Teambuilding

With all of the new members it is vital that all hands on deck share a common vision within each command regarding Teams, Teambuilding, and Perspective.

At the 116 we are building new teams in SWTOR, 3rd Generation teams in World of Tanks, and many other teams in the wargames we deploy to. As a unit we have a great deal of experience building teams, often winning teams, even champion teams.

MEMBER REQUIREMENTS

1. Patience - Building a consistently winning team takes about 3 months to accomplish assuming a healthy turnout of members.

2. Fill the gaps - If there is a gap in the organization step up to fill it. Whether thats a recruiting officer, in game leader, or some other duty that is missing. By all of us doing a little extra we spread the responsibility across the organization and foster the foundations of teams: TRUST.

3. Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). Teams, particularly competitive teams, will lose. What we do with the loss makes all the difference. We debrief, we openly admit our own failures, learn from them, and do not castigate other members for their mistakes as if we are all on the same page they are owning up to them.


GOALS

1. The 116 is an organization that looks at the long term, working together as members over the long term, and not in just one specific game. Sometimes, the game mechanics in a game conflict with our values, please keep out values first over and above the games values. Many clans have exploded or imploded because they put the games first and foremost above the members they fight beside.

2. Work with your command, even if you are a new member, figure out how you can help them, to help the team, and in the end help yourself. By building goals via consensus everyone becomes a stakeholder and committed.

The Reality

Not everyone will fit our model. People who lack patience, place the game above the people, and are not a teamplayer will fail at the 116. That is why it is up to every member to self assess themselves and ask at the end of the day are you here for the right reasons...if a member does not self assess themselves and is here for the wrong reasons then their demeanor will often grate on those that are here for the right reasons. Thereby, those members that do not assess themselves are doing both other members and themselves a disservice.

On the other hand, when the vast majority of members subscribe to our model and are in the same team phenomenal results happen.Those teams know one another very well, each others habits good and bad, and when deployed to battle each member knows instinctively what each other is going to do. It takes a lot of practice and dedication to reach that level but many of the long term members fondest memories of the 116 are being in that zone.

Finally, this letter is a general letter and a cautionary one to remind new and old members alike what works and what does not, and in no way directed at one team or individual. If we are all on the same page with the 116 philosophy we will achieve great things.

If you can get past the soapy music (turn volume down but your favorite motivational music on) the following video highlights the fundamentals of team-building.

Sincerely,

Waff