Steve's Thoughts on Building Leaders

We are a builder species, put on this earth to grow, create and build things. This is a great way to consider our walk in life. In the old days when colonies were smaller and technology not so advanced, teamwork was a must. Communities relied on one another for harvest, building and to a greater extent raising children. In order to survive, communities relied on building strong relationships, helping each other out and working for the greater good of the community. There was no way a farmer was going to get his barn roof raised without most of the town, helping out in the build. And yet as technology has advanced, we have moved away from this critical sense of community and movement towards a common goal.

Many people today see teamwork as a corporate buzz word to get you to work harder and longer: a necessary evil. But teamwork is the result of one patient, caring and selfless person leading a group of people, helping them to see why it is in the best interest of all parties to attain the “common goal.” This takes clear direction and measurable and specific rewarding. But more importantly, it takes the ability to built trust and rapport. Developing these skills take a considerable amount of pre-planning and personal refocusing. And most of all, they take heart. It is said that authenticity is the hardest thing to fake. When a leader genuinely cares and then applies the discipline to develop and grow his/her team, the results are astounding. The team responds in kind and rallies for the good of the community.