Camaraderie…

I love reading history and do so every week. Every week I consume a rich, real, story of history from a time, place, or a people of interest to me. This week I devoured Hampton Sides latest titled, In the Kingdom of ICE. The story of De Long’s attempt to reach the North Pole is another inspiring, terrible, and timeless example of leadership.

Whether I’m studying athletic teams, expedition teams, military teams, political teams of rivals, theatrical teams, marital teams, family teams, civic teams, engineering teams, or teams of any types, my research and study confirms my earliest foundational findings – Teams performances hinge on unity. Simple. Hard.

Becoming ONE, distinct, deeply connected, and BTL is a razors edge away from opting out, going it alone, giving in, and eventually giving up. Becoming ONE is the heart of high performance teams because it’s so hard. Few even attempt. Most just settle for good enough and getting along. So, next time you’re in one of my practices and I’m going off on the smallest, seemingly insignificant thing you’ve said or done, understand there is a method to my madness. You see when I put you and your mates in some kinda uncomfortable practice and bubble up some conflict you’ve been hiding, I’m doing two things that bring you together. First, I’m getting you to deal with what you’ve been dodging. Good. Real teams gotta trust there’s nothing unsaid between ’em. Hard.

And, I’m creating a real, raw, culture of practice. You see, the greatest teams suffer together. The greatest teams get tired together. The greatest teams, the ones worth remembering, have a bond built in the locker room, the fox hole, backstage, and even the office where they’ve huddled up late into the night to get through something hard, TOGETHER. Nothing, I mean nothing, bonds you and your mates like the camaraderie of suffering. Study history, you’ll see. This is why BTL practices are sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes raw, and sometimes feel like they are unfairly pointed toward calling Y.O.U. out. Yup, it’s true. I’m trying to make you suffer together. I’m creating the camaraderie of suffering.

Are you and your mates aiming at anything worth the pain of the pursuit? Are you suffering, leader, alongside your mates or comfortable in the confines of your lofty perch? Are you getting tired together? Camaraderie comes at a cost, doesn’t it.

The camaraderie of suffering. Go get Y.O.U. some…