I was working on a teambuilding exercise for my coaching practice the other day. It occurred to me that most people who participate in team building retreats or exercises don’t really carry anything useful away from the process. Why? Because they don’t know how to relate what they’re learning into real life. Some team building exercises are fun. Some are boring and border on the ridiculous. But the bottom line is that most teambuilding facilitators neglect to explain how building a container out of popcicle sticks to protect an egg when it is dropped from a certain height relates to our jobs or to our lives for that matter. It seems obvious that if we can’t carry back what we learn and apply it then we’re effectively wasting our time. If we don’t understand where we fit in and how to recognize and promote our strengths in the group then what’s the point? And does anyone ever bother to talk about our teams in relation to our lives outside of work? What about the global team, the community team, our family team, and countless others? We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves and finding out where we fit in is critical to our success. Each of us has unique talents, skills, and abilities that we’re meant to share. There is no one else on this earth that is exactly like you. There is no one else on earth that can offer exactly what you can offer. Take some time to think about your teams and what you have to contribute. Celebrate your uniqueness. Celebrate your talents, skills and abilities and don’t be afraid to share them with your teams and with the world.