It’s not a competition … You’re a team

If you’re a part of a team, whatever your goals as one are, then this article is written for you.

We’re humans, we are social in nature. We’ve been that way since Ugruk and Ograk (both cavemen) realized that working together saved them from being eaten by the saber-tooth.

We’re humans, we compete. We’ve been that way since Betty and Wilma (both Flintstones) saw that being more beautiful got them the attention of the biggest man in their cave.

Companies and Corporations were formed because we realized that even with the ideas, one man/woman sometimes cannot accomplish the dream alone.

Companies and Industries thrive because of healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) competition. Both working together and separately leads to growth.

So, both these abilities combined (with some display of common sense every now and then) have helped us get this far since the beginning of our history.

Sometimes however, we forget.

We forget that we are a team. A team with a vision. A vision to bring a product to life.

That this vision transcends (or should, rather) all selfish desires of each individual member of that team to stand out.

To shine above all others ….

What happens when you forget you’re a team? The competition shines!

Synergy (producing a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements) is a word that defines the very best teams. It’s comes from an understanding among its members of their strengths, and the willingness to cover for each other’s weaknesses.

This is why team managers have jobs.

Now, forgetting what/who we are is completely normal as humans.

It happens in companies, when that team mate decides to introduce a new technology that the entire team can barely understand.

Or that boss decides to stick with outdated tech because that’s what he/she can understand, even though it’ll obviously affect the quality of the product.

Or that individual decides to use that obscure coding pattern (I’m not mentioning names) and you guys have to struggle to understand what’s going on under the hood.

How about that project manager who puts his/her standing with the bosses above his/her teammates?

Or that classmate who hides his/her answer to the homework (we’ve all seen this, haven’t we?)?

Forgetfulness comes from everywhere.

What do you do when your team forgets who you are?

Do you join in the frenzy, throw your hands up and give up? Perhaps, seek out a new team? Do you compete along with others to get a bigger slice of the cake?

When this happens, remember.

Remember that you are a team.

A team with a vision. Whatever that vision is, it can only be achieved by working together, to compete with the competition (if any).