TeaM, Be Connected !


Until mid-2002, I was working as a team member under someone’s guidance. Then, I was given the responsibility of leading a team. At first, I wasn’t sure how to assign tasks, review the quality of work, or find time to complete my own responsibilities. I believe most people face this confusion when they lead a team for the first time.

Instead of acting like a boss, I chose to work alongside my team as a co-worker. This helped me connect with them, both professionally and personally and soon, we started meeting deadlines more smoothly.

Within two years of team leadership, I learned that teamwork is all about collaboration, and even as a leader, I was just another part of that collaboration. Since then, I stopped calling myself the "leader." We became a team without a leader.

I truly believe every team member has great knowledge and bright ideas. My role is simply to create the right environment where their ideas can work - with empathy and while meeting project goals. Yes, sometimes I’ve done more work than others, but it’s been worth it to see my team happy, motivated, and growing with passion and purpose.

It works!

On December 31, 2018, a thought struck me - how many team members had I worked with over the years? Why not create a crowdsourced story map and invite them to “Be Connected” again?

I started by listing names from memory - from different projects, organizations, and locations. It was a fun and nostalgic task.

Then I reached out to them through email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Messenger, Hangouts, Instagram, and more. They liked the idea and started joining in. I was happy to see the story map filling up - showing their locations and using clustering to highlight the connections.

Thanks to everyone who joined in. It’s been amazing to reconnect and hear from so many of you after so long.

Let’s stay connected!

A Story Map - TeaM, Be connected !  https://arcg.is/1KX1ba 

    




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