This is part two in a series of the power of teamwork. We talk a lot about teamwork but we don’t talk much about what it means to be a good team member, that is unless it applies to someone else who we are quick to point out their deficiencies. Funny though, we do know what it feels like to have a great team member or partner. We know that we can count on that person to be there, no matter what as people who can almost anticipate our problems and failings and there to catch, support and prop us back up. How often do we do the same for others? Are we good at that? There aren’t schools that teach us to care and subordinate our own agendas and desires to help others. We are taught from an early age to achieve, move ahead and up, perform to our own highest potential and be the first to cross the finish line. Not many get something special for stopping to help even if that means someone else wins. However, this is what we really have to be willing to do if we want really want to WIN. We have to be there for others. Solomon tells us this in Ecclesiastes 4:10; “If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.” We’ve all probably done that trust exercise where you fall backwards into the arms of someone you don’t know and they catch you. Today, there is someone who could sure use your arms to catch them. If you just stop and think about those that you work with you will come up with someone who is carrying a heavier burden than usual or who is struggling. Look at them with fresh eyes and you will see that they are falling backwards and if you choose, you can be there for them. Don’t let them fall because they are alone. That’s being the team member they need.

Reference: Ecclesiastes 4:10 (New Living Testament)