Thriving as a team

Aug 17 / Dr. Carlos Raimundo
In this article we use the word “team” but this is also applicable to our personal relationships with our families, partner and friends.
Please interchange the term “team” with “family” or “friends” as necessary.

Working as One Team is not a new idea. It’s the centre for community building. The idea of creating “community” at work is not a “wishy-washy, soft touch” superficial concept. It’s a key for sustainable organisational success. As it takes a “village to raise a child” it takes a “village to succeed through change”.

Anthropologists and sociologists tell us that communities who don’t work together are not able to innovate and would greatly suffer through change and even cease to exist.

A common strategy of colonisers-invaders was to weaken community trust, foster gossip to create wedges to disrupt communications in the “village”.
Villages have successfully faced and thrived through change by practicing:

•A deepening sense of unity and pride.
•Chatting with one another. Through “Bon-fire” conversations, sharing a cuppa, a drink, (a pipe!) or eating together.
•Valuing each other. Each one was made to feel valued and important.
The “me” included the “we”.
•Thinking outside the box (well, they were forced to do it by circumstances)
They used play, dance and laughter.

They were challenged to innovate, do things differently and put aside what was not necessary.
This is the language of nature; this is not something new.

This is what teams experience in places like Google, Facebook and others disruptive technologies like Uber.

“Being together” generates key endorphins including, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin that expands:
•Joy-Happiness
•A “We can do it” spirit. Nothing is too difficult.
•Cooperation
•Love



It builds a sense of empowerment, resilience, creativity, friendship.
This is when real Breakthroughs happen.
This is not a superficial Kumbaya but a spontaneous sense of we’re together so we can:

•Be Protagonists, Actors and help each other to deflect temptation to be a Victim or just Spectators.

A dozen points towards building a “One” Team

Have you considered:

  1. When going to your desk, to say Hi to people on the way?
  2. Getting off your seat more often, and visiting your “neighbour”?
  3. Diminishing email communication and “talking” face to face or by phone-Skype?
  4. Inviting someone to share a “cuppa” or lunch with you ? Everyone has a cuppa or two during the day as well as lunch. Why not invite someone to share it?
    By inviting others, you’re provoking them to get off their seats.
  5. Proposing the practice of “brown-bag lunches”, gatherings, drinks after work, doing things together?
  6. Spending time with your Buddy? Find one if you don’t have one yet!
    Also, avoid whining and never, ever, ever criticize a colleague, boss or organization.
  7. Sharing yours and other successes by Celebrating little things?
  8. Saying Happy Birthday! Congratulations for your great news! and sorry to hear about that, authentically?
  9. Sharing your Hopes and Fears? (We all have them).
  10. Asking about what you don’t understand or don’t know?
  11. Challenging, constructively without judgement, about things you have a different point of view on.
    Don’t forget to offer alternative ideas, refrain being judgmental?
  12. Sharing more about your hobbies, family, movies you like?

When to start?

Just invite somebody for a chat or call somebody and share what you think about this! You don’t need to like it or agree.

Share whatever you think, don’t keep it inside.

Just Share It!

It’s not so painful.
Power is between us!
Dr. Carlos A. Raimundo
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