The 6 Most Valuable Players On Your Team – The Best Secrets to a Well-Unified Group
No matter what team you lead – a sports team, a corporate team, or a church group – you have players that you aren’t even aware of. These players help keep unity in your team and drive you to your common goal. So who are these players, and how can you make sure they are performing at their highest potential? We’ll quickly take a look at each one.
MVP #1: The Communicator.
You have to communicate with people. It’s inevitable. But communicating is even more important among groups. This is the first most valuable player on your team. In fact, the other players cannot have a sturdy foundation without strong communication!
Verbal Communication
If you could rate the verbal communication within your team between 1 and 10 – 10 being the highest – what would your answer be? Keep in mind, there are really just 2 parts in communicating verbally:
Speaking
- Speak clearly.
- Do not speak out of turn / do not interrupt.
- If you have something to say, say it.
- Everyone has ideas, and opinions about finishing a task. Good brainstorming allows for all to be shared.
Listening
- A good listener is an active listener.
- Really concentrate on what the others are saying. Don’t let your thoughts go out of control!
- This is where non-verbal communication is important.
Non-Verbal Communication
90% of our communication happens non-verbally. Your posture and bodily gestures is what really communicates your thoughts. So being mindful of that and using your non-verbal communication effectively can greatly enhance how you communicate as a whole. Dr. Barton Goldsmith wrote on Psychology Today a great article on the Top Ten Tips to Create Powerful Non-Verbal Communication. Here’s my own paraphrased verson:
- Keep good eye contact.
- Face the other person and lean forward.
- If you have a close relationship with them, gentle touches can speak many words.
- Your face speaks volumes. But don’t let it speak before you are ready to reinforce it with words.
- Avoid distractions.
- Shaking hands can send a valuable message.
- Some gestures do not translate well to other cultures.
- Your appearance such as clothing and color choices, and even your smell, all send messages.
MVP #2: The Truster
It’s really hard to trust people you haven’t first established communication with. So if you can imagine a group of bricks, the trust brick would be stacked on top of a solid communication brick.
Trust can be hard to attain. WikiHow gives 19 steps on how to build trust. Here are some of the best:
- Do what you say.
- Never lie.
- Don’t leave out important details.
- Don’t mask truths.
- Keep secrets.
- If you do lie, admit it.
- Speak what you feel.
- Honor your promises.
- Show openness.
- Show consistency in your behavior.
- Demonstrate a strong moral ethic.
The other side of the Trust MVP is being able to trust others! If, as you communicate with people, you can see that they fit the above bullets, then it’s a good sign that they are worthy of your trust.
MVP #3: The Conflict Manager
Once your team has established communication and trust, the next step is to know how to deal with conflict.
Let me tell you now… Conflicts will come!
There are basically 3 outcomes to any type of conflict:
- Lose – Lose: Both sides of the argument lose, everyone walks away upset.
- Win – Lose: One side gets what they want, and the other doesn’t.
- Win –Win: You find an outcome that works for both sides.
In most cases, the ultimate goal will be a win-win outcome. However, there are times when the Win-Lose outcome is inevitable. Such cases are usually when one side is just flat wrong.
MVP #4: The Commitment Maker
If you’ve ever been in a romantic relationship (as most of you have, I’m sure!), then you probably know that it’s hard to commit to someone until you’ve been through some kind of conflict.
The one thing to remember: Never Give Up.
MVP #5: The Accountability Keeper
Although you already trust your team, you can’t fully depend on them until you are fully committed to them! You’ve heard the phrase, “There’s no I in team.” This is true. No matter what your team, they are there to help you and you are there to help them. Do not try to do things on your own.
MVP #6: The Results Reacher
Arriving at your goal as a team will be so much easier if you already have all of the previous steps in place. If you can teach your team to communicate better, trust each other more, handle conflicts well, be committed to the team, and be accountable to the team you will reach your goal. However, before you gain any of these players, you need to recognize your goal!
So… what’s the next goal of your team?
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