It's Time for a Rally Cry

March Madness – the annual month-long holiday for college basketball fans (me included) is about to get into full swing. There are so many things to like about a bevy of beautiful college basketball games being played in a short time. One of the best parts is the passion and energy that the crowd adds to the game.

Last year, the madness was pre-empted by a pandemic. And this year, while the games have thankfully been back, there has been something mostly missing – the crowds and their energy.

Aaron Brockett , the pastor of Traders Point Christian Church started a sermon series yesterday titled Rally Cry, and from the moment he said that phrase, I realized a connection to basketball and our work teams too.

While the term rally cry doesn’t have many dictionary definitions, how about rallying cry? It is defined in the Collins Dictionary as: a word or phrase, an event, or a belief which encourages people to unite and to act in support of a particular group or idea.

That is what is missing in college basketball games this year. The students and crowd shouting or chanting a phrase that encourages the group – and especially the team – to unite and act.

The phrases may not mean much to the uninitiated (“Rock Chalk Jayhawk”, “ILL-INI” or my personal favorite, “Let’s go Boilers!”), but for the intended audience, they can shift thinking, energy, and results.

The rallying cry often seems most effective when the team is either really mentally down or ready to take an even bigger leap forward.

Read that last paragraph again. Is your team really mentally down, or ready to take a leap forward? If so, perhaps your team needs a rallying cry – a word or phrase, an event, or a belief which encourages people to unite and to act in support of a particular group or idea. And perhaps now, more than ever.

What’s Your Rallying Cry?

What is the word, phrase or event that can solidify your team? If you have one, it is time to start using it to refresh, re-ignite, and re-focus your team. If you don’t have one, maybe it is time to create one.  

I am not talking about simple sloganeering or the defining a leader only as a cheerleader. I am talking about using words to intentionally remind a group of why they exist, why they care, and what matters.  

When people do remember their purpose, see the meaning in their work, and are excited about all of it – they will have greater energy, more stamina, greater joy and achieve greater results.

 You are Remarkable!

Kevin ??

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