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.

1. Accept others' opinions and do not impose your own ideas
2. Share
3. Take every opportunity to learn and be a good example to younger people
4. Value your qualities…and recognise those of others
5. Feel part of a team and a big community
6. 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.

If we win, who will lose?

Together we win does not necessarily mean that everyone else will lose. It means that I will lose if I try to win alone, at all costs and regardless of others. Do you know any team player who can win alone against another team? I do not. No company manager or politician can win alone. I cannot be a happy husband if my wife is unhappy. A friend requires friends. A winning team is where the team value is greater than the sum of the individuals.

Can't I win alone? What can you learn when you hear a manager on the train aggressively complaining about his or her staff’s laziness? You can easily tell that mistrust has crept into that team. Sometimes we can also infer whether the problem is perceived to be an active obstruction or indifference from some team members. At other times, I may be able to tell whether the manager is complaining about lack of coordination or cooperation. Who is losing? All those team members, including the manager, and the firm will lose too.

 Why “We” and not “I”? Progress and innovation nowadays require collective intelligence and mutual learning. Albert Einstein worked alone, therefore it took some time to develop his immense theory. But this was how innovation was conceived a century ago. Today, there must be a process of creation within a team where co-innovation means that you "connect the different minds and create the future" (I like the fact that this is the Expo Dubai theme in 2020). In other words, innovation in many cases will no longer be the achievement of one individual but of teamwork, on-site or on-line. At a much faster speed and diffusion rate than Einstein's Theory of general relativity.

 Why adding “together”? What can you learn if you hear an employee expressing anger at his/her boss or colleagues, or frustration or dissatisfaction that cannot be constructively channeled into the team? How depressing it is to hear a woman or man complaining to another person – or on the phone with their mother - about her husband or his wife. Why is it so increasingly difficult to talk and understand each other? Clearly the team - family or work team - including the leader, require some fixing. Otherwise, even if the team sold the best product, used the best systems and had the best manual of procedure, it would be doomed to fail. Even if their organization, governance or business model were the best, there would be a problem of sustainability because of team(s) malfunctioning.

 The personal stories we hear around us, teach us that we should never underestimate team difficulties, disengagement and lack of collaboration. We all know it is easier to control machines, rules, procedures and data than human beings. However unless one thinks that everything can be digitalized and human beings are redundant, we have to find a sustainable way to promote and motivate teams, networks and communities.