One of the blessings of being part of the Awesome Inc team is being around and working alongside young people. In my previous life, and former job, I was considered one of the younger team members. After transitioning to Awesome inc, I became one of the old(er) guys. Since joining the team I’ve been so impressed with the amount of hard work and results such a young, energetic team can produce. Now, this doesn’t just happen because of energy or charisma. Since joining the team about 3 years ago, I could say there are a few key pieces that allow our team to be successful. I want to focus on one: owning your role.

This might sound like a no-brainer but owning your role is harder than you might think. Being a leader is important. Being a self-starter is important. Taking responsibility is important. On our 2024 Winter Retreat, the Awesome Inc team had the chance to dive into a few talking points all about owning your role.

1. Don’t be afraid to take risks… and fail.

Owning your role means you have forethought and can make decisions without someone asking you to take action. In the wise words of Jim Collins, “Fire bullets before firing cannonballs.” We firmly believe our team should be firing bullets. Firing bullets allows our team to take small risks. These small risks can sometimes lead to new ways of doing things, new initiatives, new programming, etc. Creating a healthy culture where “failure” is encouraged is crucial for giving team members the space to try new things.

2. Do what you say you’re going to do even (and especially) when it’s hard.

No one likes the person in the office who talks a big game and never delivers the results. Don’t be that person! Always do what you say you’re going to do. There are times when team members sign up for large projects and tasks that will stretch their current abilities. If waking up early, staying up late, or learning a new skill set is necessary to complete a task, DO IT! The Awesome Inc team is relatively small and that means sometimes we get pulled into a couple different directions. One quality that no one will ever complain about is being able to deliver results. 

3. Eliminating distractions

Budgeting time to be heads down and/or isolated is important for everyone to get high-priority tasks completed. I don’t recommend spending all of your time alone or in private but I also know sometimes, out of necessity, you need to be alone with your work. For me, this looks like waking up early to work before others have the ability to get my attention and time. If you’re not an early-riser or if waking up early sounds miserable, there are other things you can do to get some alone time. Find somewhere in the office others aren’t working. Luckily at Awesome Inc our members and team have many working environments that can accommodate the level of focus needed. If you don’t have a place at your current employer to sneak away to, put sound-canceling headphones in… even if you’re not listening to music or your favorite podcast. This shows people that you’re trying to focus. Hopefully, your coworkers will only interrupt if necessary. Don’t lock yourself up all the time and always be isolated from your team but do recognize the need to get projects across the finish line while being distraction-free. 

We often tell our team that our specific titles don’t matter but how we perform our roles and responsibilities allow us to have success as a team. Everyone has their role to play and everyone needs to own and take responsibility for their roles. The items above are a short list of attributes first-string team members possess. Many characteristics are needed to be a successful teammate and coworker. There is importance in talking through these topics on your current teams and with your coworkers. Building a healthy culture is key to building a healthy team.