As I reflect from last week’s county fair I was reminded about the great volunteers we have that make the 4-H youth development program a success! There are many details and behind the scene tasks that must be completed to make a fair run smoothly and it is incredible how effective teamwork accomplishes them. It takes many people to make a fair work, before the fair and the “clean-up” details after the fair, including members of the Ag Society (Fair Board), 4-H Council, Extension staff, superintendents and other volunteers. It is always great to see people with diverse backgrounds and talents come together to make the each event a success! Whenever a task needed to be done or I needed some help, volunteers stepped up to the plate and assisted.
A team or group of people that is able to communicate effectively as a team can achieve better results than individuals working alone. The amount of teamwork witnessed last week proved that “two heads are better than one”! When all of the 4-H leaders, members, parents, etc. come together and build a sense of commitment, trust and support for one another, it allows them to develop and accomplish the desired results – a fun and educational experience for all involved. As I stated in my weekly column after my first Fillmore County fair in 2006, “It doesn’t matter what ribbon placing you receive, but the learning experience and enjoyable time you had with your 4-H projects.”
Various committees and groups came together with a well-defined purpose and vision of the 4-H program and carry out their duties and responsibilities. Other characteristics that make teams successful are:
- Having a positive attitude towards change and are willing to accept and allow necessary change to occur to accomplish desired results
- Understanding patience that is required to achieve not only the anticipated results for the present, but understanding how decisions will affect the future.
- Having teams which all members feel a sense of duty and obligation and everyone is able to commit time and resources in accomplishing these tasks.
Finally, it is important that a well functioning team support each other. Team leaders and members that make a conscious, sustained effort to make these characteristics a part of their mind set will find that both creativity and accomplishment of desired results will be much higher than it would be otherwise.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all of the 4-H members, leaders, parents, community members, and anyone else that helped contribute to the success of the 2012 Fillmore County Fair! It takes a dedicated and hard-working group of people to make things run smoothly. Again, thanks for the support of the 4-H and FFA programs, and most of all for remembering that “character counts” and those valuable skills (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship) which are learned at an early age will pay off with all of life’s endeavors.
SOURCE: UNL Extension publication: Team Building: Developing a Productive Team written by Arnold Bateman.
Views from VanDeWalle 