We already talked about the importance of unity within an organization, but it’s equally important how this unity is understood and applied – there’s a trick to positively engaging employees into working together. Teamwork might be one of the most preached business techniques today, but there are some clichés around it that are not only annoying because of their overuse, but nor do they always depict an ideal canvas on collective work.
Take “there is no I in team” for example – never mind the play on words, but do you relate to it? In my experience, there are more “I”s in a team – that’s the whole idea behind it: let’s join individual forces to make something better. Individuality in the context of work is unproductive, but individuality in the context of collaboration is quite a different kettle of fish.
Now don’t take this personal, I’m sure that if you ever used this slogan, you did in good faith. It’s just that collaboration will never work if you promote it with messages that are more likely to undermine one’s personality than to support it. Most people just don’t get excited by participating in actions that don’t highlight their particular assets. We need private recognitions for when we do our part; we need to feel confident about the expertise we master and we need to have entrepreneurial spirit even as employees.
Collaboration is essential for any organization, but so is a bit of competition. The solution is within reach – provide a tool that does the magic for everyone: a tool that highlights personal strengths but also encourages people to exchange ideas. A tool that will teach us, like M. Scott Peck said, to share our similarities and celebrate our differences. A knowledge sharing tool! 🙂
Happy Knowledge Sharing!
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