Woolsey in what is known as a “Spur Ride,” a series of challenges that qualify soldiers in cavalry units to revive the coveted “Silver Spurs.” Nothing emphasizes teamwork quite like doing group push-ups in the Army. Like most training, the challenges are meant to be impossible to do alone and will end in failure if even one person doesn’t carry their own weight. I can’t think of a better example of teamwork…or of a more exhausting weekend of my life.
I first wrote a post for this site back in 2013. I had just returned from a trip to Israel as a freshman Army ROTC cadet and remember being surprised how many things had happened since I had graduated high school in 2012.
It’s now been 8 years since I was competing as Captain of Team 1816. In that time, so many things have changed and developed both for myself and Team 1816. While 1816 was winning the Championship Chairman’s Award in Detroit, I was in South Korea realizing a personal dream to work with military robotics. As the Executive Officer of a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Company I had the privilege to lead and work with dozens of the best aviators, mechanics, logisticians, and administrative personnel in the US Army. Throughout my time as an Army Officer, I led and worked with teams of varying compositions in many locations across the country and around the world.
Just as it was as a leader on Team 1816, no two teams in the Army were exactly alike. People came and went, opinions changed, talents varied, and there was always a new problem set that needed a solution. From leading peers to develop a supply chain in the middle of the desert, to suddenly stepping in as a commander of a UAV company in South Korea, I had to lead teams to solve difficult problems on a daily basis.
Being in that kind of dynamic environment all the time, the amount of constant change and pressure to perform can be unnerving and even scary. Fortunately, a lesson that I learned first on team 1816 provided stability when it was needed most.
The lesson? Simply that your greatest asset as a leader is not a skill, or a tool, or a person. The greatest asset is the team itself. No amount of change of challenge is too much for a good team.
It sounds simple, and it is simple, but it’s not always an easy thing to embrace. How often do problems with dozens of available team members get solved by only a handful of people? How often do different subteams with brilliant ideas, and hardworking people, struggle as soon as they need to communicate with a different subteam? How often does someone assume their idea is best and never consult others? Unfortunately, I believe it happens much more than it should.
The instances where I saw the greatest successes, both on Team 1816 and in the Army, were always when the entire team was involved. It was always worth asking for the opinions of others. It was always better when everyone had shared understanding. It always was better when the individuals functioned as one team.
A MQ-1C drone.
As a leader, I never once needed to be the most talented, capable, or intelligent person in the room (thank goodness.) All I ever needed to do was draw out the right idea from the team and help put it into motion. I’m very thankful to have been surrounded by hard working and passionate team players. I owe the credit of every single success I experienced in the Army to the soldiers around me. We never would have succeeded on team 1816 if it hadn’t been for the cohesiveness of our team either. I wish nothing but the best for 1816 and that they can compete, overcome, and celebrate as a team.
To the leaders: Take care of your team. Take care of the individuals. Every bit of time and energy you put into developing a stronger team will yield so much more than anything you yourself can bring to the table. You have a group of unbelievably talented individuals, it is your job above all else to bring them ALL together. If that is your FIRST priority, everything else will fall into place.
Book: Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
To the team members: Develop yourself into the best member of the team you can be. You have ideas and talents that nobody else has. You may hold the key to the solution that nobody else has, but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t share it with the team. Be ready to do hard work when you need to, but know that if you embrace the team player mentality, your team will be there for you when you need it.
Book: Grit – Angela Duckworth
A better team will outperform more talented individuals acting alone.
—-by Michael Woolsey