DREWspective

It’s my 26th birthday soon, and this year I plan on doing something. Wish me a good one.

Now, I’ve had one nagging question that has gone unanswered for a long time, and now it’s time for me to air my views. The question is, what is a team?

I’ve had three commercial permanent jobs in the last three years, all lastng less than a year (not proud of it, but possibly a clue that I should take the freelancing route). The main reason for leaving those, beside my personality quirks, is the notion of not being part of a practical, working team.

As I’ve told a recruiter recently, I’ve worked in "gangs" and "dictatorships" before, but not a team. You can accuse me of not being a team player, but that’s because I haven’t had any noticable experience in working in a team - not even in primary or high school.
Anyone can call their employees a team, or call themselves a team player, just like people are designated "leaders". Saying is very different to being.

So what is a team?

Before I answered the question myself, I did a quick search online to see if any other sources agreed. The main quote from Penn State’s Building Blocks for Teams page mirrors my initial reasoning, and explains it in a better way than I ever could:

"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable."

- Katzenbach and Smith, 1993

Basically, my idea of a team is:

• a group of people working towards a common goal;
• that have relevant skills among them;
• recognise each other as [important] members;
• take responsibility;
• and has a leader (or leader(s) that leads the team toward the goal.

Some other great links that define what it means to be in a team, and being a team member:

http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-a-Team?&id=328949

I did a double-take when I read someone’s copy of a tabloid newspaper on the train to work.

It’s been a while since I last saw Jeremy Beadle on television, but he was truly an icon. For those who don’t know, he was famous for pulling practical jokes on people, most notably on his own TV show.

I will admit, I was probably too young to understand what was going on back in the 80s and early 90s; all I can remember were bleeps as the victims cursed in frustration. That in itself was funny shit. I also won’t pretend to know the guy personally, but he was a part of my childhood and he will be missed.

Drew Maughan salutes Jeremy Beadle. Rest in peace.

Hello folks, and welcome to my first weblog for about two years. This is my first entry!

What happens when you’re frustrated with the way things are working out in your life? Where do you go? Who do you turn to?
If you’re anything like me, all you see in these situations are people getting on with their lives, ignoring you and your feelings. The only “help” you get is ‘get over it’, ‘move on’, ‘you need to do this’ etc.
All you hear are one-liners from people who have never experienced a problem in their lives… or at least have forgotten what it’s like to have them.

The purpose of DREWspective is to throw away the useless ‘why’ questions and the ‘you need to’ statements, and concentrate on actions and methods.

How do you get yourself out of that hole?

How do you turn your life around?

Only when you know how will you be able to move on, and not one moment sooner.

Join me on the quest to self-acceptance and solving some of life’s nagging problems. Enjoy the weblog!