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Elementary schools are still some of my favorite places to visit. When I speak to students about the art of being a good teammate, I always try to explain to them that you don’t have to play sports to be part of a team. Everybody belongs to some type of team.

If I am reading Be a Good Teammate to the kids, I pause at the part of the book where the reader learns that a family is a team, and so are the police and the fire departments.

I ask the kids if they can think of any other teams. Inevitably, one of them will shout out “The Girl Scouts!”

Yes! The Girls Scouts certainly are a team.

Last week, a girl in our neighborhood was selling Girl Scout Cookies. (It is that time of year again—cookie season!) I have a sweet tooth and find myself unable to resist those delicious treats.

So I bought a few boxes, and although they were clearly for me, I did my best to try and pass the purchase off as a good teammate move to help the neighbor girl’s cause.

Interestingly, the history of Girl Scout Cookies is steeped in good teammate moves. In 1917, a troop from Muskogee, Oklahoma became the first troop to sell cookies as a way to finance its activities. The girls baked cookies and then sold them in their school’s cafeteria, while their mothers volunteered as “technical advisers” for the endeavor.

Good teammate move by the moms to volunteer their time and knowledge. Good teammate move by the school to allow the girls to sell the cookies in the cafeteria. Good teammate move by everyone who bought the cookies. And of course, good teammate move by the girls to invest themselves into an effort that benefited their entire troop.

In 1922, an article in The American Girl magazine—which was published by Girls Scouts of the USA—provided a recipe with detailed instructions for estimating the costs of ingredients and the suggested price for a dozen cookies.  The article was written by a local scout director from Chicago, Illinois, who thought others could benefit from what she had discovered.

Good teammate move by her to share her recipe and her financial suggestions. Her generosity launched the uniformity of the Girl Scout Cookies program.

As every good teammate knows, knowledge was meant to be shared, not stored.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts selling cookies, the organization introduced a new flavor—S’mores. That flavor is back again this year, and I can attest from personal experience that S’mores do not disappoint.

I doubt the girls from that Muskogee, Oklahoma troop ever envisioned their little entrepreneurial endeavor growing to be as big as it is today. But that is the thing of about good teammate moves, you never know the extent of the impact and reach they may end up having.

When you buy Girl Scout Cookies, you’re helping mold the next generation of leaders in our community—a.k.a. our team. Proceeds from cookie sales fund experiences that prepare impressionable girls for a life of caring and sharing.

You’re not just buying their cookies, you’re helping them learn to be good teammates.

The next time you see a Girl Scout selling cookies, make a good teammate move and buy a box or two. You never know what could come from your generosity.

As always, remember: Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.

Lance Loya is the world’s preeminent authority on the good teammate mindset. He is a college basketball coach turned author, advocate, and professional speaker, who inspires TEAMBUSTERS to become TEAMMATES. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or through his weekly Good Teammate blog.

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