7 Habits of Highly Effective Teams

Classes could be different, truly they could be , funny, engaging and inspiring. As a teacher, you could be a team manager, simple picture yourself as the Manager and your class ( students) as your wonderful  Team.

What is your goal as a teacher? Essentially be productive and effective in your classes. If we dare to picture our students as your team, what if you lead your students to work   achieving the common habits of the highly effective teams.

  Stephen Covey American educator, author, businessman, and keynote speaker, clearly defined the 7 habits of the highly effective team:

1-Take the initiative. The key to being proactive is realizing that you hold the responsibility for your own actions and decisions. By understanding that you yourself are the one who will either benefit or suffer from the consequences of your actions, you will naturally take the initiative to plan for possible future problems, make an effort to improve the situation and think of ways to become more productive

2-Focus on the final goal. Effective teams have a very clear vision of what their future should be, and are focused on a final goal that they must work towards. As Covey says, it is the “ability to envision, to see the potential, to create with [their] minds what [they] cannot at present see with [their] eyes”. Develop a team missions statement right at the start. Focus on that mission, and work towards that goal collectively as a team. Check back on that mission regularly, and use it as your guiding pole, to make sure that you are always on the right path to success.

3-Set priorities. Teams have limited time and resources. They cannot do everything and do them all great, within a limited timeframe. Thus, to be effective, they have to extremely results oriented. As a team, decide your priorities based on the missions statement and focus only on the important tasks.

4-Create win-wins. A good and effective team works together in a cooperative manner. Collaborative team members COMPLETE one another, and not COMPETE with one another. Too often,  people think that in order for one party to win, the other needs to lose. But in a win-win mindset, everyone wins, the end result benefits everyone.

 5-Seek to understand. Many people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. This habit is especially evident when there are disagreements within a team. Disagreeing is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is only healthy if used correctly! Communication is extremely important in teams, particularly during disagreements. Strive to understand first, before seeking to be understood Don’t hear with your ears, but listen with your heart and mind.

 6-Synergize. One plus one equals 3, 4, 5, 6…. Two heads are better than one. When a team is truly synergizing, they can come up with solutions that are way better than the sum of all the single solutions each person could have come up with individually. They can achieve a lot more than each of them could have done so independently. An effective team understands this principle well and strives towards amplified success by tapping on the synergistic effects of teamwork.

7–Maintain work-life balance. Great teams, no matter how amazing, are still made up of humans. Humans with flesh, blood, and feelings. They should thus have the time to rest and re-energize. As a team manager, ensure that you preserve and enhance this greatest asset you have — your team. There are many ways to do this: Go on a team outing; have breaks together; encourage them. Only when your greatest asset is well taken care of, can your team be effective when they work

If we want to engage, empower, inspire our students,  the idea of bringing over your classes this habits,  would make a great difference. Embrace the challenge of promoting different learning methodologies and enjoy the process.