Teamwork
EVEN THE BIGGEST TREE CANNOT MAKE A FOREST BY ITSELF Charles Joseph Nyahucho (right) has more than 14 years of experience in supporting business undertakings as a trained accountant and business analyst. Here he shares life lessons for professionals which he has learned over the years.
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ina dormitory was my residence for one year as a high school student at Tabora School. Just after the entrance, turn to your right then go straight to last cube on your right. In that cube, my friend Lameck, aka ‘Kwisha’, and I would rest after attending classes. One day I visited Lameck with a problem from Advanced Pure Mathematics, written by CJ Tranter. After getting help with the solution, my attention was drawn to statement on the wall of the cube, which read: ‘Even the biggest tree cannot make a forest by itself’. This statement inspired me to compose some practical lessons on daily living which I’d like to share with you. A forest is a complex ecosystem that includes but is not limited to an area of land, trees and streams of waters that support a myriad of life forms. Trees are the catalyst in enabling a conducive environment for animals and plants within the forest. They remove the pollutants from the air, offer a protective canopy, cool air on hot days and preserve heat during the nights. Reflecting on the statement, I saw
teamwork within an organisation. Trees carry out roles we would all do well to follow.
how it could be applied to the role of
no matter the size of the tree.
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Be like a tree... One, trees have a protective role – guarding the soil from heavy rain. Two, trees have a creative role – providing a environment for inhabitants Three, trees have a supportive role – sustaining a diversity of life forms. Four, trees have an enabling role – cooling the air and absorbing pollutants.
However, regardless of the benefits of each individual tree, their impact is far greater as a forest. All roles performed by trees are in vain in the absence of a forest,
Life can be a forest and human beings play almost all the roles performed by trees within it. Let’s look at the four roles performed by trees in the forest and how they equate to our own lives in the workplace.
Protective As a leader in your workplace, you should be a buffer to protect those in your team. Also, if your team experiences any failures you take responsibility. Think about the last time your achieved this in your work.
Creative In creating a conducive environment for people to work in you need to take a holistic approach, including the feelings, beliefs and tastes of team members. As a leader in dealing with challenges in your team do you go above and beyond your job description in analysing performance? If you look back at your recent dealings with team members, can you say they were done with a holistic approach?
Supportive In our life encounters we respond differently depending on our emotional
