your bosses, what they think of what and how your performance is. They know that if they volunteer feedback about your performance, specifically when it is not good, you will feel hurt and people will not like to hurt you. What you do, you will be known for it.

As Thomas Fuller said, "He, who wants fruit, must climb the tree." The tree may be tall and rough. It may be very hard climbing over it, but if you want to get the fruit, you have to do all these things and if you do not do them with pleasure, you are not going to enjoy eating the fruit.

At the beginning things look hard. When you finish them, you say, how easy they were!

Reza Hossein Borr is an NLP Master Trainer and a leadership consultant and the creator of 150 CDs and 14 Change management models. He is also the author of Manual Success, Manual of Coaching and Mentoring, Motivational Stories that Can Change Your Life, and a New Vision for the Islamic World. He can be contacted by email: sarawani@aol.com www.rezaaa.com