What Becomes Possible When We Work Well Together

When life and work start to feel overwhelming, the most common response is to work harder.

Do more. Move faster. Work longer hours. Carry more ourselves.

Effort matters—but effort alone isn’t what creates the best results.

One of the central ideas Jones Loflin and I explore in "Juggling Elephants" is that success—at work and in life—comes from working well with the other performers in our circus.

A circus doesn’t succeed because of one great act. It succeeds because of coordination, trust, and shared responsibility. Each performer plays a role that strengthens the whole.

When people work effectively together, something important happens.
The work feels lighter.
The results improve.
And it becomes easier to maintain quality acts across all three rings—Work, Relationships, and Self.

That is the power of collaboration.

Think about the roles that make a circus work:

• The trapeze artists remind us that teamwork requires trust and timing. You can’t do it alone, and you can’t wait until the last second to coordinate.
• The animal trainer models coaching and encouragement—clear expectations paired with praise when things go right and coaching when things go wrong.
• The general manager sees the whole picture, recognizing that different performers have different needs and planning accordingly.
• And the clowns remind us not to lose our humanity. A little levity and shared laughter can make even demanding work sustainable.

None of these roles exists in isolation. Together, they create momentum.

The goal isn’t perfect acts in every ring.
It’s quality acts—sustained over time.

And quality acts are far easier to maintain when people lift each other.

For teams and organizations that want stronger performance without burning out their people, this kind of collaboration isn’t a “soft skill.” It’s a practical advantage.

Whether you’re leading a team, supporting one, or simply trying to juggle competing demands more intentionally, progress accelerates when effort is shared and strengths are combined.

When we lift each other, we don’t just keep the circus going—we make it better.