Texas Wing - Civil Air Patrol
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Cadet Editorial - Taking the I out of Team, 10 August 2010
TYLER, Texas – Within any well-run organization there is a major team, consisting of everyone from the head at the top down to the newest member. That team's goal is to ensure the organization's success. Teams are usually made up of nested smaller teams, all working in concert. For instance, Civil Air Patrol as a whole is a team, but Texas Wing is a team within the Southwest Region team, that in turn lies inside the National Civil Air Patrol team. Just as CAP is broken down into region teams and wing teams, Texas Wing is broken down into group teams, squadron teams, and the occasional flight team.
For CAP members, the most interacting team is at the squadron level, especially composite squadrons. As members, sometimes we tend to focus only on the finite definition of team;l when we hear team we think in the literal sense, sports teams, group of best friends, fellow flight members, fellow staff, or some other grouping. We tend to relate to those with whom we have something in common, and although everyone in CAP has something in common, it is a bad habit to just focus on the obvious. What I mean by that is that cadet staff is not a team unto its own, and flight members are not their own team. Yes, they interact and are required to work closely with each other, but they are members of the squadron team. The team is the cadet flight commander, all cadets in the flight, and the senior members in the squadron, working together to ensure the squadron's success. Our team is everyone that wears our unit patch and attends meetings.
Having defined that team, we must now look at what it takes for it to function and run smoothly. As teammates, it is our responsibility to use our strengths to help others' weaknesses, just as they use their strengths to help us overcome our weaknesses. It is a two-way path. Although we might encounter personality clashes, or find it difficult to work with someone, we must remember that as members of the team we all have the same objective or goal.
As cadets, we must realize that the senior members are there to support us. The senior members at my home squadron have pledged themselves to support our cadet program with their time and resources. They have put themselves behind the cadet program. encouraging us to reach for excellence as a squadron and be their representatives. Having that help (and pressure) to succeed drives us to do our best, going above and beyond. Knowing that our senior members support us fully, and that they not only have confidence in us, but trust us to be represent the squadron in reaching out to our community does wonders for our esprit de corps and our cadet program.
If we want to succeed we must take the I out of team and be patient, diligent, and respectful in all our actions. In “17 Essential Qualities of Being a Team Player,” John C. Maxwell says, “Perception: see teammates as collaborators, not competitors.” If we consider where we are trying to go as a unit, not how fast we could get there as individuals, we will have greater success. Maxwell adds, “Look at any team, and you can see the potential for competition. Siblings fight for parents’ attention. Coworkers compete for raises and promotions,” he ends with, “But collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another. They perceive themselves as a unit working together, and they never allow competition between teammates to get to the point where it hurts the team.”
As a team, we need to be supportive of one another, and remember that suspicion causes just strife and confrontation. We must take the I out of team, and focus on the team. Not ourselves. We also need to take advantage of what everyone has to offer. An individual can do only so much and miss a lot of things, but if we collaborate as a team we will have many more victories.
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. – Andrew Carnegie
Cadet 1st Lt. Jesse Carr, CAP