For me, I still don’t get it when people don’t want to do things together or contribute. I feel a little lost, uneasy and often wonder why not? I am predisposed to be part of a team and contribute to “others”. When I am in situations where people are resistant to being supportive of the collective to achieve a specific goal, I feel at a bit of a loss.
Even at home with teenagers who pursue their own agendas, I feel a little lost when no one wants to do something “family”. We call ourselves a “wolf pack” but, maybe that was in days gone past. We are certainly more individualistic now.
The funny thing is that being part of a team that is trying to do something (like hit a challenging performance goal), doesn’t mean that you get lost as an individual. A “real” team will be able to achieve the team and organizational goals and develop team members!
If someone isn’t pulling their weight, the team can make changes or support that person to raise their game. It takes time for a team to “gel” and it does that better when team membership is consistent.
So what’s the source then of us not being predisposed to creating and looking forward to being a member of a team? We are, after all, human. And, humans are built to connect with each other, right?
A big component is trust - trust that “my” recognition and promotion won’t be compromised by someone else on the “team”. The next biggest is recognition and promotion which is mainly, today, through individual performance recognition.
Changing this is where team leadership needs to step up and create different conditions for the team. I feel it’s a new set of skills for the majority of leaders and needs to be a focus of all leadership training today and into the future!