Putting the pieces together: KEEPING TEAMS FOCUSED
Howard Stamato
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The glow of December is now firmly behind us.? In the chill of winter, listening closely enough, you can almost hear the resolutions breaking.? So which ones will you keep? If you work in a team: how do you keep everyone moving in the right direction?
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So much of the news we digest is about strong opinions, conflict, and tragedy.? It is easy to let hope diminish, or worse yet let unresolved conflict creep into every area and stifle progress.?
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Two recent experiences reset my perspective and have me moving forward in the face of conflict: The 2023 AIChE Annual Meeting in November of ’23, and the NIPTE Pathfinding workshop on Advanced Manufacturing Technologies held in January ’24.? What I noticed at both events was people of any description, and in some cases competitors, coming together to address what we hold in common as challenges.? On some level, when the need is great enough and the puzzle so interesting, ?you will listen to someone who ordinarily might be overlooked or perhaps you have a conflict with.? That act of listening and seeing the opportunity opens a world of possibility where conflict recedes, and action takes place.?
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Sounds easy, yet it takes great courage to both listen and follow through on those actions to open new realms of possibility.?
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So which resolutions will you keep in your plan for ’24?? How will you encourage your teams to action? Suggesting here that staying focused on the challenges, the difficult interesting ones, will keep you and all you touch going in a direction valuable to everyone.? Listen carefully and considerately. Take all the ideas onto the list.? Apply some rational measures and do the most interesting, challenging, and valuable ones first. ?If you listened, there will be enough to do for everyone to shine as any challenge worth taking has multiple facets.?
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To anyone reading, may ’24 bring you the stuff of your dreams, the ones you know and the ones you did not know you would have when you started.?
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These views expressed from a lifetime of working lessons.?They do not reflect any particular situation or views of any of the organizations or people I have served or now serve.