jamesridgers

Greater Than The Sum

Greetings all! Yes, it has been quite a long time since I posted something other than a picture of beer, or indeed anything of any such substance. External forces at work, etc.

I want to talk for a moment about the intangible ‘12th man effect’ that can and often does occur during moments of perfected teamwork. Like many organizations, success at my company requires huge collective efforts and widespread teamwork. Without these and all they encompass, the success we enjoy would not be forthcoming in the manner that it does, and any other kind of success would be much harder won.

Operating in silos is easy for us as people to do. Generally speaking, we fall in to one of two categories. Either we say “if you want a job doing right, do it yourself’, and refuse all outside help and input, or we go the other way and make somebody else entirely and singularly responsible, staying far enough out of the way to not be responsible, but micro-manage enough to take the credit.

Neither of these scenarios are helpful or healthy. They are, in my observation, just natural tendencies of the human nature in the workplace.

Examples are all around us of what can be achieved when we become part of a team, however. Hollywood has made movies on the subject. Consultants make huge amounts of money showing others how to be a team. Successful sports franchises win silverware because they exemplify teamwork.

Something immeasurable happens when like minded, enthusiastic people join together to passionately pursue a given goal or outcome. Furthermore, sharing in the positive results enriches the reward. An experience isn’t really a full experience unless you can share it with someone!

Become an enthusiastic team member. Build an enthusiastic team. See how contagious it become. I’m a firm believe that enthusaasm attracts more people enthusiasm. There’s nothing more important that you can do today for your team than be enthused, happy, and energized about your business, your team, your product, or your life. In fact, the word ‘enthusiasm’ comes from the Greek word ‘entheas’, meaning ‘filled with the divine.” So embrace teamwork and get enthused about it.

Choose to become something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Teamwork has its own arithmetic. Combine two or more people with a common goal, and suddenly one-plus-one equals more than two.