We all know the team leader.
He or she is the one that pulls the team together with transparent communication that inspires, encourages, challenges, and most of all creates a sense of team. My son often reminisces about the inspiring, emotional speeches his football coach would give to foster a sense of team as well as collective and individual best effort--a coach's gift that continues to inspire today.
The team leader develops systems, structures, and schedules that promote collective strength and practice.
Good team leaders are vulnerable too, able to hear critique, own error, and better work to foster team. They use their team member's error as stairways to growth and learning as well, and seek member's ideas, suggestions, and criticism to further the collective purpose and effort.
A good team leader ensures that there are few surprises, and that the whole team is aware of important events, mission, goals, and vision.
Organizations with strong team leaders, thrive.
As educators, we are essentially team leaders for those that we teach and lead
In what ways do we foster team and promote collective effort as well as autonomy, mastery, and purpose for each team member in order to promote a strong team?
How do we communicate to and with the team, and how do we meet critique, error, and need for change?
Do we foster learning teams whose collective strength serves each member's individual strengths?
It is a great responsibility to be a team leader, whether your team is an entire organization, school, classroom, sports team, or club. What you do in this regard, matters.
This is an area of teaching life I want to think more about.
