Of course, as with most things, being a strong team player is a lot easier said than done. It takes learning and practice. But, whether your team is a small group working on a single project, a department working on achieving yearly goals, or an entire company trying to move to the next level, here are six basic strategies you can start using today to be the kind of teammate everyone wants on their side. 1 – Be Approachable If you tend to do a lot of sighing, eye-rolling, or exploding when someone asks for your help or your input, it’s a pretty strong indicator that you’re not at the top of the “Best Team Players” list. Everyone needs help now and then—including you. So, no matter how unimportant the request may seem to you, remember that it is important to the person asking and you should treat them and their request with respect. Make an effort to follow the golden rule of treating others the way you would you like to be treated. 2 – Be Responsive Don’t ignore people’s requests in the hope that they’ll go away. None of us work in a vacuum. The truth is, most of the work that goes on inside a company is much more interconnected than we all think. Too often we focus only on our piece of the goal and feel we don’t have time for someone else’s project. Remember, we are all busy. You certainly shouldn’t need to (or be expected to) drop what you’re working on to help someone else at that minute, but you should offer a reasonable date or time by which you will have an answer, an alternative or be available to work with the person. And stick to your deadline. 3 – Improve Your Communication Skills This means both talking and listening. Be sure people understand what you’re trying to say. If you’re not certain, ask – but be sure to do it in a way that is positive and not insulting. Saying, “I’m not sure if I was being clear in the way I presented that, could you tell me what your understanding is?”  will likely get you more respect and long-term cooperation than using an attacking style such as, “You look confused. Are you not getting this?” As for the listening side, aside from the obvious making a conscious effort to really “hear” what’s being said rather than planning your response to what’s being said, be sure to ask people for input, and really absorb what they’re telling you. And look directly at the person speaking so you convey the message that what they’re saying is important. If you often enter situations thinking you already have most of the answers, you’re not only being a poor team player, but you are also severely limiting your chances to learn and grow. 4 – Establish and Maintain Trust Avoid gossiping and back-stabbing behavior. Nothing sabotages the efforts and effectiveness of a team like distrust and anger. By making an effort to build positive relationships through open and honest communication, you are likely to be more productive as well as get more enjoyment out of your work. 5 – Share What You Know The point of working as a team is to combine the knowledge, expertise, and efforts of a variety of people. The interaction of everyone’s thoughts and ideas creates a whole new realm of possibilities that wouldn’t exist on the individual level. If you tend to hold back your ideas because you want sole credit or want to be seen as the only expert, you are doing yourself and the team a disservice. Sharing information empowers you and those around you by elevating everyone’s level of knowledge and making the team and the organization as a whole that much stronger. 6 – Put the Team First When you find yourself thinking, “What’s in it for me?” stop and reframe the question, asking “What’s in it for the team?” or “What could we do differently that would benefit the group as a whole?” It’s important to understand that no team member is “better” or more important than the rest. Each person brings value to the table. If you learn to appreciate the individual contributions of each team member and can step back to see how they fit into the team’s bigger overall picture, everyone will be working together more effectively and building a more productive team.

But productive meetings are possible. You just need to plan them very wisely.

There are five components that need to be addressed for conducting successful meetings:

1. Purpose
2. Agenda and Preparation
3. Participants
4. Managing the Meeting
5. After the Meeting

1. Purpose

What outcome would make you feel your meeting was a success?

Perhaps you need to walk away with a final decision on the name of a new product. Or maybe you want to develop a new incentive plan. Even if it is simply a brainstorming session, you should still have a goal – perhaps to walk away with four new ideas that meeting participants will pursue. This is the purpose of the meeting. If the purpose isn’t clearly established, it’s a waste of time.

2. Agenda and Preparation

In order to fulfill the meeting’s purpose, what has to happen?

What topics will be on the table – and what topics will be off limits? If you can anticipate where the meeting might go off track, let people know ahead of time that those issues will be addressed at a later date and should not be brought up in this meeting. What will each attendee be expected to contribute and how does it relate to the meeting’s purpose? For how long will each participant have the floor? This is the agenda. Everyone should have this information far enough in advance to prepare well for their part.

