The Basics of Teacher Team Building-Part 6: UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE & WORKING AS A TRUE TEAM PLAYER

UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE & WORKING AS A TRUE TEAM PLAYER
Remember, we looked at Webster’s dictionary about team work and it said:
1. A group on the same side (like a game) and
2. A group organized to work together.

*Note: Few people realize how important our individual personalities are to team/staff functioning. Many of the problems associated with team development stem directly from the interplay between the various personality types.

Every one you know has a unique personality. Each person and child’s perspective is built in to whom they are. Some people call it personality. Some refer to it as temperament. I am sure that some of your family and friends are VERY different from you. If you are like me, you have often asked yourself, “Why did they do that?” or “What were they thinking?” or “What were they NOT thinking?”

The starting point of understanding people is to realize and accept the fact: Everyone is not like you!

Have you ever said something to one person and received a certain response, then said exactly the same thing to another person and received a totally different response? The basic reason they respond differently is that people have different personality styles! You said the same thing, but what they “heard” was not the same.

Different is not bad, it’s just different! A lack of understanding of others and us can lead to real problems such as tension, disappointment, hurt feelings, unmet expectations and poor communication. As you know, it is hard to work with a problem, especially if you do not understand what is going on inside the mind of another person.

Here is the Good News! There IS a way to understand people. The bottom line is that healthy, positive relationships come from having an accurate, healthy, constructive view of yourself and others.

My goal is to energize teachers by learning by doing in a very interactive format that will leave you with a renewed spirit of unity, accountability, optimism, enthusiasm and most of all, smiles! All of which, turbo charge productivity!!! So, next week, we will seek some fun and challenging team-building exercises which is not your typical teacher in-service program!!!

*Note: Remember, extraordinary things happen when people are smiling and laughing!