Letter From Outgoing DAAS Prsident
DAAS Leadership et al:
"At the center of every high performance team is a common purpose - a mission that rises above and beyond each of the individual team members. To be successful, the team's interests and needs come first. This requires "we-opic" vision ("What's in it for we?"), a challenging step up from the common "me-opic" mind-set". (See excerpt following)
Just last evening I had a conversation with some colleagues on the very subject of TEAM EFFORT that is predicated on philosophy and structure of organisation and performance of functions.
I referenced what is highlighted above. Yes, DAAS has a Mission and Purpose but we have not lived up to it fully apparently because many if not most members seem motivated by the idea of "What's in it for ME".
This is an unfortunate truth of most of our national institutions. Is it culture? Tradition? The Chinese will teach us many lessons in "pulling together" before this chapter in Dominica's history is over.
Sometimes we take IT even when we do not deserve or earn IT. Use patronage, loyalty, favouritism, nepotism , connections, corruption and then vigorously defend these dysfunctional behaviours.
I have found this FOR ME approach disappointing and not aligned with DAAS mission & objectives. Many members are off doing their own thing
The non functioning DAAS Committees, defaulting on membership, lack of support and recognition by our Government, collapse of the Local Chapter has not helped.
Clayton
Dr Clayton A. Shillingford
May 12, 2011
Excerpt from Pulling Together: The 10 Rules for High Performance Teams
by John Murphy
At the center of every high performance team is a common purpose - a mission that rises above and beyond each of the individual team members. To be successful, the team's interests and needs come first. This requires "we-opic" vision ("What's in it for we?"), a challenging step up from the common "me-opic" mind-set.
Effective team players understand that personal issues and personality differences are secondary to team demands. This does not mean abandoning who you are or giving up your individuality. On the contrary, it means sharing your unique strengths and differences to move the team forward. It is this "we-opic" focus and vision - this cooperation of collective capability - that empowers a team and generates synergy.
Cooperation means working together for mutual gain - sharing responsibility for success and failure and covering for one another on a moment's notice. It does not mean competing with one another at the team's expense, withholding important data or information to be "one up" on your peers, or submitting to "group-think" by going along so as not to make waves. These are "rule breakers," that are direct contradictions to the "team first" mind-set.
High performance teams recognize that it takes a joint effort to synergize, generating power above and beyond the collected individuals. It is with this spirit of cooperation that effective teams learn to capitalize on individual strengths and offset individual weaknesses, using diversity as an advantage.
Effective teams also understand the importance of establishing cooperative systems, structures, incentives and rewards. We get what we inspect, not what we expect. Think about it. Do you have team job descriptions, team performance reviews and team reward systems? Do you recognize people by pitting them against standards of excellence, or one another? What are you doing to cultivate a team-first, cooperative environment in this competitive, "me-opic" world?
To embrace the team-first rule, make sure your team purpose and priorities are clear. What is your overall mission? What is your game plan? What is expected of each team member? How can each member contribute most effectively? What constants will hold the team together? Then stop and ask yourself, are you putting the team first?