The Cost of Teamwork

"To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together." –Unattributed

This famous proverb has been around for a long time, but nobody knows where it came from. One of the reasons for its popularity might be that it reverses the idea that individual achievement is more important than group success. It reminds us that working together is more important than just looking out for ourselves.

In Western countries, children are often taught to value individual freedom, ingenuity, and perseverance. However, when it comes to teamwork, we're mostly given group projects where one person does most of the work, and the others add their names. Unfortunately, we're not given the stakes early on that would force us to learn how to collaborate, assign tasks fairly, or balance the needs of individuals with the needs of the group. Yet in the workforce, this is the most important skill - the ability to make a team successful. Companies don't thrive because one person does everything. Instead, they succeed when someone can motivate a group of people to work together effectively and for a sustained period, resulting in a product or service that generates profit.

Balancing the needs of the team with those of its individual members can be tricky. Every team member has their own strengths and weaknesses, and often what's best for the group doesn't align with what's best for each person. Nevertheless, to achieve long-term success, every teammember needs to be willing to make some sacrifices. It's not always comfortable to talk about what each person must give up to help the team thrive, but these sacrifices are crucial to create something significant and impactful that exceeds what any one person could accomplish alone. Upon joining a new team, it's perfectly healthy to ask yourself -- what are you willing to give up for the team? What are you not willing to give?