Trying not to BNeg » careers

Impassioned Teams Win Success

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:39:11 +0000

My entire work career has been spent in nonprofit organizations. Every one of my workplaces has had women in the majority functioning as team with complete collaboration. Titles never mattered. No one ever tried to take credit for group efforts. It has always been about the results.

Last week Third Sector Connector had a wonderful list, 17 Hallmarks of Community Change Agents. A few jumped off the screen:

They value team, and they have an understanding that attracting, retaining, and supporting a strong team is essential to delivering high quality services.

Rather than building silos and rigidly adhering to job descriptions, they encourage ad-hoc teams, cross-training and shared responsibility.

They encourage, value and provide professional development, mentoring and coaching.

You may notice a common thread. The teamwork is blurred. Roles shift and change. People are appreciated. Everyone offers their best because no one is taking credit or calling the work their own. Success stems from a group effort by qualified and valued members.

Over the years, my leadership style has always been based on such impassioned teams. Accomplishments are always paramount to the role I play.

A quote by Harry S. Truman has resonated with me and reminded me of what’s important:

You can accomplish anything in life provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.

It’s so true. This has always been my way of life. For me it is never about the “glory”. I want to improve the lives around me by leading and growing community for the common good. I don’t believe in saying “I”, it’s always “We”. It’s actually painful for me when I can’t bring people together and I have to watch endeavors wither.

So I’m pleased to be reminded of how real, positive change can be attained.

Share and Enjoy:

Same Story, Different Day

Cynthia Cotte Griffiths — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:37:00 +0000

At the pool today, I spoke with the husband of a friend. He talked about how it was really getting her down to try and enter the workforce again after being home with the kids. I told him how I had started a second blog on this subject (I participate in a community blog for our city). He said we should get together as a support group. As I stood there in the water, I realized there really was a need for all of us to talk.

Even if we find a job, most likely it will be below our capabilities. A recent interview for a position below the one I left ten years ago included anxiety by the interviewer over my computer skills. Ten to one odds my computer skills were far superior to hers and I had her job when I left, so in my mind…. ah, forget it.

Take a job below our skills to get back working? Just do something that’s fun even though it doesn’t pay? Hold out for the same type of job you left?

Share and Enjoy:

Are We All in the Same Place?

Cynthia Cotte Griffiths — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:24:00 +0000

I just left my friend’s house and it’s very late. As we sat around in the backyard, I realized all three of us women were thinking about what to do next. One had a law degree and left after both superiors quit and she didn’t want their jobs, one tried to use that math masters degree but the girls came first, and I had been home with my boys for ten years. The sky was black because it was night and a storm was threatening. Did we have the same thoughts?

I spent four years getting a degree in philosophy because I thought that somehow it would all make sense, but it never has. For all time, we have tried to figure out what it all means and I’m not just referring to the challenge of raising a family and having kids. Do I think too much? Am I the only one that needs headsets and music to make it through the simplest of life’s tasks?

In high school I spent a great deal of time wishing I could just be a waitress in a New Jersey diner and be done with my life choices. After all, both my parents had never finished high school and college was an extremely foreign land. I’m well past this now but I still wish it were easier.

What will really make us happy career-wise? Why do we keep asking this question and never seem to get an answer?

Share and Enjoy: