Leaders in the MakingTeamwork – Lesson One

Character – the essence of leadership

Teamwork – the character of individuals combined for indisputable collaborative success

What is Character?. . . your inner personage

. . . your moral strength

. . . who you are when no one is watching

. . . The American Dictionary of the English Language states that it is, “the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual’s life which determine his response regardless of circumstances.”

Journal: Date your journal. List the traits that you believe you consistently exhibit. Be sure to include traits that you consider “good” and those traits that you consider “bad”. These can be words, phrases, or even short stories that show who you are.

Journal #1

Character. . .

Have you considered these?

honesty - integrity - courtesy - kindness encouragement - compassion - boldness - initiative intentionality - forgiveness - courage - sensitivity dependability - focus - determination - discernment creativity - generosity - sincerity - resourcefulness loyalty - enthusiasm - perseverance - thoroughness responsibility - wisdom - obedience - respectfulness - self-control

As a class, make a list on the board of the traits that exist within your group.

Where does character come from?

• We see it modeled by those around us.

• We practice what we’ve seen.

• We develop it over time – until it becomes a habit.

• We become what we repeatedly do.

• We choose to develop it.

We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those

because we have acted rightly.

Aristotle

Who cares about character? You do. Oftentimes your character is what allows you to succeed where others have failed.

You are in control of your personal character. Character develops over time. It’s your choice. It’s your life, your one and only life.

. . . your attitude determines your altitude

. . . who you are (the inner you) is more important than what you are (your job)

. . . it’s not how far you go, it’s how you go

. . . strong character leads weak character

What does character have to do with teamwork?

It matters not who you are or where you work or what you do. . . you are part of a team. . . whether you want to be or not.

Family, classroom, job – you’re part of a team.

Son, daughter, student, teacher, boss, employee, executive – you are a team member.

The success of the team may depend on you. A team, like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link.

What kind of a link are you?

What does teamwork have to dowith leadership?

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it. H.E. Luccock

None of us is as smart as all of us. Ken Blanchard

We could all take a lesson from the great northern geese which fly thousands of miles in formation.

Formation flying is 70 percent more efficient than flying alone. Dan Zadra

Since life is about teams, it stands to reason that someone has to lead the team.

A good leader aspires to be a role model ratherthan a hero.

So. . . This course will lead you through character development that will allow you to become an exceptional team player and a great team leader. . . no matter what the team.

Mountain climbers always help each other. Tenzing Norgay

If you want help, help others. If you want trust, trust others. If you want love, give it away. If you want friends, be one. If you want a great team, be

a great teammate. That’s how it works.Dan Zadra

Team Chair

As a group, gather in a tight circle with everyone’s left shoulder forming the center of the circle. You should be facing the back of the person in front of you.

At the slow count of three, each person slowly and gently sits down. You will be sitting on the newly created lap of the person behind you while simultaneously becoming the lap for the person in front of you.

A successful team chair has everyone seated at the same time. Your team may need more than one opportunity to achieve success.

Briefing: This activity expects that each person will use care and caution to take care of the person in front of them and the person in back of them. As you work through the activity, you will begin to realize just what a team can do when everyone cooperates. Also note the integral part that YOU play as a team member.

Processing:

1. What happened?

2. What did it take for the team chair to work?

3. What character traits did you see exhibited by the team?

4. What does this tell us about teamwork?

5. What lessons can we learn about teamwork?

6. How can you apply those lessons in your home? At school? On a sports team?

Journal #21. Date your journal entry.

2. In your journal list the “teams” that you are on.

3. Since much of a given classroom functions as a team, what role do you play on the classroom team?

4. What can you do to be a better team player?

5. How will developing character help you to be a better team member?

Homework

Watch people. Until we meet again, watch people. We are NOT looking for specific individuals doing specific things. You are NOT to be critical or judgmental. Rather, look for generalizations about people and the teams they are on.

For example. . . When one person gets mad, the whole team shuts down. Or, when one person works hard I noticed others wanted to work hard, too.