John C. Maxwell - Teamwork 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know

TEAMWORK

WHAT EVERY LEADER NEEDS TO KNOW

JOHN C. MAXWELL

2008 by John C. Maxwell

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Portions of this book have been previously published in The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, Talent Is Never Enough, Developing Leaders Around You, The 360 Leader, Winning with People, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John C. Maxwell.

ISBN 978-1-4185-8055-1 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Maxwell, John C., 1947
Teamwork 101 : what every leader needs to know / John C. Maxwell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4002-8025-4
1. Teams in the workplace. 2. Teams in the workplacePsychological aspects. I. Title. II. Title: Teamwork one hundred one. III. Title: Teamwork one hundred and one.
HD66.M379 2009
658.4'022dc22

2009028195

09 10 11 12 13 WC 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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CONTENTS

I ve been passionate about personal growth for most of my life. In fact, Ive created and pursued a plan for growth every year for the last forty years! People say that wisdom comes with age. I dont believe thats true. Sometimes age comes alone. I wouldnt have achieved any of my dreams had I not been dedicated to continual improvement. If you want to grow and become the best person you can be, youve got to be intentional about it.

At the same time, life is busy and complex. Most people run out of day long before their to-do lists are done. And trying to get to the bottom line in just about any area of life can be a challenge. Did you know that more new information has been produced in the last thirty years than in the previous five thousand? A single weekday edition of the New York Times contains more information than most people in seventeenth-century England were likely to encounter in their lifetimes.

Thats why weve developed this series of 101 books. Weve cherry-picked the essentials in subjects such as leadership, attitude, relationships, teamwork, and mentoring, and put them into a format that you very likely can read in one sitting. Or you can easily toss a 101 book into a briefcase or purse and read here and there as time allows.

In many of my larger books, I go into my subject in great depth. I do that because I believe it is often the best way to add value to people. Teamwork 101 is different. It is an introduction to a subject, not the advanced course. But I believe it will help you on your way to significant growth in this area of your life.

PART I
THE POWER OF TEAMWORK

1
WHY IS TEAMWORK
SO IMPORTANT?

One is too small a number to achieve greatness.

W ho are your personal heroes? Okay, maybe you dont have heroes exactly. Then let me ask you this: Which people do you admire most? Who do you wish you were more like? Which people fire you up and get your juices flowing? Do you admire...

Business innovators, such as Jeff Bezos, Fred Smith, or Bill Gates?

Great athletes, such as Michael Jordan, Marion Jones, or Mark McGwire?

Creative geniuses, such as Pablo Picasso, Buckminster Fuller, or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

Pop-culture icons, such as Madonna, Andy Warhol, or Elvis Presley?

Spiritual leaders, such as John Wesley, Billy Graham, or Mother Teresa?

Political leaders, such as Charlemagne, Alexander the Great, or Winston Churchill?

Revolutionary thinkers, such as Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, or Albert Einstein?

Or maybe your list includes people in a field I did not mention.

Its safe to say that we all admire achievers. And we Americans especially love pioneers and bold individualists, people who fight alone, despite the odds or opposition: the settler who carves a place for himself in the wilds of the frontier, the Old West sheriff who resolutely faces an enemy in a gunfight, the pilot who bravely flies solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and the scientist who changes the world through the power of his mind.

THE MYTH OF THE LONE RANGER

Nothing of significance was ever achieved by an individual acting alone. Look below the surface and you will find that all seemingly solo acts are really team efforts. Frontiersman Daniel Boone had companions from the Transylvania Company as he blazed the Wilderness Road. Sheriff Wyatt Earp had his two brothers and Doc Holliday looking out for him. Aviator Charles Lindbergh had the backing of nine business-men from St. Louis and the services of the Ryan Aeronautical Company, which built his plane. Even Albert Einstein, the scientist who revolutionized the world with his theory of relativity, didnt work in a vacuum. Of the debt he owed to others for his work, Einstein once remarked, Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. Its true that the history of our country is marked by the accomplishments of many strong leaders and innovative individuals who took considerable risks. But those people always were part of teams.

Economist Lester C. Thurow commented:

There is nothing antithetical in American history, culture, or traditions to teamwork. Teams were important in Americas historywagon trains conquered the West, men working together on the assembly line in American industry conquered the world, a successful national strategy and a lot of teamwork put an American on the moon first (and thus far, last). But American mythology extols only the individual... In America, halls of fame exist for almost every conceivable activity, but nowhere do Americans raise monuments in praise of teamwork.

I must say that I dont agree with all of Thurows conclusions. After all, Ive seen the U.S. Marine Corps war memorial in Washington, D.C., commemorating the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima. But he is right about something. Teamwork is and always has been essential to building this country. And that statement can be made about every country around the world.

THE VALUE OF TEAMWORK

A Chinese proverb states, Behind an able man there are always other able men. The truth is that teamwork is at the heart of great achievement. The question isnt whether teams have value. The question is whether we acknowledge that fact and become better team players. Thats why I assert that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. You cannot do anything of real value alone.

I challenge you to think of