There Is No ‘I’ in a Team
We spend 90% of our lives at work. Specifically, people who work in the corporate sector, spend more time at their offices than at home.
The success of a corporation is based on a very famous concept ‘there’s no ‘I’ in a team!”
It is true, both literally and figuratively.
The spelling of the word, ‘team’ does not accommodate the letter, ‘I’. Likewise, the values of a team promote that an individual should not put too much emphasis on themselves while they are working in a particular team especially at work.
However, does this expression only apply to our work? Is this the extent of this beautiful saying?
The answer is no!
Let’s find out how through a real-life experience!
Charles Plumb was a US fighter-jet pilot in Vietnam. Before he was shot down, he had participated in 75 combat missions. When he was shot down, he had saved his life by ejecting at the right time and using the parachute packed up in his plane.
He had then spent 6 years in a Vietnamese prison. He had survived that time somehow and returned to the US as a war hero.
One day, a man recognized Plumb in a bar. “You’re the pilot that was shot down in Vietnam!”
As surprised as Plumb was, he was also quite used to people approaching him and praising him for his brave actions in the war. Nevertheless, he was curious to know how the man knew him, since they had never met before.
“Yeah, but how do you know that?” He answered the man then finally asked him the question that had been nagging him.
“I packed your parachute!” The man answered excitedly. He shook hands with Plumb and added, “I guess it worked!”
Plumb re-assured him that it had, otherwise, he wouldn’t be here. He thanked him and the man walked away from him as if they had never been a part of each other’s lives.
However, when Plumb thought over it, he realized that if that man hadn’t done his job right, Plumb wouldn’t be alive today!
In a team, there is really no, ‘I’. The team works because it works for one another and for the common goal that it is after. Plumb had never given much thought to the people who took care of his jet, who prepared his parachute, who made things happen for him before and after he flew.
He had always considered himself as the most important part of their unit. However, in the moment he had discovered that this man had packed his parachute, he had realized that in Plumb’s life, the most important part had been played by this man!
If each of us contributes to our teams, our groups, our communities and our societies in a way that we put our common objective before ourselves, we can truly see the effect of the word, ‘team’ in each of our lives!
Try to lose ‘I’ from your dictionary. Begin using ‘We’ as much as you can and experience the difference!
A Selection of Teamwork Quotes
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” ~
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ~
“Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.” ~
“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.” ~
“Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses, and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” ~
“Only by binding together as a single force will we remain strong and unconquerable.” ~
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