Ed Aponte Columnist
Last Wednesday, my team Kore Mataku completed David Guy as our Team Leader. We had our usual ceremony, and I delivered to him that the reason for his success was that he created a team of winners. It made me think back to the time when I was a Regional Coordinator.
I belonged to what was described back then as the best team in MDI. All of us, to this date, believe this to be true. Not because of some pompous posturing of our greatness but because of how we operated together and the results we produced. Out of this team we have had two MDI presidents, one Chairman of the Board, a VP of Ops, a Man of the Year and multiple International leaders. But it was the context we held that created the results we produced.
The context we held was “One MDI.” Our purpose was “To care about each other’s regions as much as we cared about our own.” This shifted the way we related with each other. We had ownership of each other’s region and in turn demanded greatness from each other. Previously it had been a call where we came to complain about our problems in our region and ask for solutions. It shifted to a TEAM of men, not a call, where we pushed each other to win.
A great benefit in belonging to MDI is that we can learn from what’s worked in the past and apply it in the present. So I will attempt to describe below the characteristics that, in my opinion, created the best team in MDI.
- First, we were vested in each other’s lives. We knew what each other was up to in their lives. Not just in our roles in MDI but in our everyday lives. We called one another regularly, not because we committed to a call circle but because it was important for us to make relationship a priority. When one of us came against the wall, he had six other men propping him up. This created an atmosphere of trust beyond anything I’ve seen before. Men dropped their masks with each other because they trusted one another.
- Secondly, we were goal oriented. Of course a team of RC’s should be goal oriented. But it wasn’t a list of results on a CPR that was looked at like bookends on a cycle. We were actively looking at our commitments and evaluating our trajectory to accomplishing them. A big reason for this is what is now known as the yearly January Leadership meeting. We kicked this off in the mountains of North Georgia and set the culture that we were going to have a joint plan every year that we all would be aligned behind.
- Thirdly, we had outrageous expectations of each other and our team. We routinely called each other out and pushed each other beyond the token “is that your best” statement. The expectation was set that we would push each other beyond what was expected from an RC team and truly own the success of MDI. This is the same team that created The Bubba. A team that has room to dream beyond its self-imposed limits often accomplishes far beyond what was previously expected.
- Lastly, we had ruthless accountability with one another. We didn’t accomplish everything we set out to do, but we told each other the truth. We didn’t make excuses about long-winded stories of why we didn’t keep our word. Instead we called each other out openly and regularly with the end product of making sure we did what we said we were going to do. This created a team where men trusted each other to operate in their honor. I can’t think of a better compliment a team of men can receive.
I hope that you read this and are ready to rebutte how YOUR team IS the best team in MDI. If so, please comment below why you think this is so.
I like to thank the men of my RC team for creating the legacy that has shaped the current success in MDI. The RC team consisted of Rick Wright (VP), Stan Snow (New England RC), Geoff Tomliinson (Eastern Canada RC), Jeff Lawrence (Western Canada RC), William Habart (Mid-Atlantic RC), Chris Wilkinson (Southwest RC) and Jeff Francisco (Western RC).
I look forward to witnessing MDI’s next “Best Team.”
Will you be on it?
Thank you for reading this, commenting and sharing with your men.