By Matt Nicholson
What does your team culture look like? Some about my week before I continue about team culture.

Recently, I had a chance to sit down with a local church that is looking at bringing the mission field close to home. As well as taking a mission trip this year, they are planning on spending a week helping those in need in the Seymour area as well.

While I can’t share a ton of details on their plans, I can ask that if you need some help drop me a message at city hall so we can add you to a list of potential projects they can help. Sounds like they have some skills, big and small, that might be just what area residents are looking for. Maybe it is yard work or cleaning up the porch or maybe it is something bigger like getting a fresh coat of paint applied or some light plumbing or roof repairs. I know this paragraph creates more questions than answers, but simply email [email protected] and tell us your name, address, phone number, and 5 to 10 repairs that you could really use around the house, and we will compile your needs with others in the community and see how we can help connect you with some community members that are ready to help.

Seymour Mainstreet is working on a new promotional video for downtown Seymour. They recently had a call for extras and I got a chance to see Kevin Bell Photography in action. As usual, Kevin got my best side while he got the extras in and out quickly. I hope when it debuts everyone will remember to share so friends near and far can see how downtown has evolved over the last few years. It may still be a fixer-upper, but it has come so far when you step back and take notice.

Have you ever visited Ashley, Indiana? It is a town of around 900, but it was a destination for Debbie Hackman, Bernie Bryant, Chad Dixon and myself as we explored options for organic waste and recycling. Every year, Seymour spends a month picking up leaves from around the city, but what do we do with them after that was a piece we were exploring. Currently, we compost them with the goal of getting the compost back out to flower beds near you. However, our process is slow and not very effective. During our visit, we learned about windrows and turning frequency and how to improve overall. We also toured a Bright Mark Energy facility that takes normally unusable plastics and puts them back to work in other forms. Both tours were interesting. Thank you to Debbie with the Jackson County Solid Waste district for asking us to go along and learn about both areas with you.

Back to that opening question about your team culture. Over the years I have been on some teams that were absolutely amazing from top to bottom. The personalities, even though different, all seemed to mesh together into a wonderful tapestry for the world to notice. Then I have been on other teams that seemed like they couldn’t get together if the world depended on it. The difference is honesty and openness.

When you can reach a level with your team members that allows you the chance to be honest and open even when disagreeing, you will reach new levels that you may not even know are possible. Members will try to lift one another and failure no longer looks like an option. Today, I encourage you to be that team member that is there to raise the bar. Let your positive attitude be the example for others, and even if you think failure is inevitable, don’t let your team ever see it.

A parting quote from 13-time NBA championship coach Phil Jackson, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

Nicholson is the mayor of Seymour.