Don’t forget to make room arrangements. This includes everything from selecting and scheduling the location to having all required equipment in place to providing refreshments if necessary.

3. Participants

Have you based the invitees on the agenda?

Be sure that the people you’ve invited are all able to contribute in some way to the success of the meeting. If not, they shouldn’t be there. Keeping the number of attendees as small as possible usually makes for a much more productive meeting.

You might also want ask yourself just how necessary an actual “meeting” of all of these people is. If you are just dispersing information but don’t require direct input from everyone, perhaps an email or a newsletter would be a more efficient course of action.

4. Managing the Meeting

Be sure everyone is clear about who is leading the meeting.

As the leader, it is up to you to start and end the meeting on time. You also need to ensure that everyone gets their chance to participate. Don’t let any one person dominate the discussion, and pay close attention to the time and your agenda to be sure you stay on track. Always keep your purpose in mind and tactfully redirect any discussion that strays from your goal.

As each agenda item is addressed, summarize what was agreed upon, making clear what action item will come from it and who is responsible for it.

5. After the Meeting

Provide minutes within one business day.

The minutes serve several purposes.   They document exactly what was covered and agreed upon so there is no confusion. They remind people of the next steps and pinpoint who is responsible for which follow-up activities. And the minutes provide a review document that can be used to measure progress. This can be especially helpful in preparing for a follow-up meeting if one is necessary.

Remember, don’t cram too much into one meeting or you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. Be realistic about your purpose and what can be accomplished in one meeting. And try to avoid scheduling meetings that are so long, that participants glaze over and can no longer be productive. Depending on the scope of the issues at hand, you may need several meetings to follow up. In the long run, you’ll save time and get much better results when you think things through in advance, invite only the people who are absolutely necessary and have a clear goal that all participants are prepared to help achieve.

I’m taking you back to October, 14th, 1947.

As Captain “Chuck” Yeager, an Air Force test pilot, is about to climb into the cockpit and take his shot at breaking the sound barrier.

A number of pilots have already tried to fly faster than the speed of sound.

Several didn’t make it back alive.

Most just turned back when their planes shook uncontrollably – feeling as though they were about to be torn asunder.

Pilots shared a myth about a demon that would disintegrate anything that approached the speed of sound.

At the time, it was believed that an airplane could never go faster than the speed of sound, because the shock waves were just too much to travel through.

Flying faster than the speed of sound seemed like an impossible challenge.

“None of that made any difference to me,” Chuck Yeager later said, chewing on some gum, as he was prone to do. “I was a test pilot. And we were testing.”

For him, it was all about focus. Keeping focused, alert, checking his instruments, and being ready for the unknown.

What did it feel like, as he approached the speed of sound, and the plane started shaking uncontrollably? “You don’t feel anything,” he said. “You’re too busy. You’re going through your checklist, checking all your gauges, testing the stabilizer effectiveness.”

Then, the Mach-meter momentarily stopped.

And his plane started to go down.

The plane’s meters were confused. They didn’t tell him what to do next.

He had to rely on his own internal navigation system.

Otherwise, it would have been all over.

Instead, he ignored what his gauges were indicating and took the plane straight up.

Then the Mach-meter jumped to 1.06.

He had done it. He had broken the sound barrier.

“Once we got it above the speed of sound,” he said, “there were no more shock waves.”

And the ride smoothed out.

As he later recalled, “It was as smooth as a baby’s bottom.”

Ironically, he couldn’t hear the sonic boom in the cockpit – because by the time it happened, he was just slightly ahead of the speed of sound.

Only those on the ground heard it.

But he, and everyone there, knew what just happened.

They knew he did it. He had accelerated to Mach 1.06, over 750 miles per hour.

That night Yeager fixed a pitcher of martinis to celebrate with his wife. And he howled at the moon.

“I had flown at supersonic speeds for 18 seconds.

There was no buffet, no jolt, no shock. Above all, no brick wall to smash into.

And I was alive.”

And with that underlying sense of ultimate coolness, we kissed the Wright Brothers good bye and entered the age where astronauts could fly to the moon.

Limitations were exceeded.

New possibilities abound.

What can we learn from Chuck Yeager’s experience?

