As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. ~Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)
What better way then to sharpen your mind, your thought processes, and expand your vision than to talk with others who can stimulate and challenge you to do so? It is easy to do your own research and gather all your facts to come to your conclusions. However, conversations with others can prove just as rewarding and broaden your perspective even more. When you have a team where you have brainstorming exercises, this expansion is multiplied by the number of people on the team for each has their opinion and perspective based on their experiences to add to the sharpening process. Every person on the team adds value, has perspective, and brings good ideas to the discussion, even if you may have to coax them to participate. When a person finds the conversation engaging and stimulating, they typically enjoy coming back, and become more comfortable freely offering their opinion. Show them their opinions and perspectives matter, are valuable, welcome and appreciated and continue to build bonds, expand perspectives, and broaden visions.
Call To Action: How will you promote iron sharpening iron inclusively in your next meeting?
Essential Pieces
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. ~1 Peter 4:10-11 (NLT)
When your team members feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to not only participate, but step up and take the lead, volunteer to assist, or even be proactive for the advancement of the team. By genuinely sharpening the members on your team and helping them see their perspective and experiences matter, you also remind them they are an essential piece of the overall team’s success. When a team understands and values themselves and one another, what the team can do, as a whole, becomes unstoppable. When a team works together towards a common goal (your vision, mission, goals, etc.), and each person brings the best of themselves for the progression of the team, your team becomes the one everyone wants to be a part of, support, and promote. Each piece plays an essential role to the whole. Help them see it, believe it, own it, and walk courageously in it! Call To Action: How will you ensure each member of your team understands how valuable they are?
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