Teamwork

Today I was drawing a blank on what I should say. Then I realized how important teamwork is to me, and why. Here goes.

    I'm involved in many teams, and so are all of you. You may not think so, but you are in some way. What is the definition of a team? When we think the word team we might think sports, we might think of a team in the police department, or we might think of a military team. Yes, those are teams, but the definition of a team is: a number of persons associated in some joint action (according to dictionary.com) So as you can see, a team doesn't have to be something big, it just has to be a group in some situation. Your team could be your family. Your team could be your school band or your class project. What all of these have in conman is that there is more than just one person or thing. There is a group who has to work together to get things accomplished. 
   I also enjoy being in charge of things, but I want to do it right. This year I'm one of the older students, and I am in charge of a lot with the younger students. So I end up asking myself a lot. "what do I need to do, to be a good leader, and motivate these others to listen to what I'm saying?" 
There are a few main things that you need to do if you want to motivate your team:
               1) Don't over control: nobody likes someone who wants to control everything. Even if you are the head of a team, you should still give the other people a chance to voice their opinion. However, there is still a place for you to make executive decisions when necessary. 
              2) Lead by example: There is a saying "actions speak louder than words" which is true, people are more likely to follow what you are doing, and act in some of the same mannerisms as you then they are to follow and listen to what you say. 
              3) Be approachable: You have to make the people whom you are leading believe that even though you are in a higher position then they are, you are not a better person than they are. If they can approach you with a problem, or anything, you are doing OK.
               4) Help each individual: This one could be more difficult than the others, depending on how big your team is, but just the simple act of taking time out of your day to help one of your team members will mean so much to them. 
These are just a few off all the things that you can do to encourage and motivate your team positively.