Michael G. Rogers

Traditionally books written about teams have focused on helping leaders improve teamwork. "You Are the Team" is focused on helping members of your teams commit to and improve teamwork. This is a book for your entire team, not just the leader. You Are the Team inspires teammates to: • Serve each other • Put others and the team first • Tell the truth and be transparent • Keep commitments • Be direct and honest in discussions • Take accountability • Learn from mistakes • Seek honest feedback from teammates • Improve personal gratitude • Refrain from negativity and gossip • Compliment teammates more frequently • Celebrate teammates successes • Extend more kindness • Seek to understand teammates first before reacting • Demonstrate greater empathy towards teammates • Get it done and then some • Improve personal focus on goals • Bring solutions, not problems • Invest in personal development • Inspire and lead Would you agree that the above actions improve teamwork? Could your team improve by teammates implementing even just a couple of these concepts? You Are the Team is both engaging and practical. Author Michael Rogers uses a variety of stories to highlight each of the concepts in the book. Introspective questions are at the end of each section to help teammates reflect on how they are currently applying the concepts. The end of the book includes an assessment to gauge the overall effectiveness of teammates. You Are the Team is written for every member of every team. Becoming a successful team begins with teammates who want to provide more value than they receive. You Are the Team was written to help members of teams understand the value they bring. Order a copy for you, for your team, for your entire organization. Would you agree that every member of your team has the potential to be great? Would you agree that if every member of your team was great, your teamwork would be extraordinary? Everyone knows that remarkable teamwork equals remarkable results. That’s why organizations spend so much time and money on team-building and team-development activities. However, few teams succeed in actually improving their teamwork because team members have little commitment to the team or its outcomes. Egos, money, and personal aspirations get in the way of effective teamwork; this results in selfishness, little trust, lack of constructive peer feedback, negativity (including gossip), lack of respect and kindness among teammates, and little interest in becoming better. The sad reality is that many team members are performing far below what they are capable of achieving, and consequently, they hold their teams back from being extraordinary. You Are the Team was written with the purpose of moving teammates from good to great by improving their investment and commitment to the team. Most of the pressure for improving teamwork has been placed on team leaders. That’s why a quick search on “leadership books” on Amazon.com provides 14,782 results. You Are the Team is different because it puts the focus on the teammate to improve overall teamwork. Until teammates are committed to teamwork, the team has little chance of becoming great. Author Michael Rogers has over 20 years of experience working with teams in business, sports, and a variety of volunteer organizations.