WE ARE CONDITIONED TO PERFORM AS INDIVIDUALS
Most of our lives we are conditioned to view success from an individual perspective. Our school exams, athletics, swimming, tennis…’did I win or lose’? Even lunchtime play often involved games where winning was the goal.
Until recently, my son has avoided sports where he believes he is not talented or ‘good enough’ to play. And let’s face it, losing sucks.
My daughter recently completed Year 12 and her choices into university are controlled by how well she performed as an individual throughout the last two years of her schooling. If she doesn’t ‘win’ she doesn’t get in!
In the workplace, performance rating and bonus distribution is based on individual contribution and performance.
YET…. everybody complains about poor teamwork. No wonder…right.
BUT WE ARE WIRED TO WORK AS TEAMS
From a ‘human’ perspective, we are more strongly wired to be part of, and accepted into, a tribe or team. When human beings are born, they are (quite frankly) useless. We cannot walk, or talk, or feed and shelter ourselves. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that seeking Love and Belonging is Stage 3, after satisfying our need for Food/Air/Water(Stage 1) and Safety/Shelter (Stage 2). New science suggests that in fact, our need for social connection ultimately overrides these. If, in primitive times, you did not have a loved one to look after you, someone socially connected to you, you would not get food, water or shelter. We are wired to seek social connection above all else. So, working in teams should be natural for us. Unfortunately, our reward systems muddy the waters.
TEAMS DON’T JUST WORK, THEY NEED WORK
The thing is, that ‘teams don’t just work…. they need work’. And one of the key barriers to great teamwork is that most of us no longer have the mindset and skillset perform in a team.
Think about this: in your team, is your goal to be the best performer IN the team, or the best performer FOR the team? Are you spending sufficient time confirming what the team needs from you as opposed to what you want to contribute? Are you willing to step back Can you even articulate what that really means? I, for one, certainly wouldn’t blame anyone for sub-consciously wanting to be the former – remember, we’ve been conditioned for it.
I wonder, though, if it is continuing to serve us, and our workplaces.
Research from the Fierce Institute tells us that …
- 86 percent of respondents blame lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures; similarly, 92 percent of respondents also agree that a company’s tendency to hit or miss a deadline will impact bottom line results.*
- More than 97 percent of those surveyed believe the lack of alignment within a team directly impacts the outcome of any given task or project.**