You are running with your teammates from a wildfire spreading out of control. You can see your leader up ahead, waving you all to safety. Between you and him is a raging river, and the only place narrow enough to cross cuts into a steep ravine. The only way to get out of harm's way is to stretch out your arm and clasp hands with your leader.

What do you do now? Do you hang like a wet noodle and make them hoist up your dead weight all on their own? Do you think they would even be able to save you if you did that? Of course, they would not! In fact, it is likely you would pull them down with you! You will do everything you can with all your might and every ounce of energy and strength you can muster, to scramble up and help yourself, and help them help you, right?

What makes marketing teamwork any different? Have you ever started with a new marketing venture, or joined a new program and just sat there waiting for something to happen? OK maybe you have never done that, but you undoubtedly know someone who has done this. If you are their leader, how do you handle that? Communicate to your team how you can help, yet make sure they know they are expected to pull some of their own weight. You can do this in a nice way, too. Here is a sample opening dialogue for someone who is "noodling":

"Mary, I am excited to have you on board. Now that you are a part of our team, we can help you in many ways. Tell me your biggest obstacle right now, and let's work on how to get you through it."

Maybe you have experienced the opposite effect, through leaders who hold out their hand but do not pull you up, making you do all the work. Here is how I might handle that: "I am glad to be a part of you team, Joe. Right now I am having trouble figuring out how to get from point a to point b. I am not doing myself or anybody else any good until I can work this out. Do you have any suggestions?" Either way, remember you are part of a team. Really, no matter what business you are in, you are part of some kind of team, and two people working together can accomplish much more than two people working independently.

Communicating your needs and asking for help from leaders and team members needs to be an absolute priority for you on a regular basis. Weekly at least, preferably more often, you need to check in with your team just to let them know what's going on and that you are still available to help. If you need their help, do not be afraid to ask. People like to be needed. This is a basic fact of human nature. As human beings, we need food and shelter, but that is not all. We need to feel a sense of belonging.

How do we do this? We offer our help, and, we ask for help. When we accept help, we do it with resolve to help ourselves at the same time and participate in the progress. Offering helps means being willing to get our sleeves dirty and invest in a little sweat equity in order to help out our team. It really is a simple concept.

Copyright (c) 2007 Karen Kay

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