What if, instead of ignoring the “I,” businesses focused on it, and attempted to understand each individual’s potential inside of a team?The clever phrase “there is no I in TEAM” is used in conference rooms throughout the corporate world. Businesses spend a great deal of time and money on team-building training, seminars and workshops. Companies are aware that people must learn to work as a team if the business is to succeed, but the phrase about the absence of “I” in team may be a problem. That phrase implies that there shouldn’t be individuality in a team context, and that individuals with viewpoints that differ from the majority must not object because they are part of a team. That seems ridiculous given that we already know that anti-groupthink holds a lot of value and often provides innovative ideas. What if, instead of ignoring the “I,” businesses focused on it, and attempted to understand each individual’s potential inside of a team?
If managers could pinpoint their employees’ individual strengths, they could then utilize those strengths to build a stronger team. In order for teams to be truly efficient and cohesive, team members need to understand each other’s differences and how they contribute to the overall effectiveness of the team. One team member might excel where all others lack, and vice versa. Team building needs to incorporate an analysis of each individual to determine how the team will be most successful.
This is Part 1 in our team building series. The series continues with helpful solutions in Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
