There Really Is No ‘I’ In Team

I know… it’s that catchy little phrase we hear all too often and usually it’s in a tone that makes you want to slap the person delivering the line!

The truth is though… There really is no ‘I’ in team.

A team works for one goal – To finish the task at hand or to win. Along the way there will be individuals on the team that will shine in their duties a little brighter than the rest and that’s normal. We aren’t equal with our abilities on the team but we all bring specific abilities to the team that make the team function well as a whole.

That’s the beauty of working on a team.

Bring something to the team that is uniquely you that allows you to make a contribution to the success of your team.

The hard part about working on a team is getting individuals on a team to not care about who gets the credit for what. One of the teams I work on right now has an internal goal outside of the normal duties of our job. Our goal is to be an example of not caring who gets the credit as long as the job gets done and we meet the needs of those we are trying to work with and serve.

I know. Sounds like a simple concept but it’s not always that simple. Especially in environments where numbers on a spreadsheet show how well you are doing your job.

But you know what I’m learning about working on a healthy team like this? We tend to have each other’s best interest in mind and we have each other’s back. That’s right… It’s bringing our team closer together so that we can go do more in more powerful and purposeful ways.

Does this mean our team or any team should be void of any credit? No… Credit should go naturally where credit is due. But credit should never be the end result. In our case, those who are concerned about getting credit will only slow growth in the company and limit our ability to reach our overall corporate goals.

Don’t work for credit. Work to get the job done.

Question: How do you view team?