<h1 class='title'>Anthony Borges: Taking the Bullet(s) for the Team</h1>

"None of us knew what to do. So, he took the initiative to just save his other classmates"

Anthony Borges was just your typical 15-year old high school student until the afternoon of February 14 when a loony murderer (whose name is not worth mentioning) opened fire with an automatic weapon inside a Florida high school campus which tragically claimed the lives of 17 and wounded 13 others. On that fateful afternoon, Anthony Borges, despite being shot five times, managed to save the lives of twenty co-students and became a hero. His quick thinking, initiative and selflessness enabled Anthony Borges to quickly lock the door to the room where he and twenty other students sought refuge and, despite his wounds, physically blocked the door with his own body, preventing the deranged murderer from adding twenty one more to his bloody score.

Overnight, Anthony Borges morphed from zero to hero with netizens hailing him a hero and queries about him trending at 50 thousand searches and well over 500 thousand search results. This reminds me of another hero who paid the ultimate price after saving several lives from a FIRE that gutted a Davao City mall which housed a call center on the top floors. Trends come and go but the heroism will forever remain with the people whose lives were forever changed by these heroes.

So what does Anthony Borges have to do with this blog about call centers? Absolutely nothing! But his selflessness, quick thinking, the initiative to act decisively and the willingness to take the bullet for the team are qualities every sup would love to see in a team. Team members who will go out of their way to assist a team mate who is struggling with metrics, or who have the initiative to go the extra mile and help pull up the team’s stats are assets to any team. And a sup who is willing to back up her team members and take a bullet protecting her team will certainly endear this sup to her team and boost team morale.

A team whose members watch each other’s backs and whose sup shields her members from assault by competing teams and pressure from management will be one tough team to beat. Team members who are willing to do what it takes to keep the team on track and leave no outlier behind are considered everyday heroes. Eventually, these heroes may take on more responsibilities as sups themselves and propel the cluster or even the entire site to greater heights assuring continuity of the business and job security for every one. All these made possible because of the initiative and selflessness of team members willing to play heroes.

Anthony Borges

Anthony Borges, despite his injuries, selflessly risked his life for the welfare of others. If only I could, I would love to reach out and shake this young hero’s hand. This article is my own small way of showing my appreciation for his selfless heroism. This is also my way of motivating the everyday hero in each and every one reading this post. May the hero within enable us to selflessly contribute what we can, despite our individual challenges, for the greater good of the team.

Have a wonderful shift!