The Strength of BNI Renaissance Lies in A Strong Tripod (1 of 3)

Most of you must be wondering what has the success of Renaissance chapter got to do with a tripod? As a chapter, we must be doing something right to be the most magnetic chapter in Singapore. Our modest achievements today is only possible because as a chapter, we  have been focussing on building strong tripods. A tripod can only stand firmly when each of its three legs are strong and of equal length. If any of the legs are weak or short, the structure will be unstable or lopsided and whatever sits on top of the tripod will collapse or slide down.
 
If you imagine the tripod to be supporting the entire chapter sitting on top, the legs has to withstand the weight or we will all be in trouble.  And as you know, the weight is increasing week after week.
 
The purpose of this article is just to share my own observations so that every member of Renaissance can reflect on it. The three legs of a tripod which I am going to share is leadership, systems, members.
 
1. Leadership
From the time the chapter was set up in 6 June 2007, the founding members have decided and intended to make strong leadership a hallmark of Renaissance. By leadership, I am not only referring only to the Leadership Team, but support committee heads and also power team leaders. The importance of strong leadership in delivering the vision of the chapter cannot be understated. This is especially so today when our chapter is getting bigger and more diversified and members are very talented and each having different agendas. The role of the leaders at all levels is to put the focus of our chapter back to the reason of our existence and to galvanise, motivate and inspire team players to set aside our differences and to shoot for the same goal. History has shown that many a great BNI chapters which had their fair share of glorious days in the past, started on the journey of decline when leaders chosen could not lead their team effectively. If I use the example of the leadership team, many BNI chapters feel that the leadership team is not that important cos’ their role is just to sit at front of the chapter and conduct weekly meeting. The team will carry the baton for 6 months and then another set of leaders will carry on doing the same thing. As such, many chapters failed to put their ablest members or the ablest members did not come forward to serve in the leadership team, only to discover that things started to fall apart and when the decay is allowed to go on for 6 months, trust me, the chapter will never be the same again. Those who have served in Renaissance LT will know that the expectation of serving in the LT is high and the work is never easy. We take pains to go all the way to identify and groom leaders for the LT as part of succession planning. Similarly, whenever committee heads or power team heads are chosen, we have to make sure that they are the best fit for the job. The seriousness we pay towards leadership has to be a tradition of Renaissance to ensure our continued growth for the next 10, 100 years. In fact, this applies to any organisation. As such, it is critical that members can step up when called upon to serve or better still, to volunteer their service in different capacities if they know they have what it takes. This, without a doubt, truly epitomises the spirit of Givers’ Gain.

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The 3C’s to Create a Dream Team

The word TEAM is often referred to as the acronym for “Together Everyone Achieve More”. The definition of a team is a collective group of people working together to achieve a common goal. An exceptional team is created when individual members are working together in synergy such that the end result is more than the sum of individual efforts. There are 3 essential elements for a group to be cohesive and working seamlessly together as summarized by 3 Cs’.

1. Clear vision of the future

This is essential for the continuity of a successful team as all the members will then be committed to work towards a common future.  With a clear vision of the future, the leaders can inspire and also motivate the members of the team to be highly confident, committed and adopt a positive outlook. Good and effective leadership with a clear vision of the future is a very essential component for a good collaboration.

2. Constant communication

Communication is essential in any interpersonal contact and more importantly of a team. As a group gets larger, constant communication should be emphasized to both the leaders and the members of that particular team. Expressing of ideas, articulation of feelings, expressing the goals and plans, and sharing motivations that one has is a good way to cement a team. Establishing the roles one has to play is also important as every member needs to understand what exactly his or her role in the team is and his or her responsibilities. The leader can outline this on the onset of the team formation, in a clear manner defining purpose of every member.

3. Constructive criticism

No matter how strong and compact a team functions together, there will always be conflicts and arguments arising. Team members should be encouraged to give constructive criticism and very often it is the members who care for the team that will voice out their thoughts and feelings. This is essential to ensure that problems and unhappiness are voiced out in a timely manner so that a sound resolution can take place. A team that consists of yes-man or members who do not take the courage to voice their unhappiness will be in danger of disintegrating one day when small issues balloon to a big problems. The right way to give constructive criticism is that it must always be given in the light of the larger good of the team and it must be backed by suggestions on how to make improvements. Team leaders should get to the core of the argument instead of avoiding the issue. To avoid offending other members or misunderstandings, clear channels to provide feedback should be established and such channels communicated to members so that everyone understand the preferred way to give feedback within the team.

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