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One January Sunday Evening was at its best. In Front of the Television watching two of the best Tennis Players across Globe playing a Match which was the Longest and arguably one of the best Slam Finals to be witnessed. The sheer power and determination leaves us all mesmerizing.

Entertainment is one of the words we would associate with Sports and Movies. We watch it for relaxation and fun but then there are times when we learn from them also. The Good and the Bad both.

As I was watching the Matches, the learnings from just watching those two men fight over the ball was a lot.

Its not just enough that we learn. Its more important that we implement those learnings.

In any organization, one of the most used term in Team Work. Team Building exercises are done regularly to ensure that the "Team" gels and works together but how much do these exercises really help?

As I ponder and look back to my learnings from that Amazing 6 hour match,I Learnt 5 simple things for Team Work. We just need to START using them and our life would definitely be better. And this applies to both personal and professional life.

S - Smile

How can a man playing for almost 5 hours and reading the scoreline in the 5th set -4-4 30-30 can lost a point and still smile because it was just out of the line! Thats Djokovic for you. And how can a Man who lost the match after fighting with everything he had, still smile during the presentation?Thats Nadal for you. Smile is the easiest thing we can do. The genuine warmth, kindness and affection can be easily displayed in that smile. Why do we enjoy that small moment,forgetting all our worries, when a small baby smiles at you. The smile automatically comes in our face.

Just try smiling when you meet your team daily even in the hard situations and see the difference!

T - Trust

Trusting your Doubles Partner despite having a completely different style of playing can only make you and your team a winner and thats what the Doubles and Mixed Doubles pairs keep proving!

One of the toughest things we face is to trust someone. But the fact is if we cannot trust someone then the same applies for that person.He/she cannot trust you. In this world, we just cannot survive alone. Without trusting your team, you cannot perform well. And your team cannot simply move up and without your team climbing up the ladder, you simply cannot climb the ladder.

Trust those with whom you work instead of cribbing and questioning them.

A - Appreciate


The Four Top Players in Men's Tennis astonish me by the way they keep appreciating each other on and off the court.

We all long for appreciation. We feel like we are not appreciated enough despite the hard work we do. But have we ever thought the other way. Have you ever though of appreciating your teammates. Or for that matter even your supervisor/manager. Just a small mail thanking and appreciating the person for being there for you. We tend to criticize a person quickly but really hesitate to appreciate the same person.

Just appreciate those with whom you work regularly and just see the difference.

R - Respect

The respect that the top 4 players have for each other can be easily seen on
court and it simply amazes me!

Its true that in your team you will have competitors. Your colleagues/Peers with whim you need to work but at the same time they are the ones with whom you need to compete for that deserving promotion/appraisal.

Respect each and every person even if its your competitors. You will be acknowledged and respected back!

T - Teach and Learn

Djokovic in his speech said that playing against the likes of Federer/Nadal has taught him so much!

You need not go and teach someone voluntarily like teaching a kid but when your team needs help don't hesitate. You never know what you can learn from your own teaching.

Learning is an on going process and unless you share what you know, you will never learn yourself.

Well START each day with a Smile and Trust,Appreciate & Respect others and keep learning with your own Teachings!. :)

Comments

bhupesh said…
If these were real lessons that you learnt from watching Australian open, then I can't question. But, if you have tried to develop an analogy to show what matters when you are in a team, then you should have gone for a team game rather than tennis. Anyways, what you have listed are all necessary individual contributions to maintain the spirit of any team. A good leader will make it easy and natural.
soundarya said…
Thanks bhupesh,

It was more in terms of the individual contribution and the team work spirit which would make it easier for the team to work together!
Unknown said…
Hey sounds... First of all , its your post,i like the idea a lot... Respect you for that!!


Like Bhupesh said, i dint get the correlation between doubles tennis and grand slam finals.. kinda jarring jump there!!

Maybe you could mention Djoker's family and Nadal's uncle who are their team somewhere in the post.

Loved A R and T.. totally agree with you about how the 4 guys behave with each other and set examples for the world to follow!!
dishitd said…
no wonder you are in academy :P
do write more often - not that i am frequent, but still dreamland should not be kept barren for long
Jay said…
Not a Perfect one. But I liked the way you related characteristics which we need to follow in life with a game. :-)

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