One Person Can Make the Difference
Championship teams are not built because everyone thinks alike. They are built because people with different experiences, personalities, skills and perspectives learn to work together toward a common goal.
Sometimes, however, it takes one person stepping forward to help a team discover what it is capable of becoming. In 2010, 33 miners were trapped nearly 2,300 feet underground after a collapse at the San José copper-gold mine in Chile. The situation was frightening and uncertain. They did not know how long they would be underground or whether they would be rescued.
Luis Urzúa, the shift foreman, immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation. He took charge, organized the men, helped establish a plan for survival and worked to keep the group mentally focused. He created detailed maps that would assist rescuers and communicated with engineers on the surface.
Urzúa didn’t rescue those 33 men by himself. He couldn’t. It took engineers, rescuers, government officials, drilling crews and countless others working together to bring the miners home. Yet one person made a tremendous difference. His leadership helped bring order to uncertainty. His calmness helped others remain calm. His willingness to accept responsibility gave the group direction.
That is an important lesson for every college faculty and staff. We don’t need everyone to think alike. We don’t need everyone to approach a problem the same way. We need people who are willing to recognize what the team needs and step forward to provide it.
One person may have the experience we need. Another may have the relationship that opens a door. Someone else may see a solution nobody else has considered. Another may simply be the person who encourages everyone else when the pressure is greatest.
One person can make a difference. However, one person cannot build a championship team alone. It takes trust. It takes loyalty. It takes focus. It takes people willing to put aside personal preferences when necessary and blend their individual strengths into something greater than themselves.
A championship culture is not about everyone getting their way. It is about everyone understanding the goal and asking, “What can I do to help this team succeed?”
At our college, our goal is bigger than any individual department, position or personality. It is about our students and the future we are helping them build.
The best teams recognize that every person matters. Sometimes the person who makes the difference is the person standing beside you. Sometimes it can be you.
Thought for the Week: “Different perspectives can make us stronger. Shared purpose makes us a team. And sometimes, one person can make all the difference.” — James Robert Tucker, Professional Cowboy
Dr. Jack Welch serves as President of Fort Scott Community College. With a career spanning professional sports, public education, and rural community development, he brings a servant-leader mindset and a passion for building trust-driven cultures that empower people to thrive in the classroom, on the field, and in life. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching: The Total Coaching Manual.