There’s no doubt about it. Working together, working in a team is an awesome experience. Before you go thinking I’m incorrectly using a word in a modern sense let’s define the term.
Awesome: extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.
Awesome is a great word which perhaps is too casually thrown around these days. The idea of something being awesome means more than “cool”. We’re not talking about TMNT kind of awesome. I believe teams are awesome in the extremely impressive and inspiring great admiration sense of the word. Here’s 10 reasons why I believe teams inspire great admiration.
1. Teams Share The Workload
Teams are a great way to share work among many people. A team helps to ensure no single individual holds too great a weight on their shoulders. The work becomes far more manageable when shared. There’s the old saying,
“Many hands make light work.”
This is definitely a truism. When a team of individuals work together and properly delegate tasks to different team members they are able to make hard things easy. Sharing the workload means nothing is left to much on any one person.
2. Teams Provide Alternative Views
I know speaking personally that I have opinions and views on how things should be done and the best way to do things. I base these opinions on my own personal history and life experiences. Other people similarly have their opinions formed by their past. Working in a team provides a chance to evaluate alternative views and determine the best course of action for accomplishing your goals.
3. Teams Hold More Talent
I know some incredibly talented people. I’m blown away with their skills and abilities. Some of them are able to do things I can only dream of doing. But they are only one person. Now consider putting several of these crazy-skilled people together in a team. The combined talent is exponentially greater. A good team nurtures each individual to strive for greatness and push their talents to the limit. Joining these individuals together in a team means the overall talent level is ridiculously more than a single individual.
4. Teams Encourage
There have been plenty of times when I’ve been discouraged. Working alone, coding at night by the light of my computer screen and getting stuck on a bug when there is no one to turn to and ask for help is discouraging. Teams provide a way to encourage each other when feeling beaten. It’s not even necessary for the team to solve the problem or come up with an answer. It’s enough for a good team to simple be available to offer encouragement and support.
5. Teams Spread the Word
I’m only one person, I can only share information so far. My sphere of influence extends to a certain size and that’s the extent to which I can spread the word. A team on the other hand applies a multiplier to that concept. Spheres of influence expand much much farther when a team of people work together to spread the word. Teams influence far more people.
6. Teams Run Longer
It’s a fact of life. Everyone sleeps. Some of us may sleep less (far less) than average…but we still need sleep. We experience setbacks, frustrations, and other unexpected life situations. Each of those interruptions takes us away from what we are working on. In a team these disruptions are minimized because someone else can be there to carry the torch. Teams support each other and like a relay race they can go much further than an individual.
7. Teams Conquer Challenges
If you’ve ever tried to move a piano you know it’s nearly impossible to do so on your own (or at least it’s impossible for me). But I know if I gather a team of friends we can conquer the challenge. Similar to the first point of sharing the load a team can also conquer big things by working together. Obstacles too large for a single individual to overcome can be moved with enough team effort.
8. Teams Create Great Things
More than just moving obstacles though teams are able to create great things. There’s only a limited amount of things I can do by myself but when a team of people share the vision and work together they can accomplish much much more. A team is how you build something which will withstand the test of time. [tweetable]Teams do more than just create great things; they also inspire greatness.[/tweetable]
9. Teams Value Individuals
My last sentence from the previous point carries nicely over to this one. Teams create great things but even more so they inspire greatness in others. Those individuals who are a part of the team grow personally and take pride in the accomplishments, in the greatness of the team. A good team recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of the individual team members and appreciates what each brings to the group. Teams value the individual skills of each person.
10. Teams Build Relationships
This is an amazing side effect of a team atmosphere. As you work through challenges, as you share work and live in the trenches you begin to build relationships, bonds with one another on the team. These bonds reach far beyond the tasks for the team. These friendships forged through fire (problems in the project) are the lasting kind of relationships. You will find you’re no longer alone. [tweetable]The unexpected and great side effect of a team is the personal growth you’ll experience.[/tweetable] With those 10 points I think it’s quite easy to say. Teams are awesome. Teams inspire great admiration and they are without a doubt extremely impressive. The next time you are contemplating how to get something done or feeling overwhelmed; stop and consider the benefits of building a team to help you do more. [tweetable]There’s something exciting about building a team and getting started.[/tweetable] Don’t go at it alone. Build a team. Be awesome.