Having an “attitude of gratitude” is crucial to being a good teammate. In the past, my Thanksgiving week topics have focused on the value of gratitude.
This year, I’d like to highlight an often unnoticed entity associated with Thanksgiving who embodies another important good teammate skill—the ability to adjust.
My family’s Thanksgiving Day routine consists of us getting up, eating a light breakfast, watching the Macy’s Parade while we prepare our Thanksgiving meal, feasting, watching football, napping (*usually while watching football), and feasting again.
I enjoy each of those activities, but I am most partial to watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. My favorite part of the parade is the giant balloons.
Giant balloons have been a parade staple since 1927. The balloons replaced the Central Park Zoo animals that appeared in the inaugural parade, three years earlier.
Felix the Cat was the first balloon to appear in the parade. Snoopy has appeared in the most parades (40) and Ronald McDonald has the current streak for most consecutive appearances (28).
The helium-filled balloons are about five stories high and 60 feet long. Each balloon requires around 90 handlers. Depending on the year, there are between 2,000 to 3,000 balloon handlers walking in the parade.
Being a balloon handler is harder than most think. In a 2021 USA Today article, Kate McCarthy described the experience as follows:
“Imagine holding a resistance band at its tautest, your biceps strain and your core is fully engaged, that is what it feels like to hold one of those giant balloons. Throw in a few gusts of wind, and you can see why it takes so many people to handle these absolute beasts.”
The job of a parade balloon handler is a continuous battle to adjust. They must adjust the pace at which they walk. They must adjust the amount of slack they give their rope. They must adjust the grip on their “bones”—the proper term for the balloon’s handles.
And they must make all those adjustments in concert with their fellow balloon handlers.
Failing to make necessary adjustments could cause the balloon’s lines to get tangled, the balloon to turn in the wrong direction, or something much worse.
Being a good teammate is a similar battle of continuous adjustment. You must adjust to your competition. You must adjust to the elements. You must adjust to your teams’ circumstances if someone gets injured, falls ill, or otherwise becomes unavailable.
And, like a balloon handler, you must make all those adjustments in concert with your fellow teammates.
Failing to make adjustments could cause your team to become entangled in drama, head in the wrong direction, or something much worse.
The best balloon handlers and the best teammates are not only willing to make adjustments, they are grateful for the opportunity to do so. That’s why both smile while doing their jobs.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