What is your personal sound barrier?

Your goal?

Your ultimate challenge?

Your dream?

What is that one thing, that something, that is just beyond your reach?

What happens to you when you get close to your personal sound barrier?

When your plane starts shaking?

Can you stay focused on what you have to do?

When we are on the edge of our comfort zone, amazing things can happen.

If we’re open to the possibility.

What was it like for Chuck Yeager to break the sound barrier?

He can’t tell us.

Because the moment was there and gone.

And he didn’t even hear the sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier.

Because he was going faster than the sound.

You’re ahead of the sound barrier when you break through it.

Still, as you approach your personal sound barrier, everything is shaking.

And it can seem like everything is about to fall apart.

That’s when you have to rely on your internal navigation system.

To trust your intuition.

The Sound Barrier is nothing but the limitations we place on ourselves.

Rather than focusing on the barriers that separate and come between us, why not focus on the possibilities that can connect us – to ourselves and to each other?

Forget the barriers.

Focus on possibilities.

On what can be.

That shift can open up new doors – to a reality that exists because of you.

by Patrick Sweeney,
Caliper President

So, what are you practicing now?

My dear friend Russ Ferrara, who I first met in college and with whom I recently created a performance piece, is a trained classical musician.

Part of practicing for him, of course, has always been about maintaining his technical skills. “Running scales from the bottom to the top of the instrument’s range – or that wicked arpeggio that ties your fingers in knots,” as he told me.

“That’s most of what musicians need to practice when we are starting out,” he underscored.

“Early on,” he said, “practice, for musicians, is becoming acquainted with your instrument.”

“But, at this point, after playing professionally for nearly four decades,” he added, laughing, as he does so easily, “I’m pretty well-acquainted with this instrument.”

So now he focuses more on rhythmic challenges, or new concepts, or working on particularly difficult pieces that require enormous dexterity.

The notion of practicing is intriguing to me because I believe it is something that leaders could learn a lot about by listening to musicians.

What are you practicing?

It is not something that most leaders think – or even talk – about. We usually just do – whatever it is we’re doing.

We live more in a world of doing than practicing.

But musicians, regardless of how accomplished, always practice.

That’s interesting to think about.

What would be different if you were practicing?

Would it be communicating your vision?

Implementing your plans?

Measuring progress?

Recognizing success?

Mentoring others?

Honing your intuition?

Staying focused on what is important?

Being more flexible?

Getting more in tune – with yourself?

Connecting more – with others?

Listen. And learn from musicians.

To take your leadership skills to a whole new level, figure out what you are going to start practicing.

Today. Tomorrow. And next week.

You’ve got to break through;

You’ve got to break with the past;

To break out;

You’ve got to break away from what you know;

Break a leg;

But don’t let your spirit get broken;

You have to break eggs to make an omelet;

Sometimes, you’ve got to break into a sweat;

Give me a break, for crying out loud;

Wait! We have some late breaking news;

Traveling at breakneck speed;

We hear the sound of breaking glass;

Not the sound of hearts breaking;

No, no. no!

We should be break dancing;

Not breaking and entering;

Wait, I’m having trouble hearing you;

You’re breaking up;

We cannot be breaking up;

No. No. Say it isn’t so.

We should be together;

It’s time to break out – in song;

And break a record;

Then, we can break away from the crowd;

As the storm begins to break;

But, first, you have to break the chains that bind you;

Then break a rule or two;

Then, when you’re ready to break an old habit that may have gotten you here;

When you’ve reached your breaking point;

You can break that spell;

No need to break down;

Just break a dollar;

But don’t break a promise;

Just break away;

And take a break, if you have to;

You’ve got one foot on the accelerator,

And one on the brakes;

If we don’t break with the past,

We will break apart;

Or come to a complete brake;

We’ll be right back, after a quick break.

Part of what I’m talking about

Is doing something the same old way;

Over and over again;

Because it worked at one time or another.

Breaking away from all that –

And I want you to think about this –

All that stuff

That we need to break away from

Is nothing

But our own perspective;

Something we’ve been leaning on

For way too long.

It’s just something we’ve got to break through;

To get on the other side of;

So we can finally see

Clearly.