Team Training and the Bodybuilder

A bodybuilder recently searched for a dog leash. After he examined it he asked, “Is this leash strong?” The Clerk grinned and said, “Are you?” He smiled back with a surprising, “Sometimes.” 

All teams have strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing areas of concern is difficult since organizations are often overwhelmed and too close to the situation. Chris Alexander through Synergy Team Power, facilitates the change discussion through books, mentorships, and presentations. 

In the book Synergy Strategic Planning; A Blueprint for Organizational Planning and Execution, Alexander provides a series of ideas to keep the Team interested, motivated and strong. The fresh interactive approach insures the philosophy becomes a part of the corporate culture. Change becomes understood and accepted, not resisted. 

Companies make the mistake of thinking everyone will see the benefit of change. They assume that everyone’s goals, aims and wishes are aligned with the mission.

You cannot order change; like you order a pizza…Making successful change happen in organizations requires a critical mass of support.

Unfortunately, a majority of businesses have limited if any experience in managing and facilitating change. The flavor of the month and the hype of the latest method, means often times there is no consistency in the training program. People quickly become apprehensive of the new philosophy. All Team Members are aware of is another quarter, another program. 

To build a championship team, training needs to be a core value. Training is an investment, not a cost, to the organization and individual.

The body builder does not achieve either the arms or the six pack by working out inconsistently over a short period of time. It becomes an important aspect of life done religiously. Just like weight lifting is critical for the bodybuilder’s success, training is essential for business. Among others;

• Training increases productivity
• Training increases performance
• Training increases efficiency
• Training increases retention

Chris Alexander understands that training succeeds through synergy. The purpose is to insure members work together in a harmonious manner by demonstrating respect to all Team members. 

Synergy is optimistic. It builds bridges of unity and breaks down walls of triviality. Synergy devastates greed and eliminates destructive egos.

A key point raised by Chris Alexander is synergy requires leaders not managers. Leaders handle people. Managers handle “things”.

As a Manager it’s much easier to tell people what to do and if they don’t do it, you fire them…As a Leader, you must show the way. You have to coach, teach and build a high performance team.

A business can learn a great deal about strengthen the organization from the bodybuilder. Through years of constant training the man is well on the way to the goal. He realizes however if he stops the muscles will gradually erode and the effort will no longer show.  Only through constant training over an extended period are the results maintained. 

Businesses need to take the same approach. Training does not have a beginning, middle or end just as the workout. It takes a commitment for the organization to have a strong, innovative, lean body which is essential. 

Chris Alexander M.A. (Org. Psych) 
Award-Winning Business-Building Strategist and Coach, Best-Selling Author, and Professional Speaker

Chris Alexander is the founder and president of Synergy Executive Education, a highly effective change management practice specializing in people-centered change. He is an award winning business building strategist, professional speaker, and author of 9 business and personal development books. So far, Alexander's largest audience has been his two PBS TV shows, titled “Creating Extraordinary Joy” and “Joy in the Workplace.” His Synergy programs have been implemented worldwide by many Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. He has advanced degrees in Organizational Behavior and is an expert at building high-performance business teams focused on a shared destiny.