Monday, June 02, 2008
Teamwork???
I was recently involved in getting one of my projects out of the pits by fire-fighting our way through the mess we had created for ourselves. And during this ordeal, one of the mails that I received from our superior contained a line that stated something like "Let us all work together as a team to make this project a success." And I seriously doubted if we really understood what it took to be a team !!
I remember the tired sittings through half-time pep-talks from our coach and game strategy discussions at school. I used to play the right-outer for our school hockey team and the one thing that found a repeating theme in those hours was "teamwork". I remember those days when our "team" used to be quite haunted by the concept and would step into the field charged with energy. We followed the ball where ever it went and worked as a team to snatch the ball out of the opponents hands. And then as the ball-bearer ran towards the opponents goal post, we closely followed him as a team. When we neared the post and attempted to shoot, the keeper would inevitably deflect the ball out of the "D". Then by the time we got to the ball, the opponents would have already scored a goal ! We only saw ourselves miserably defeated again and again. We were like a bunch of flies trying to get to the ball. We went where the ball went. And during the after-match prayer, all that the coach prayed for was "Oh lord please help us concede to defeat by accepting that the best team deserves to win. And please help us work hard to become the best team in our next game."
Frankly, I never really understood the concept of a "team" or "teamwork" until I moved on to high school where I started playing basket-ball. On contrary to giving inspirational speeches about being a "team" and "teamwork", our coach chose to spend time explaining the game strategy. He made sure that we not only knew the game strategy but also understood what we had to do on the field to execute that strategy. He played with the concept of what he called "A players sphere of influence" and defined definite rules when we were to take charge and when we were to let go. For instance, if I attempted a 3-pointer, I was never to be bothered about who will collect the shot if it missed. This stopped us from running frantically from pillar to post and helped us conserve energy for the game. We now had a team that had reached the Nationals and it was definitely much more of an achievement that I could really be proud off.
Why the difference? Well, I found a quote that might aptly sum it up:
Contrary to popular belief, there most certainly is an "I" in "team." It is the same "I" that appears three times in responsibility - Amber Harding
And if you find yourself still scratching your head, Ill give you a hint.... the key word here is "responsibility".
In order to work as a team, it is essential that the responsibilities of each team member be clearly defined. Each member must be made aware of his "sphere of influence", the areas he must take charge, the areas he must let go, the areas he is expected to backup his fellow team-mate and most importantly, the areas he must let his team members take charge !! The three "I"s in responsibility stands for:
I remember the tired sittings through half-time pep-talks from our coach and game strategy discussions at school. I used to play the right-outer for our school hockey team and the one thing that found a repeating theme in those hours was "teamwork". I remember those days when our "team" used to be quite haunted by the concept and would step into the field charged with energy. We followed the ball where ever it went and worked as a team to snatch the ball out of the opponents hands. And then as the ball-bearer ran towards the opponents goal post, we closely followed him as a team. When we neared the post and attempted to shoot, the keeper would inevitably deflect the ball out of the "D". Then by the time we got to the ball, the opponents would have already scored a goal ! We only saw ourselves miserably defeated again and again. We were like a bunch of flies trying to get to the ball. We went where the ball went. And during the after-match prayer, all that the coach prayed for was "Oh lord please help us concede to defeat by accepting that the best team deserves to win. And please help us work hard to become the best team in our next game."
Frankly, I never really understood the concept of a "team" or "teamwork" until I moved on to high school where I started playing basket-ball. On contrary to giving inspirational speeches about being a "team" and "teamwork", our coach chose to spend time explaining the game strategy. He made sure that we not only knew the game strategy but also understood what we had to do on the field to execute that strategy. He played with the concept of what he called "A players sphere of influence" and defined definite rules when we were to take charge and when we were to let go. For instance, if I attempted a 3-pointer, I was never to be bothered about who will collect the shot if it missed. This stopped us from running frantically from pillar to post and helped us conserve energy for the game. We now had a team that had reached the Nationals and it was definitely much more of an achievement that I could really be proud off.
Why the difference? Well, I found a quote that might aptly sum it up:
Contrary to popular belief, there most certainly is an "I" in "team." It is the same "I" that appears three times in responsibility - Amber Harding
And if you find yourself still scratching your head, Ill give you a hint.... the key word here is "responsibility".
In order to work as a team, it is essential that the responsibilities of each team member be clearly defined. Each member must be made aware of his "sphere of influence", the areas he must take charge, the areas he must let go, the areas he is expected to backup his fellow team-mate and most importantly, the areas he must let his team members take charge !! The three "I"s in responsibility stands for:
- I know what is expected from me
- I know what I can expect from my fellow team members
- I am aware of the teams abilities and shortcomings (including mine) and I know when to step up or step down for the better of the entire team
So now, think again... Do we really think we are a part of a team?
:: posted by RagsInRags, 9:58 AM
4 Comments:
Impressed and learned few things about team work..which will surely help me as an individual..
It is like a timely reminder. It makes sense.
Too Good, Really liked
Hey,
Good post. Here's is something I read somewhere but can't recollect where. But, this is real incident.
One day football coach comes to field without the ball. Everyone asks where is the ball? How do we practice? He asks, how many players are in the team? Everyone says 11 and how many can hold the ball. Answer is 1. So, he says, lets learn what other 10 must do !!
Good post. Here's is something I read somewhere but can't recollect where. But, this is real incident.
One day football coach comes to field without the ball. Everyone asks where is the ball? How do we practice? He asks, how many players are in the team? Everyone says 11 and how many can hold the ball. Answer is 1. So, he says, lets learn what other 10 must do !!
