Teamwork is the new positive word that many companies use these days to encourage their employees to work together for one common goal.
There is no doubt that teamwork does work and work well; however, for most companies it is just a word. To understand why it often does not work, we need to think back to when we were babies and look at every day forward!
Think back to that time or, if you have kids, just look at what you see around you. Which kids are being rewarded? Which ones do you look at and say, "Wow, they are going to excel!"?
It is the kids who do well, score goals, tie their shoelace first, hit the ball with the bat we cheer for. Everyone else, well, we wonder what they are going to do. We definitely don't cheer for everyone and this is where it all begins.
Then in school and college or university who do we cheer for? The ones getting the A's! If you excel, people notice and for the most part these are all individuals, not teams. Lets face it, from the time we are babies, we reward
individualism not teamwork.
From the beginning, we are taught to be better than the people around us and if we are better, we'll make more money, get more things and have a better life.
Then all of a sudden owners of companies, who have this same mindset with titles etc. within the company, want everyone to work together as one big happy family. Good luck!
Athletes have always known about teamwork, especially if they play team sports.
They learn that if the team works together, they will win together.
Even individual athletes learn that it is a team effort to win a solo gold medal or win a World championship. In fact, no solo athlete has ever made it to the top without a solid partner, coaching, sponsorship, nutrition, and the list goes on.
I often use the example of hockey player Wayne Gretzky. What made him one of the best players in the game of hockey was that he made everyone on his team look better and play to a higher level. His passes were precise and he would often pass instead of getting the goal.
Two things happened: number one, every player on the team stepped up their game and played at a high level and the second thing that happened was Wayne Gretzky was known as an even better player.
We don't do this enough at the office. We don't cheer for one another or help one another; it is not that we are mean, it is just that we have never been taught this before.
So I encourage you to try this at the office and at home. Cheer for everyone else around you. If someone is taking a vacation, say "good for you" and not "why them not me?" Ask if there is anything you can do to help them while they are away. At work if someone needs help, don't snicker at why they can't do their job properly, ask how you can help to make their job easier. Just imagine if everyone did this for one another!
When the ball is dropped, instead of everyone looking at each other and saying, "Who should pick it up?" someone picks it up no matter what their position and everyone else cheers and helps put it back in its proper place. This is working together and it is not easy only because we have not been taught it before.
Imagine how much of the office drama would dissipate if we all cheered for one another. It is common to have disagreements at work.
You may not even like some of the people you work with; however, trying to make them lose because of that can destroy the company you both work for! Try helping that person even more.
You may discover that you have more in common than less and you may also find that both of your work, your life, and the company, excels because of it.
Adventurer Dave Norona hopes this helps you gossip less and help others more. His escapades are supported by PowerBar, Columbia Sportswear and Comor Sports
