Teamwork

"November One-Six-Four-Bravo-Lima, turn left heading one-three-zero.   Cleared for the ILS runway 5 approach.”   

Traveling at 115 mph and seeing the runway
less than a mile demands peak performance.

These are the words I heard at the end of a three hour flight, the last hour of which had been spent staring at the instrument panel as we went through clouds and rain, with the destination airport advertising 400 foot ceilings and two miles visibility.    Three hours earlier, I had taken off from the small airport in east-central Ohio, destined for Chesapeake, VA.    The weather in Ohio was nice.   In Virginia, however…not so much.    Flying on an IFR flight plan, I was part of a team - air traffic control facilities in Columbus, Washington, and Norfolk were my teammates on this trip.    Once I heard those words, however, I knew that their roles in the flight had come to an end and now the successful outcome of the flight depended on me.    The rest of the team had done their job, now it was time to do mine.

There is much written about the importance of teamwork.   From constructing a building to writing software and from managing a flight to managing the care of patients in a hospital, teamwork is essential to a successful outcome no matter what the endeavor.    Sometimes, however, the importance of individual contributions to the team are overlooked and this can have a potentially devastating effect on the outcome of a project.

Key players on your team need the freedom to perform their tasks to the best of their ability.   They also need to know that there will be times when the success or failure of the project may hinge on their actions, and that they have the responsibility to be aware of such circumstances and to either have the proper skill set to deal with the tasks at hand or to call for help in a timely manner.

Success is a team oriented goal.   However, just as winning the Super Bowl can hinge on one player’s action or completing a flight in bad weather can hinge on one pilot’s actions, success on your project may depend on the actions of one member of your team.     Have you given them the freedom and responsibility they need?