THE TEAMI APPROACH

Why are you here? Think about what Abraham Lincoln said, “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather is.” In other words, you own being better tomorrow than today.’ If you believe this, “the first step is the transformation of the individual. This transformation is discontinuous. The individual transformed, will perceive new meaning to their life, to events, to numbers, to interactions between people.”^[ii] Begin this habit by writing down your top 3 answers to: ‘why are you here?

How to grow? Growing is not an event or an act, it’s a journey through life’s positives/negatives. “The historical evidence is that, time and again, the greatest successes come from a series of targeted incremental steps forward that confront, one by one, the full variety of [opportunities and] problems to be addressed.” ^[iii] “When we are active in our growth, we take more responsibility for our lives. The experiences of being involved, learning, taking risks, and talking to others about our lives increases the level of ownership we have in the process. When people are passive about their growth, they tend to let others control them and see forces outside of them as being in charge of their lives.” ^[iv]

From experience, the five stages for growing are:

TARGET THE NEED

Why start with the need? Unless I know it, how can I decide whether to submit to it? Unless I submit, how can I bend myself to meet it? If needs aren’t met, how will I be better? Unless I get better, how can I help the world get better? Targeting the need avoids being shallow so “begin with the end in mind.”[v] “Before we jump to the how, we need to lay a foundation by articulating the need before erecting the superstructure.”^[vi] This can be difficult so put time into seeing needs over wants.

EQUIP FOR SUCCESS

“To furnish or provide with whatever is needed for use for any undertaking”[vii] includes physical, mental, spiritual and relational tools.  I equip myself by finding and learning to use the simplest tools I expect will work. I don’t fear missteps, as they’re only failures if I don’t learn from them. To really learn TEAMI, don’t ask others how to meet the needs now. We’ll get to learning from and with others later.

ACT TO ACHIEVE

A robot is mechanical but I can’t be. I must act effectively, efficiently and knowledgeably at this level by doing now and being intentional and insightful later. “Only combat experience can make a soldier.”^[viii]

MARK WHERE I AM TODAY

Like X marks the spot, I ‘estimate or assess’ where I am today. I spend attention here to know the effects of my actions; enough time here to truly see them. Numbers measure physical things well but not what’s inside us. Here I focus on seeing ‘what happened and why’, not ‘what happens next’.

IDENTIFY WHERE NEXT

Now that I know where I am, I compare it to the need I targeted. Am I going in the right direction, yes or no. Few things are as wasteful as working hard without seeing it’s in the wrong direction so I raise my viewpoint to higher levels. . I use the answers, yes or no, to decide whether to continue in this direction (good order), to change (good disorder) or to stop on this.

In his highly recommended “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, Steven Covey “defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill and desire” and goes deep into them in no particular order.

I’ve learned over many years that the TEAMI habits are best used in order and repeated as needed, especially for young people and those needing change, By knowing and repeating the parts of a basketball jump shot, shooting from downtown becomes a possibility. When they become second nature, success becomes a probability. “Habits are like a cable. We weave strands of it every day.”^[ix] For now, do each habit in order starting with Target the need. Later, we’ll start somewhere else.

It was said of Neil Armstrong, “he did what was needed, nothing more, nothing less.” His focus on relevant needs enabled “an upward spiral of growth that leads to progressively higher forms of responsible independence and effective interdependence” [x] His humility came from being his best and was a by-product of his character, commitment and competence.  Excellence is in the level of the needs we grow to meet by going up, solving problems and sometimes maintaining our standards.

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NOTES

[i] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/will_durant_145967

[ii] https://deming.org/quotes/10214/#:~:text=The%20first%20step%20is%20transformation%20of%20the%20individual.,numbers%2C%20to%20interactions%20between%20people

[iii] ADDED

[iv] Cloud, Henry; Townsend, John. How People Grow (p. 337). Zondervan. Kindle Edition

[v] Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Kindle Location 1577). Mango Media. Kindle Edition.

[vi] Malphurs, Aubrey. Being Leaders. Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[vii] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/equip

[viii] Ernie Pyle

[ix] Horace Mann

[x] Covey, Stephen R.. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Infographics Edition: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (pp. 60-61). Mango Media. Kindle Edition.