One the biggest team building challenges we all face is that the rules of engagement seem to change every day. The field is more treacherous and the game is more unpredictable than ever before.

Sometimes it feels as if you started out on a golf course and wound up on a tennis court, right? And there you are: wrong clothes, wrong shoes, wrong game pieces,  wrong rules, wrong skill set, and before you can process it all and adjust accordingly, the game is over.

And as for keeping your eyes on the prize, how can you if you’ve lost sight of what the “prize” is, and you don’t even know if it’s worth fighting for anymore? Perhaps it’s time to step off the playing field, course, court, or whatever arena you think you’re in, and reassess everything, starting with yourself.

That’s right, when staring down the barrel of unrelenting professional pressures, competition, and  heavy duty team building challenges, it can be tempting to pull the trigger on the first quick-fix that presents itself. But don’t let an itchy trigger finger trick you into shooting yourself in the foot.

Take a step back, put your gun down, and aim your attention at yourself. Dare to stand squarely in the cross hairs of the bull’s eye on your life, and make an honest assessment of your performance, leadership, and productivity.  

This isn’t a hypercritical cosmetic assessment–scanning for every pimple, wart, and blemish you can find or imagine other people see; although to some extent, the process is similar. After all, if you let them, every one of those professional blemishes and imperfections that you magnify in your own mind will actually paralyze you with fear and self-doubt. They’ll eventually make you paranoid about how you’re perceived by others on your team.

Even if you’re the captain, one of the toughest team building challenges is making an honest assessment of your own performance on the team. Don’t set out to be your own worst enemy, blaming yourself for things over which you have and cannot exert control.

Arm yourself with the tools you need to win! For example, a DiSC personality profile may help you put your strengths and weaknesses into sharper focus. Even if you’ve done one before, a fresh DiSC profile may help you make a fresh start.

Don’t assume that you are today the way you were a year ago. Things–people and circumstances–change. It’s called life. Accept who you are and where you are today, so that no matter how much the game has changed; no matter how fair or unfair the rules of engagement have become, you can still be equipped to win the prize every day. And what exactly is the proverbial prize, you ask? Simple: it’s to be your best self and help others do the same. That’s a target worth aiming for and you’ll be a champion every day.