Part of the Game

We are all playing our?parts.?The question is ... how do we play our part??And the answer should depend?on which game we?are?suited up to play!?In some games, I really shouldn't be the one with the ball. In other games, you'd be wrong not to pass it to me. Some games require us to spend more of our game making plays?with others in real time,?and most?of the moves we?make immediately impact one another. Some games require us?to each do our?best separately?and?get together later to?compare or add together our?results.

There's another facet of?the game though.?That?question is ... what part do we play??If you're a player, you lead to a large degree,?by the way you influence?the?game with your technical skill.?You learn, you practice, you?anticipate?what other members of the team need from you, and you play under the leadership of a team captain and a coach. Players are the ones making the plays and put?up the scores.?They are the ones on the front line. Players are the?ones the fans look forward to seeing in action.

If you're the team captain, you still get to play in the game, and you are probably excellent at?the sport you play. You have also shown character and leadership,?competence and skill in order to be?designated as the team captain. And you are?frequently?the?liaison?between the team and the coach. You're a player too, but you also get to bend the ear of the coach more often. You are called into some strategy and brainstorming, and maybe you know the ins and outs of what team members are dealing with?and how it's affecting their ability to contribute. Players share their ideas and opinions with you, because they know that?if anyone can influence the coach, it's you.

And if you're the coach, the?reality is you only succeed when you work through your people. You?never?toss off your jacket and take the floor or the field?- no matter how good you were as a player. Coaches scout and recruit new team members. Coaches set strategy, look at the?competition with a keen eye and help their players respond to?what's coming. They make sure?the resources available?line up with the needs of the team. "Leaders?see more and see before," as John Maxwell says. A coach that's too worried about image is like the corporate world's?self-centered leader. A coach that treats players like property instead of valuing people is like an organization with a?fear-based leader, and a?coach that consistently tries to insert himself as a player is a micromanager in business.?

Free agents?tend?to leave poor leadership. There is an old saying about customers?that says, "Business goes where it's invited and stays where it's?appreciated."?That's true of our employees too, now more?than ever.

The final question is ... does the part you play match how you are playing??When should you be?taking the posture of player? Are you overstepping and acting like the team captain? You?have influence as a player. Use it the way its intended.

Which teams do you add value to as the team captain? Have you ever tried?to?dodge the responsibility and?recede into the role of a player so you can still be "one of the guys/gals"?or have you ever gone too far and taken on the responsibilities of the coach? The?position of team captain?is?a great training ground for future coaches.

Where you are called to add value to your team as the coach, do you ever find yourself trying to take off your jacket and take the field? There are certain things only the coach can do and those just never get done when the coach gets distracted and takes on the role of a player. The confusion and lack of confidence it creates also risks the team's efficiency and morale. Coaches have the added?opportunity to set the stage for?culture?that determines both what gets done and how things get done.

We all?play on a lot of teams. In order to win frequently ... to win consistently,?everyone has to play their part?well, and that inherently means, we have to know the best way to play ours.