No “I” in Team – Shallow Motivational Tip 2

Most motivational sayings do have some foundation in fact and an element of truth if taken at face value. Accepting pithy platitudes as gospel is shallow at best and dangerous if taken to be an all encompassing truism. We have all seen various posters proclaiming that “There’s no ‘I’ in Team” that has an obvious reference to someone bringing an overinflated ego into a group situation and destroying the cohesiveness of the effort. This one is so shallow that it has recently had several parodies and comical knock-offs poking fun at the slogan. “There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is ‘me.’” Another states boldly, “There is no ‘I’ in team, but there is in win.” The cartoon parody shows the letters T, E, A, and M standing over a bloody, bruised and unconscious “I” on the ground. Hopefully managers can motivate teams without these images.

Selective Demotivation is Counterproductive – Egotistical managers that tell team members to check their ego at the door are really communicating the message that all the good ideas come from management. Managers who are unwilling or too lazy to do what it takes to stir up passion in the entire team are a liability to collaboration, innovation and creativity. The total lack of logic in this shallow expression is evident when the conclusion is formed that the team leader alone could do the job and input from others is irrelevant.

Inclusiveness in Teams is Essential – Selecting teams with no intellectual diversity will never see beyond their own ideas. While we strive for harmony among coworkers, we usually don’t want them to all think exactly alike or there will be no vision of new and possibly startling concepts. Cloning team members, or the team leader, to form a team sacrifices diversity of thought first and amplifies discrimination in other areas as well. Cultural, racial and gender related thought processes are never identical to a dictated norm for a team and often there are differences between individuals in each subset of the population.

Focus Must Be on Team Results – Cliché based team selection and any restriction on their thinking will undo the productivity process. Before managers can stimulate creative thinking toward a goal, that goal must be clearly defined in a way that each team member gets it. Instead of challenging an occasional ego gone rogue, a true leader will milk it for all it is worth. Creating a culture that values the contribution of all participants will fertilize cooperative efforts and see them bloom into successful completion.

There is not only an “I” in TEAM, there are many “I’s” that working together make work appear to be seamless. The no “I” concept is wishful thinking because it is easier to manage non-thinkers than to steer thinkers toward a goal. Prejudging the direction of the action means there is no need for teamwork in the first place or that the goal is not really that important. Innovation is important and requires true leadership skills!

 
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