President’s Message: Academy Teamwork

I first became an entrepreneur in 2005, when I started my audiology practice. I made my own hours, determined my success, and avoided answering to the boss. But as a one-person practice, I needed more potential to grow. Being on your own may sound fun, interesting, or exciting, but a one-person business can only grow so much. Ultimately, I had to hire and grow.

I have learned that creating a great team is the only way to build a successful audiology practice with great success and scale. No matter how smart, talented, driven, or passionate you are, your success as an entrepreneur depends on your ability to build and inspire a team. Successful leaders can spur their team members to work together toward a shared vision and goals.

When individuals realize that working together on a project is more effective than working alone, teams are effective when they are not just dividing tasks and working independently to get them done faster. Great teamwork is about working together and collaborating to develop better approaches. An entire team operates best when each member works collaboratively but still brings their perspective and experiences and uses their skills.

Phil Jackson, the winning basketball coach, once said, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

The team in this context is the American Academy of Audiology, and each member of the Academy is an individual. Therefore, the team’s strength depends on each member, and the member’s strength is the team. I have chosen to make membership issues as my primary goal for my presidency.

To perform at their best, it is vital that everyone in a team feels comfortable expressing their ideas. This can only happen if they know that the team treats everyone fairly and that team members can listen and compromise. People with strong teamwork skills know that their ideas may only sometimes be the best and may be open to taking advice, guidance, and solutions from other people if it means that the team moves further toward their goal. In an effective team, participants at all levels of seniority feel comfortable expressing their ideas without fear of undue criticism.

Shared values are an essential part of a team’s ethos. Having shared values helps a team work together and put aside differences as they work toward a goal, they all want to achieve. The fact that they ultimately aim for the same thing creates a connection that reinforces a sense of teamwork and cooperation. It helps each team member feel they are part of something bigger and may feel more resilient than if they were working alone.

Teamwork is working respectfully and effectively with a group and doing your share. Many essential character strengths, such as communication, self-control, and humility, support a person’s ability.

Teamwork at the Academy is all about three things:

1. Working together. Successful teams must work together. Members cannot slack off and refuse to pull their weight. Each member of the team is no more important than any other.
2. Having a shared vision. Speaking of missions, teams will not accomplish what they want if they do not have one. Some would call this having a vision. Vision is the ultimate end game that drives all results.
3. Recognizing you are something bigger than yourself. Successful teams are open to the fact they are comprised of individuals. Each team member has unique talents, opinions, and attitudes. Despite their individuality, the members of successful teams recognize they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Apart from the board of directors who are elected, we have volunteers at various levels of involvement working together as part of their professional home. From authoring research and best practices and presenting at our AAA Annual Conference to being part of writing groups for clinical documents and chairing committee and council work that directly impacts our strategic priorities, working together and giving back to audiology can be meaningful, rewarding, and beneficial.

Being part of your professional organization can

• Build your network of colleagues, friends, and mentors.
• Help you acquire new skills and sharpen your current services.
• Develop and maintain your interest in learning.
• Boost your physical and mental well-being.
• Support the profession you love.

From consuming and promoting, to creating, serving, and governing, you can decide how to get involved and find fulfillment in the way that is best suited for you.

We are very proud of dedicated volunteers who spend time, energy, and efforts to move our profession forward. Thank you to all who have served at any level and to our current volunteers.

Working together, we can truly accomplish so much…the difference between success and failure is a great team.

Bopanna Ballachanda, PhD
President of the American Academy of Audiology