Recently, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of San Francisco, California, and do some sightseeing. The Golden Gate Bridge was, of course, on the agenda. As a young kid, I had already been greatly disappointed by this bridge when I learned it was named for the Golden Gate Strait, which is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean, and not because it was golden in color. It is in fact painted orange, specifically International Orange so it might be easily visible in foggy conditions.

After seeing the bridge in person, however, I developed a newfound appreciation for the skill and specifically the teamwork it took to make one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. While there are any number of examples I could share, the one I found the most surprising was the suspension cables that run the length of the bridge. These cables are 36 and 3/8 inches in diameter and 7,650 feet long. Each one is comprised of a length of continuous wire which was run back and forth across the bridge in perfect sequence with the other side to ensure the bridge stayed perfectly balanced. Initially, each side did one wire at a time, but during the project new advances enabled the team to run six wires at once and finish the project ahead of schedule. Once completed, the cables were compressed into their final form by a hydraulic press.

I confess that teamwork has been on my mind a great deal recently. At the beginning of this year, my husband returned after being deployed for eight months. While we talked almost every day, the teamwork aspect of our relationship had suffered, as he wasn’t physically present to help with the day-to-day tasks of caring for our kids and caring for our home. One might think we could just jump right back into old habits, but it isn’t quite that simple. We spent the first few months regularly discussing our plan of attack to ensure we’re both on the same page and evaluate what needed to be changed. And, of course, to present a united front with our kids, especially when our daughter tries to convince my husband that certain rules like cleaning up before bed or candy before dinner had changed.

Today, I would say the teamwork aspect of our marriage does look pretty similar to how it was before he deployed. However, some things are different, as our kids are older and able to take on new responsibilities and our schedules change to accommodate their sports. That is a key aspect of a team, though. It needs to be dynamic in order to be effective. Sure, many of the day-to-day tasks and roles may look the same, but over months and years there should at least be small areas of change as members identify weaknesses, inefficiencies, set new goals and face new challenges.

Whether you’re reading this at your breakfast table in the comfort of your home or in a camp chair in the cattle barns at World Dairy Expo, I want you to think about your team. Think of each member and ask yourself if their skills are all being used and developed the best that they can be at present. If team motivation is a challenge, Tim Schaefer shares some insight on that in his article The 5 C’s of motivation: How to inspire your team. If you haven’t had a team brainstorming meeting recently, have one and have an open, honest discussion on what you’re doing well and where there’s room for improvement. And, above all, celebrate your wins, especially if they involve a blue ribbon.