So are you part of a team? How do you know you are part of a team? Did someone tell you are on the team? Do you feel like you are on the team?
Just because someone said you are on the team doesn’t mean there is an effective team to be a part of. The name team is applied to many groups of people. But many of those teams do not operate and function well together. Some teams have very few active team members but a lot of names on the team roster.
One of the easiest ways to know you are on a team is to examine the collaboration of the team. Do we know each other and each others strengths? Is someone on the team thinking of my place and my skills on the team and how I might contribute to the mission of the team? Are we clear on the mission and how each team member is contributing to that mission? Are we all included in team planning and strategy?
If any of these are missing, then there is vast room for improvement of the team.
When your life depends on the man or woman next to you, like the routines found in combat or other dangerous work, you learn quickly how teams work, or someone doesn’t come home at night. That is why the military and first responder training is some of the best Team training anywhere.
We had three C’s in the military, Command, Control and Communication. They left out the fourth C, probably because it was understood automatically, Collaboration. If you are on a high functioning team and enjoying it, it’s certain that it is a group of people that are all very skilled and all know each others strengths and weaknesses. And they push forward those skills and cover for those weaknesses. They collaborate.
If you’re not on team like that, why not? We need you on the team.