In movie making, when everyone is so obviously involved in
the same task, getting everyone on the same page and defining the reason for a
team's existence is relatively easy
However, doing these things can be a tremendous challenge for a
political leader, for example. How does
a political leader define the objective to be reached? Can the United States, for instance, be
considered a "team"? I think so. The written Constitution of the United States
clearly articulates the points we have in common and states the objectives we
would like to achieve in our self government.
The reason for the nation's existence is spelled out in the preamble to
the Constitution. The issue that a
political leader has, therefore, is not the clear objective of the team, it is
getting everyone on the same page!
The business leader faces the same challenge. What is the objective of the company? What is its reason for existence? Is everyone on the same page? If, for example, the objective of GM is to
make cars and members of management think GM should get into movie making, is
everyone on the same page?
In our tale of ancient Greece, Demaratus is not on the
same page as Xerxes, his master.
Demaratus thinks the army should try to outflank the Greeks and bring
the war closer to the Spartan homeland.
In his heart, he harbors a totally different agenda. Within the army itself, therefore, there are
divided opinions. Xerxes wants the
Greeks driven from the pass, Demaratus wants something different. Medarnes, meanwhile, has become obsessed with
his own personal agenda. Will he let
that agenda interfere with the objective of the Persian team?
As we will see, that division extends to the Greeks as
well. There is no doubt, as Lysis found
out, that the Spartans are united behind their King. But, how about the rest of the allies? Where do they stand? How easy is it for betrayal to enter the
equation? How easy is it to begin to
follow a personal agenda, and not the agenda of the team? What is Lysis objective? What team does he belong to?
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