tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27414773201078010002011-04-21T18:13:21.159-07:00Success StoriesSylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.comBlogger91100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-39265232142802540412007-08-17T06:37:00.001-07:002007-08-17T07:43:40.262-07:00

Complacency in a team is dangerous and can be a sure-fire way to diminish results. While my sailing team is pulling together, I sensed a need to shake things up a bit.One of my former crewmates wanted to join us for a race, which coincided well with a week when we needed a substitute. Injecting some fresh blood in our team, especially with her competitive and fun attitude, spiced things up a lot!

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-90737163878504018862007-07-07T06:14:00.001-07:002007-07-17T13:24:59.242-07:00

Trust is an important attribute in teamwork. Here's how this works on a sailboat and with a sailing team.Trust the Foundation. The sailboat is the foundation, the core on which we rely in sailing. Trusting the boat includes trusting the designers who designed it, the manufacturers who made it, and the sailor who rigged it. The standing rigging, what holds up the mast, is rigged at the beginning

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-70935950494013193542007-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:002007-07-06T08:25:53.237-07:00

Finally the America's Cup is making the news! An incredible action shot of Alinghi made the front page of the Sports section in the Ottawa Citizen this week. In the article, the Alinghi principal stated the "team stayed together" and it "showed it could deal with pressure". Sailing and business create situations where team members are forced to deal with pressure. How you deal with pressure can

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-51324351429105340052007-06-13T15:06:00.000-07:002007-06-13T15:16:29.102-07:00

We got the bullet! My newly formed chick’s racing team won the race! This is an enormous improvement from being DFL and 11th place in the first race, and 9th place in the second race. We got the bullet in our third race!OK, for you non-sailors, the bullet has a lot of significance in racing. “The bullet” is when the gun is fired from the Race Committee (RC) boat. The gun is fired at significant

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-79965086832928711292007-06-10T17:37:00.000-07:002007-06-13T14:25:26.169-07:00

Last week on race night, I noticed how many other boats had crispy, new white sails. They looked beautiful and I could almost hear how crunchy they sounded. Our sails, on the other hand, are old, blown out, mildewy, pitiful and pathetically limp. Man, was I envious!I remember a time when we got new sails every season. To stay competitive in a competitive fleet, it's necessary! At the time, it

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-75334115817052200192007-06-01T15:10:00.000-07:002007-06-02T12:24:47.892-07:00

I recently coached a senior manager who needed to address an issue directly with a team member, since it was affecting the performance of the entire team. I’m happy to report that after taking action, his team has shifted 180 degrees! He received positive feedback that the team is really “gelling” now.This coaching engagement reminded me of a similar instance where I personally experienced this

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-22680856554807454182007-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:002007-06-02T12:27:25.333-07:00

I really believe in focusing on strengths, rather than trying to shore up one's weaknesses. Often in teams, it may seem prudent to have someone trained to serve as a backup for another in case of absence; to have team members able to interchange roles. However, when it comes to sailing, and high performance teams, I question this practice.If I were to change roles with the foredeck crew from

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-64749995122151574592007-05-25T13:47:00.000-07:002007-05-25T14:18:23.561-07:00

Reflecting on the power in my winning team, I see how we built a team with complementary strengths.Pete was the co-owner of the T22 Makai, full of energy, passion and a typical “Type A” personality. He had a “big boy’s playpen” at his office, and had the boat indoors in the warehouse space along with other big boy’s toys like sports cars and motorcycles. In the off-season, he spent hours working

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2741477320107801000.post-56963580415542615782007-05-21T06:41:00.000-07:002007-05-21T07:19:53.647-07:00

We practiced. We knew our roles. We knew the rules. We were a team. We were ready to take it on the road, and enter our first out of town regatta.The first racing season, we were pretty consistently “DFL” – Dead F***ing Last. Building our team was challenging: finding someone who had experience or willingness to learn, who was committed to racing, who “fit”. After a number of trials and misfits,

Sylvia Goodeve, PCChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13352333625938252070noreply@blogger.com0