What #SurfingSanta taught me about teamwork

My team did a paint party yesterday as part of our marketing holiday event. I'm not exactly a natural artist, and I quickly became frustrated by my canvas's unwillingness to evolve into an eerie mountain landscape, which for others would provide a backdrop for a cherry blossom tree.

Why am I telling you this? Because my team quickly leapt in with support. They lifted my spirits, made me laugh at myself, and together we came up with this hilarious idea to create #SurfingSanta. They continued to weigh in with tips and ideas as I cautiously went to work under their guidance.

I would never have come up with this strategy on my own, let alone executed the tactics so effectively. (And yes, I know this isn't exactly a masterpiece, but it is compared to my artistic skill level...i.e., stick people).

This is the power of teamwork, and why we as leaders always need to remember that strategies don't need to be a solo pursuit. By bringing our teams into our strategies -- and empowering them to be part of the ideas and decision-making -- the more we can nurture talent and help to build high-performing and engaged teams.

For me, this simple painting will always be a reminder that:

• Two heads (or in this case, seven heads!) are better than one.
• An idea shared is an idea improved.
• Team work truly does make the dream work. There, I said it!

This holiday season, I am so grateful to work with such incredibly talented and inspiring people. A big "thank you" to my paint table (Anne, Natasha, Chantel, Paige, Farhana and Megan) for helping me make #SurfingSanta a reality, and an even bigger "thank you" to my wider Global Marketing team for making it so darn fun to come to work every day. I can't wait to see all the great work we're going to accomplish together in 2019! :)