Teamwork
The Golden Key To Success
Working as a female pilot in the Navy has gifted me knowledge and experience that I never thought would be possible. The highs and lows of life have been positively impacted by the lessons that I have learnt in the air, during critical moments spent with my teammates.
I have come to understand that it takes a tribe of strong, hardworking people to get the best job done. I also thank this understanding for allowing me to create some of the best working relationships that will forever hold a place in my heart. It was teamwork that turned work colleagues into friends, and then those friends into family. (Yes, we did drive each other crazy at times).
No matter what your role, job, or goals are; the ups and downs of life are always made easier when you know that you have a role to play, as part of a wider community or team. This is the huge impact that teamwork has on not just people, but the end result of a well-organised and anticipated goal or objective.
Teamwork is a vital ingredient to success. Not just combined success, but individual success. Behind every successful leader is a good team that understands the individual role that they each play as part of a larger idea.
Here are some of the key factors that I believe contribute to making teamwork the golden key to both personal and collaborative success:
Leadership
Leadership forms only one strong half of the teamwork pie. It’s an important half that can only be made whole with its best friend, followership.
To be a successful leader it is important to understand that although you may be leading the team- you are part of the bigger idea; the bigger goal. Your directions are as important to the idea, and your teammates, as they are to you. It is not an ‘I’ and ‘Them’ situation. It is an ‘Us’ situation, and it’s a great situation to find yourself in.
Being a leader means that you are still part of a bigger team and still have to play your individual role to ensure the best results for the team as a whole. There will be obstacles, there will be challenges and there will be differences in opinions. However, this is what a leader is confronted with every day. And, it is the leader’s team that help to create a cohesive environment where these obstacles, challenges and opinions can be adequately addressed.
One of the more extreme lessons that I learnt about leadership was when I came under enemy fire while preparing for a landing. It was a moment where I had to focus on playing my role well, allowing my teammates to focus on their own role at that moment in time and supporting my leader. It was in this instance that I realised that being a leader is only made possible with the strong support and respect of your team. Without this, you cannot be the best leader that you can be.
Followership
Knowing when to lead and when to follow is vital to the concept of teamwork. There are going to be moments where you need to draw the line and understand the actions of others, or other moments where you will be confident in your own thoughts and ideas, while being secure enough to express them.
Followership amongst a strong team does not always mean taking direction. It means that you play your role, and understand when you should or should not speak up. It’s taking on the advice of a mentor, the knowledge of a junior or the words of a senior and combining these ideas to develop your role into the best that it can be.
Starting as a junior female pilot in the Navy gave me the insight into how to best contribute to a team. I learnt how to follow directions, engage with crewmen, and develop my own abilities so that I could help those who formed the team around me when I moved into leadership roles. It was the basis of an extremely successful and positive culture that is often confronted with moments of life and death.
Everyone has a role to play; and every role is as vital and important as the next. It’s this understanding that underpins the success of teamwork.
Decision-making
When you’re part of a team, decision-making is no longer about you individually. Decision-making becomes about the team as a whole.
What will benefit the team?
Will your individual choices impact the lives of your teammates?
How can you improve the end result?
To overcome adversity and achieve a common goal, it is important to base your decision making on the best interests of both yourself, with the mission/goal as a focus, and those around you. This is something that I learnt while making some serious decisions about team members and whether they should be on the flight away on operations, or back at home. In every instance, I had to holistically consider what was best for the team.
It’s strong, cohesive and collaborative decision-making that can lead teams through tough conditions, and out the other side.
Teamwork is, without any doubt, the golden key to success. Without it, you are simply on your own.
