Teamwork is Leadership

CEO of Waste Management: Larry O’Donnell (Photo via NYDaily News)

“The success of my organization isn’t about me. It’s all about the great people who are working with me.”

On commenting on the dramatic positive results of his organization, this quote is the response made by a president of a division with more than 50,000 employees. This is a lesson that can be learned by all leaders in authoritative positions who are looking to build synergy across their organization and ultimately gain success as noted by Harvard Business Review’s Marshall Goldsmith in his blog, Leadership Isn’t About You. People seem to forget that a team’s success is not dependent on just the manager or coach. In the same vain, the manager or coach should not think they are the sole reason for these positive results; but rather it is a team effort.

CBS aired a new reality show series called Undercover Boss which premiered right after the 44th Super Bowl this past Sunday. The first show segment featured CEO of a Waste Management company, Larry O’Donnell, going undercover to experience the work and sacrifices of his own frontline employees. What he realized was that it wasn’t so much the cost-effective strategies that upper management implemented that made the company successful; it was the dedicated staff that believed strongly in the mission and came to work everyday to meet the goals of the company.

I feel employee acknowledgement is lacking in the workplace nowadays. You’d be lucky to even get a “thank you.” Leaders should seek less for a pat on their backs and reward their employees more for their hard work towards the company’s success. They should also pay close attention to the needs of these individuals to provide a supportive and fruitful environment in which to work. When a leader integrates and acknowledges the skills and talents of all those who contribute, there will be more progress in the workplace.

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