{"id":30563,"date":"2024-06-30T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-30T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mentordiscoverinspire.org\/?p=30563"},"modified":"2024-07-11T13:24:26","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T17:24:26","slug":"the-power-of-contribution-in-the-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mentordiscoverinspire.org\/the-power-of-contribution-in-the-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Contribution in the Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
James Anthony Ellis If there is one element required at a great team meeting, or any type of meeting for that matter, it is the concept of \u201ccontribution.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n For me, the bottom line on successful teams is this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n And to the degree we hold high both elements \u2013 commitment and contribution \u2013 the higher we all rise as men, as teammates, as family leaders, as community members, as well as members of a global humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just had a team meeting last night (June 25) wherein the team leader dropped the ball and had ZERO planned for the meeting. That meant that the rest of us \u2013 all eight \u2013 had to come up with the aspects of the meeting on the spot. Our stand-in leader had us split up into four pairs of two that would each devise an aspect of the agenda. One pair came up with an exercise, another a ritual, another a check-in, and another a fun activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll never guess what transpired \u2026 one of the best meetings ever. From nothing planned to everything mapped out \u2013 in full participation. In full contribution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last night, we all realized that when every team player gives of himself to the collective it makes the collective stronger, richer, more powerful, more unified. When everyone participates, there is full momentum towards success. No loose ends, no passive \u201cjerks on the bus,\u201d no drains on the circle\u2019s empowerment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever I think of the power of contribution for a men\u2019s team, I imagine a sports team with a powerful coach bringing forth a culture in which teammates are expected to contribute no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Picture this: First day of tryouts on the football field. Barking coach comes out with a focused context. \u201cIf you want to be on this team, then you will contribute to it, to help the team be stronger and to give value to you as a teammate. You will be contributing, and you will be giving your best. If you have a problem with that, there is the door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you imagine a player trying to make the roster, responding to a coach demanding contribution, saying in response: \u201cWell, I don\u2019t know. Maybe I can contribute sometimes, when I feel like it, and only during the games I can play in.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bye! There is the door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We may have all experienced those teammates \u2013 living in problem, not give to the collective, holding back, only showing up when there was something in it for them \u2013 who brought down the team in a very real way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we have experienced the uplift when a teammate, or when we ourselves, gave our best to the circle. Power. Energy. Momentum. Bam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To ensure all players played full out in the past, many of my men\u2019s teams have carried the standard: \u201cEach man contributes to each team meeting in his own way so that his presence is felt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you imagine the layers of value when men hold high this agreement with each other? Can you sense the culture created here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The standard, with so many subtle layers of uplift, powerfully accomplishes these results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Damn, that\u2019s a pretty damn powerful standard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, there has been pushback a couple of times from men who didn\u2019t want to contribute to each meeting, especially if they were out of town. I believe those with a problem here either felt forced to give, were falling into laziness, didn\u2019t comprehend the depth and power of the standard, or on a subconscious level didn\u2019t believe they or their presence mattered that much. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, ouch! What a loss of an opportunity to expand beyond the individual level and find the value in a team level mentality that celebrates what we all give to the circle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who didn\u2019t have a problem with the standard found a way to make it happen, even when they were out of town, as they planned out a few ways to contribute prior to leaving. I recall one man laid out three weeks of activity, no problem, even buying the team a meal at an Ocean Beach restaurant. Such a gift this was, on levels seen and unseen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine a team with men who mainly considered: <\/p>\n\n\n\n These men living at this level have climbed higher on the chart of life, wherein they serve not just themselves but a larger purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men realize their lack of presence can impact any collective \u2013 families, workmates, a potluck that really needed your famous spinach dip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These men consider the idea of sending a gift and a voicemail to their nephew even though they couldn\u2019t make the graduation in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men don\u2019t screw up their marriage by disappearing on their wives and kids while on a work trip or even into a home office, later wondering why there is such disharmony in the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men recognize the need to be prepared proactively, just as they would prepare their home, mail, and garden to be taken care of while away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men give their best to contribute to their men\u2019s team, knowing their exuberance, passion and balls-out effort will make a difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These men hold \u201cstandards\u201d not as “rules’ that are forced upon us in a disempowering way to possibly get us in trouble, but rather as “agreements” between teammates to raise the bar and uphold a winning culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men keep teams cohesive – aligned as one, halting that slow drift in which teams experience high disconnect and high isolation and then low attendance and low energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These men show up for try outs, practice and games fighting to get out onto the playing field, making their fans, their coach and themselves proud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Huh. Imagine if there was no contribution at a men\u2019s team meeting. We\u2019d all just stand there and stare at each other, most likely fading into meaningless side conversations or stray inner thoughts of curiosity about what was streaming later on Netflix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That isn\u2019t what happened with my team last night. No, even without a preplanned agenda and purpose, we all came up with what we needed. All of us. Together. In the spirit of giving our best for the good of the team. It was epic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each team player within MDI and other circles has an opportunity here: to be a star player pulling for a team to succeed on all levels, to practice doing our best, to hold others to their best, to succeed where we heretofore thought we could not. To go beyond our preconceived ideas and limits and make magic happen. We can practice being prepared, giving to the collective no matter what, holding a \u201cno problem\u201d attitude, and living the highest purpose and most broad context possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s our choice. And our success. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" James Anthony EllisLegacy Magazine Editor If there is one element required at a great team meeting, or any type of meeting for that matter, it is the concept of \u201ccontribution.\u201d For me, the bottom line on successful teams is this: And to the degree we hold high both elements \u2013 commitment and contribution \u2013 the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teams"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Legacy Magazine Editor <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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