Fred was excited to be part of this new development team. The project was a new way to clean plastic from the waterways and was going to include a multi-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers. He knew a few of the other members personally and many others by reputation. They were a creative and diverse group doing something that could significantly impact the planet's health and well-being. Project Aqua Fresca was the project that could make our break his career and make a difference in the lives of future generations. He couldn't wait until the first meeting.
Fred hurried through his hotel breakfast, gathered up his laptop, and headed to the conference room. He knew he was 20 minutes early but couldn't wait to see and meet the team. But, as Fred stepped off the elevator, his anticipation began to evaporate. He heard an all-too-familiar voice and then saw the speaker in the crowd at the conference room door. It was Mr. David Allen. (Fred preferred the more appropriate DA since it was more in tune with his experiences with him in the past.)
DA had been the supervisor of the first project team after the State Engineering Board had licensed Fred. He was excited to be part of it. But, as soon as he met DA, he felt that this would not go well.
DA did not respect any of the team members. He made all the final decisions, no matter how small. He refused the advice of team members. Most of the qualified team members had left, and those remaining were either too inexperienced to know better or had no other choice because of their low status in the company. It became a team of losers made even weaker by a supervisor who could not lead. When the group failed, DA managed to shift all the blame on his team, especially the younger ones like Fred. DA got a promotion when the project closed, and the rest were fired, including Fred.
As he stood by the elevator, Fred could feel those old feelings bubble up from his remembering. Old wounds began to ooze, and he felt the bile rising in his throat. He would not put himself in that spot again. His excitement and anticipation had hardened into a paralyzing fear, encased in deep disappointment.
But a miracle happened as soon as he had calmed the urge to flee back into the elevator. DA turned and waved goodbye and walked away toward the parking garage. Fred heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped into the small crowd still lingering at the door.
He heard one man say, "Boy, I was afraid "Mr. Allen was coming to this meeting." Another responded, "I knew that guy several years ago, and I am relieved that he is now in sales. He couldn't engineer himself out of a paper bag." The rest nodded in agreement as they turned to one another and started looking ahead to the adventure awaited them.
Over the next year, this team discovered that having excellent skills and diverse talents were important, but more was needed. In working together, they found that individual genius and insights may be helpful at times, but there was a far more critical component necessary for them to succeed. The joy of feeling that the team had done well was much more dependent upon each member's respect for the other. Respect opened the process to the individual genius and insights of each member and multiplied the group's creativity. More importantly, respect allowed the team to find joy in working together through the setbacks and successes for the team. By unlocking the team's potential, respect created the energy needed to withstand and ultimately triumph in their task.
That moment at the elevator was the most important of the entire year. When DA moved on, Fred thought, "This is going to be a great year!" And the next twelve months proved him correct.
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