There is no "I" in Team. Or, is there?
I recently lost a dear friend who was by far the best team
player I have ever met. It got me
thinking a lot about teams and the real behaviours that should be celebrated.
While technically there is no "i" in TEAM, I think
we do a disservice to ourselves and our younger colleagues by not talking more
about the role of the individual team player.
In business school and in the workplace, there are both covert and overt
displays of competition and ambition.
Don't get me wrong, these are not bad things. Some of us are competitive, but not in the
sense that we feel we need to compete with others. I, for one, compete with myself. I push myself to better. I am also ambitious. However, I learned early in my career that
competing with others doesn't make me a better person. I also learned that ambition at any cost is
not worth it.
Maybe my thinking comes with age, or experience as I like to
think of it, but I don't believe that entirely.
I know many 20 somethings that already know this and they are better for
it. So, that being said, I try to
practice each day to be a good team player. I say "practice" because
sometimes and some days I am better at it than others. I believe it is important to take
responsibility for my role in the team and therefore, I do see "i"s
in team. Here are some of my favourites:
Image courtesy of superknowledgebank.com |
1. "I" will
do the best job I can, each and every day.
2. "I" will
help my colleagues to do the best job that they can do each day.
3. "I" will
find ways to be innovative and bring that to the team.
4. "I" will
work hard to be inclusive, respectful and supportive of each member of my team
without bias.
5. "I" will
take actions that will make the team, not just myself, look good to the
organization.
6. "I" will not take actions that will hurt or
hinder the team, because ultimately I know that it will have more significant
ramifications.
These are just some I practice and try to live by each day. Do you agree or disagree? Are these actions that we should promote as a part of being a good team player? What would you add to the list?