Together we win?
What does it mean: Together we win?
First, it means to realise that I am not alone. Loneliness is an increasing human misery but it can be fought. I am who I am, because I am in relation to someone else. I am a husband because I have a (lovely) wife. I am an employee because I have an employer. I am a parent because I have (wonderful) children. I can be part of an association or an informal group. I am a citizen because I am part of a national state. Above all, I am a person because I am always part of a community. It may be my family, my schoolmates, my work team, my association, my firm, my village, my town, my country, my social network group, my world family…
Second, it means find the way to be happy and make others happier. Once I realise I cannot be happy alone, I should strive, in my life and at work, to pursue this objective. To put it differently: do I feel the need to discover how to make my little contribution, to leave the world better than I found it? To offer my little brick in the construction of Home? Easier said than done. This idea requires a cultural paradigm shift. I need to think about myself as immersed in larger communities or in teams. In this regard, I have a nice tablet screensaver. It is a list of seven suggestions; this list was inspired by the Scout association named Agesci. These suggestions are very good habits that may help in conveying my meaning for Together we win, which is translated into practise by the Team-CARE approach.
Table 1 Seven ways to change my firm…and the world
Live for others and not only for yourself.
- Accept others' opinions and do not impose your own ideas
- Share
- Take every opportunity to learn and be a good example to younger people
- Value your qualities…and recognise those of others
- Feel part of a team and a big community
- Respect and listen to others
Third, once I realise I cannot be happy alone and I have read some good suggestions to do something for others, find a way to put them into practise. What shall I do in concrete terms? “I struggle to change my little workplace where we are a few people, let alone the world”. I need some concrete tools to live happily and work together effectively with others. Chapter 1 (see page 12) provides us with concrete answers and a toolkit. This is designed in particular for Human Resource managers, team leaders, team coaches and educators. More humbly, the chapter might not be disregarded by each of us who is, or feels, part of a team as well as of a larger network or community. Chapter 1 presents Team-CARE, which tries to explain what it all means: shared values, mission and objectives; a team composition which unifies diversity; a well-functioning dynamic founded on collaboration, and mutual learning; engagement for co-innovation and co-creating value for stakeholders.