A few days ago, I had the opportunity to watch three fishermen at work in the port of Figuera. They had their hands full tidying up their fishing boat and all their tools. In a short space of time, a lot was moved, tidied up and put in order in a very concentrated manner – in cooperation.
When discussing, writing or lecturing about team spirit, very different opinions and attitudes clash. Some show real practical experience, others are less convincing.
What constitutes team spirit? What is necessary and also tangible in practice?
Thinking outside the box helps us to focus on three real team boosters, knowing full well that there are other beneficial aspects.
Whether in team sports, in my time in the military or in the working world – for me, the following elements have proven to be stable building blocks of a good team:
- Treating each other with respect. Respect is not tied to “liking or loving each other”. Rather, it is a basic attitude. Respect can be shown towards people, nature or even created works or a rank or position. The opposite of this, disrespectful behavior, can have a very negative impact on motivation in a team.
- No matter how nice or smart you are – reliability is far more important in a good team. Our typical expression “working hand in hand” expresses this very well. When many hands want to achieve something together, reliability of your own hands AND those of others is extremely important.
- We humans have a pretty good nose for whether something makes sense or not. A common, meaningful goal makes people work in a success-oriented way – success-oriented in the sense of the goal. Communicating the meaningfulness of projects is one of the most important tasks in team leadership. Leadership without a meaningful goal? Hardly conceivable. So where does that lead…?
Can we imagine a surgical team in a hospital that can only work successfully if everyone also likes each other in private? Or the crew of a large passenger aircraft, a soccer team, a fire department unit – or simply your team?
Being nice and liking each other is generally pleasant and very often helpful, but not essential for good work. A professional work team can function very well even if not all members are also friends in their private lives. This factor is often misunderstood by managers – sometimes this friendship is even demanded within the team. When experts work together to make a difference, when they know their goals, treat each other with respect and reliability, when everyone does what they can, makes an effort and concentrates on the task at hand, then a lot can be achieved! With the joint work and, at the latest, with success, this “professional liking” often also sets in. Let’s go – there’s a lot of work to be done! Get your hands dirty and get going!