Written by The often-employed mantra “There’s no I in team” is obviously a reference to the concept that the combined skills and endeavours of the team outweigh the desires and abilities of the individual. But can a team or organisation function in a climate where the individual’s needs are ignored, or their problems overlooked? In the collaborative environment of a workplace or sporting team does the ‘greater good’ of the team eclipse personal wellbeing? Perhaps that answer should be a resounding ‘NO’, the amelioration of each team member is a greater contributor to the team’s success than driving blindly towards a win at all costs.
Way back in 2004, at the Athens Olympics, The Australian women’s 8 rowing team was on a course for gold in the finals when the worst happened … one of their team ‘broke down’ costing them their place. Olympic athlete Sally Robbins not only stopped rowing for the crucial last 300 metres of the race, but she appeared inexplicably to ‘lay down’ in the boat.
Peter Wilkins, author of “Don’t Rock the Boat”, revealed that while interviewing the women for his book it gradually became evident that this was not the first time that Robbins ‘froze’ at a vital moment in the race and let the team down.
“It was stunning to find out that there had been so many times where this sort of flaw had surfaced and yet nothing had been done about it. How could this be? How could a rower keep on rowing in a team sport where one of the main priorities, one of the main criteria is the ability to row from point A to point B?”
Team member Kyeema Doyle declared that “…in a really intense, high pressure situation she mentally can’t handle that stress, whether it’s a fear of not performing or not living up to her expectations. And so to handle it she just removes herself from the situation, and that’s how she deals with it – by almost pretending that she’s not there.”
Had the coach dealt with whatever issue Robbins was struggling with, had the organisation invested some time and energy into examining the reasons for these manifestations, they would have been rewarded with a greatly improved team member, a strengthened team culture, and a cohesively functioning and successful crew.
The individual does exist in team sport; the team is comprised of individuals, and the individual has needs and issues that should be addressed so that the team can function as a positively interconnected unit. What is evident is that the misfunction of one of the ‘moving parts’ is magnified across the entire ‘engine’, it makes sense to develop a culture that is capable of supporting and assisting all team members so that success can be collectively achieved.
She’s Not There – Australian Story (abc.net.au)
Debating the “There Is No “I” in Team” Cliche (thebalancecareers.com)