Collaboration Starts Before the Team Ever Meets

Lessons from Rural Florida, the Backroads, and the Book of James

I didn’t learn teamwork sitting around a conference table.

I learned it as a teenager growing up in rural Florida, during hurricane season, when our small town took a direct hit.

Back then, you didn’t wait on outside help or big plans. You prepared the best you could.

My dad made sure we secured everything in the yard. We stocked up on food, water, and fuel. The house was boarded up, and when the storm came in, we hunkered down inside with my mom and my sisters, listening to the wind and waiting it out.

There’s a certain kind of quiet that comes during a storm like that.

Not peaceful quiet.

The kind of quiet where you realize you’re completely dependent on what comes next.

When the front side of the hurricane finally passed, it left behind serious damage. Trees were down. Roofs were torn up. Fences were gone. The neighborhood looked different in a matter of hours.

And I remember my dad and I stepping outside into the eye of the storm.

Not to look around.

Not to assess our own situation.

But to help.

We went straight to the neighbors who had taken more damage than we had. People were shaken up. Some homes were hit hard. And in that moment, nobody was thinking about themselves. You just did what needed to be done.

Then, once the eye passed over, we went back inside and hunkered down again while the second half of the storm came through.

But as soon as it was over for good, we were right back outside.

Chainsaws came out. Ropes. Hands. Sweat.

Neighbors helping neighbors clear trees, drag debris, patch what could be patched.

The power stayed out for a week.

And what I remember most is this:

Nobody waited for someone else to fix it.

Families cooked together. People shared food before it spoiled. Folks checked on each other every day. We supported one another because we had no other choice—and because deep down, that’s what community does.

Looking back, that hurricane taught me something I’ve carried into every season of my life:

Collaboration isn’t something you build in comfort.It’s something you discover in crisis.

Strong teams aren’t made by titles or meetings.

They’re made when people show up for each other—without being asked.

The Backroads Taught Me Shared Dependence

Growing up in that small Florida town, life was simple but demanding.

I spent my days hunting squirrels and rabbits, fishing for snook and bass, oystering and diving—living close to the land.

And the land has a way of teaching you quickly:

You are not in control.

You depend on the weather.

You depend on timing.

You depend on other people.

Even as a kid, you learn that you can’t do everything alone. Out in the woods or out on the water, you pay attention to who you’re with, because it matters.

Independence is good.

But isolation will get you hurt.

That lesson stayed with me.

The Military Sharpened What Florida Started

Years later, serving in the Army—especially in Special Operations—teamwork stopped being a nice idea and became something much deeper.

In that environment, collaboration isn’t optional.

You don’t get to say, “I work better alone.”

You don’t get to protect your ego.

You learn fast that the mission depends on trust, preparation, discipline, and shared responsibility.

The best teams aren’t built on personality.

They’re built on commitment.

Everybody carries weight.

Everybody plays their role.

And nobody makes it about themselves.

The backroads taught me community.

The military taught me accountability.

Both taught me that strong teams are forged long before the pressure hits.

Mission Work Reinforced the Power of Shared Purpose

Later, serving through nonprofit medical mission work in Central America, I saw another side of collaboration.

In those settings, people weren’t focused on titles or job descriptions.

They were focused on people.

When you’re serving families who have real needs, teamwork becomes simple:

Stop worrying about yourself.

Do what needs to be done.

Serve together.

That kind of shared purpose breaks down barriers fast.

And it reminds you that the strongest teams aren’t built around personal ambition.

They’re built around a mission bigger than any one person.

Twenty Plus Years in Schools Confirmed the Same Truth

Over more than two decades as a CFO and COO in independent nonprofit schools, I’ve watched teams succeed… and I’ve watched them struggle.

And I can tell you this:

The schools that thrive aren’t the ones with the most talent.

They’re the ones with the most trust.

You can have a campus full of smart people, strong programs, and impressive strategy—but if people don’t collaborate, the work becomes heavy.

Silos form.

Communication breaks down.

And the mission suffers.

But when people believe in each other, support each other, and carry the load together?

That’s when schools flourish.

Not because it’s easy.

Because it’s unified.

James Reminds Us Where Collaboration Really Begins

As my spiritual journey has deepened, I’ve come to appreciate how practical the Book of James is.

James doesn’t give us fluffy inspiration.

He gives us real faith for real life.

Right at the beginning, he writes:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…”— James 1:17

That includes the people around us.

The team you’re on.

The colleagues you serve with.

The community God has placed you in.

Collaboration starts when we stop seeing others as obstacles or competitors…

And start seeing them as gifts from God.

James also tells us that perseverance produces maturity.

Teams don’t become strong overnight.

They become strong through shared trials, shared work, and shared dependence on God.

The Lesson

Here’s what rural Florida, the military, mission work, and school leadership have all taught me:

Collaboration isn’t built by organizational charts.

It’s built by humility.

It’s built by showing up.

It’s built by recognizing that we need each other.

Strong teams are not created in meetings.

They are created in the daily decision to carry the load together.

A Closing Challenge

If you want to build a strong collaborative team—in a school, a nonprofit, a business, or a family—start here:

Ask yourself:

• Do I show up for others without needing credit?

• Do I trust, or do I control?

• Do I see my team as a gift from God?

• Am I building community… or protecting my own space?

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Because collaboration starts long before the first meeting.

It starts in the heart.