Teamwork

Everyone seems to be touting "Teamwork" these days.

There is no "I" in "TEAM"

If you are not with us, you're against us.

The value of teamwork is constantly stressed as a positive characteristic since it brings together a diverse group of individuals who work togehter towards a single goal. Especially in the workplace, this concept is emphasized.

However, there are times when teamwork can be negative.

One of the most critical things that most "Teamwork" evangelists forget is that all of us are members of multiple teams. We are member of a team with our family. Likewise we are a member of a team with our neighbors, our friends, our community, our religion, our country, our political party and many other teams that are likely too numerous to mention. Even in a work environment, we are a member of multiple teams. There is our immediate work team, our department, our division, the corporation, and the governing bodies under which that corporation operates. To think that the needs of all of these teams will always align, is pure idiocy. Likewise to focus solely on the values of one team is wrong. At one meeting of a group of managers, I expressed my concerns that each of us has to balance the needs of multiple teams when we make a decision and I cited the various teams we are each a member of. One manager responded, "But your first allegiance should be to the Management Team." Another example of pure idiocy.

While Random House cites the phrase, "For God, for country, and for Yale" as an example of an anticlimax, they miss the point that it actually emphasizes that students and graduates thereof need to be aware that they will always serve more than one master; that they are members of more than a single team.

Teams are not bad, but individuals need to understand that in order to contribute to a team, they must understand their role. The role of a team member is to support a team and to not undermine it. If a member cannot support the team based on their personal values and if the team is at odds with other teams that are more in line with that team member's personal values, the person should leave the team. It is the job of the individual to understand these different needs and values and to balance their thoughts, deeds, and actions accordingly.