Teamwork In a Crisis

NASL

September 1st, 2021

Teamwork, we talk about it, we see it in sports, in our business life, and at home. Teamwork can develop in some of the strangest and sometimes challenging places. I recently had an experience that showed how teamwork, communication, and patience can lead to a successful outcome. It all started with a phone call at 2:00 a.m. from my daughter.

Such a call from a college student is the last thing any parent wants. In this case the voice at the other end was calm and stated that she was OK. With that my blood pressure went down. The reason for the phone call was she was locked in her second-floor bedroom in her house and could not get out. No one else was home to help. Within twenty minutes I was standing outside her house hoping the neighbors or police did not think I was a breaking-in. With tools in hand, I assessed the situation, there was no way for me to get in without breaking a window.

My daughter poked her head out of her window, I had to get her some tools. She somehow had string in her room, which she used to lower an empty purse for me to place some tools that she could use to try to fix the lock. With phones at the ready, I tried talking her through the process, until I realized she would need to take off the doorknob. All this time I cannot see anything that is going on; however, she remained calm and worked on the door. She got the doorknob off, but no luck, part of the lock is still in the door and won’t come out. I suggest taking the door off its hinges. With that I hear a lot of banging, the hinges come off, but it still won’t open. Finally, her head pops out again, no luck the door will not come off. So far, I feel like we have made progress and have managed to keep the entire process calm and organized. I decide to drive back home to get a ladder. With the ladder I was able to crawl through the window to address the entire situation and with both of us pulling, we got the door off.

What did we learn:

• In times of crisis, try to stay calm, which makes it easier to communicate and reach your goal.
• Communication it is the key to everything. I had to walk her through a couple of processes and could not see what was going on at her end.
• Have the right tools. We talk about toolboxes in the business world, so make sure your team has the right tools for the situation.

This situation ended with hugs and laughs because we were all working for a common goal and had the right focus for success.

source: https://blog.mlcmi.com/teamwork-in-a-crisis/