A company needs qualified employees to be successful. If human capital is insufficient, the company cannot be successful no matter how much financial resource it has. The success of football and basketball teams is directly proportional to their players’ quality. Today, the world's most successful football teams are the ones with the most valuable players. Among the factors that determine success are good management, good strategy, financial means and of course chance.
Most of us think that the combination of these factors will bring success. That is why the club which gathers the best players at the beginning of the season is considered as the the champion. That is also the case for companies, and it is assumed that companies that bring together the most qualified employees will be successful. But one of the most important factors that determine success is to be able to become a team. Personal development expert Chris Wiedener says that we are always a part of a team, even though our roles change at every moment of our lives. Our families, our colleagues, our social groups that we belong to are literally teams and we play a different role in each team.
Team spirit is achieved when people throw their egos into the second plan and struggle for the success of the team. Team members must be both individuals and teams with one body at the same time. Being a team means sharing the same values and locking on to a common target.
In order to be successful, financial means, qualified people, a strong leader and chance are required, but if there is no “unity of purpose” to link the team members, it is not possible to be successful. The unity of purpose is not achieved by simply locking on to a target. Sales target of a company or the goal of a team ranking first in the leauge is not a “goal”. Achieving the goal is a performance measure. The goal is related to the reason behind the achievement of a goal by a person or a team. The goal is about people's beliefs and values. Targets can be measured but the goal is not measurable. The goal is something deeper and related to human existence. While it is possible to reach targets or even pass them, people can spend their whole lives for a goal without concrete results. A good team not only consists of good players but also invisible ties that connect them. In order to capture this chemistry in a team, there is a need for a purpose union that excites players. The teams that have achieved this unity and act harmoniously succeed in despite all the impossibilities.
While teams of very expensive star players cannot show the success expected from them, the reason why teams with half of them are more successful than they are is because they have a purpose and a team spirit. That is why a team of mediocre players can beat a team of very qualified footballers with the impact of their combat power, belief, solidarity, motivation. The fact that companies with extremely limited opportunities are successful despite all their shortcomings and difficulties is because they have achieved a unity of purpose that makes them to devote themselves to their jobs.
Team spirit cannot be bought by money. Money is a tool for people to do their jobs and to survive, but it is not enough to make them a team. The fact that the teams which achieve a unity of purpose and make a difference whether in the business world or in sports are appreciated all over the world is because they put forward a success that cannot be bought by money.
Chris Wiedener lists the common features of being a team:
1. In the first place, an effective leader is needed who directs a team to a common goal. The leader is required to keep the team's goal constantly alive and run it at the same frequency and at the same pace for everyone. Team spirit is captured not only by walking to the same target but also by being at the same frequency. While showing the direction to everyone in the team, a leadership that ensures that no one is left behind, nourishes the sense of unity and keeps the spirit of solidarity alive.
2. In the team, the feeling of “one for all, all for one” must be dominant. Keeping the relationship and communication alive between the team members is essential. Everyone should be in a dialogue with each other at any moment. Everyone needs to support and help each other. Solving problems with mutual understanding nourishes members' trust to each other, emotional ties and feelings of belonging.
3. Everyone in the team should always encourage each other to “do better”, “to do perfect”, and support and whip up each other to get the best possible result. The leader must instil this feeling in the team. The level of perseverance and the level of success of such working teams increase. Success achieved with this spirit creates a sense of satisfaction and motivation beyond the result.
4. Extraordinary achievements are achieved by team players who struggle with a great commitment. Those who do not accept the goal of the team do not have a place in the team. The goal is not something to be imposed; It is a voluntary meeting point of people. A unity of volunteer purpose creates invisible links between team members.
5. The fact that the roles of team members are clearly defined facilitates the functioning of the team. It is known by everyone who does what in a good team. A team consists of members with different characteristics. No player is the same as the other, but each player's contribution is indispensable. No one in a team is “negligible” or “unworthy” of the other. In business life, in sports, a good team is formed by a combination of different individuals, different talents and people specialized in different fields.
6. There are also star players in business life and sports life. Those players are not only the team members, but they also have the superior qualities that everyone accepts and appreciates. It is natural for star players to be in the forefront, to be more talked about and to earn higher income. For this reason, all team members must accept that the star players are in a “more equal position between equals”. Justice requires it. All team members who want to be successful want to keep the talented stars in the team and to be in a consensus with them.
7. It is the cement of team spirit to enjoy struggling together and to make work a source of joy. The energy of the teams that have fun together flows outwards. It is a source of energy to cheer up, to laugh, to have fun and to achieve a goal. This energy is the fuel of the struggle that the team will reveal.
8. It is of utmost importance that the leader recognizes and appreciates each of the team members’ contribution to the outcome and, also conducts one-on-one interviews on negative attitude and behaviors and then gives feedback. Appreciation increases motivation. Effective and on-thespot feedback paves the way for each player to improve themselves. People are connected to the teams in which they feel they are valued, and they think their contribution has a meaning and they want to make more contributions and sacrifices. A sense of unity and solidarity that creates a real team is strengthened in this way.
People working with team spirit for the sake of a purpose find a meaning in what they do. This meaning is the most important source of success. The reason for the failure of football teams with qualified star players and very favorable amenities is their lack of purpose and the fact that their players cannot find a “meaning” in what they do.
Awareness of the goal is of course very important both in business world and sports; but the goal alone is hardly useful. People do not devote themselves to what they do when there is no purpose union, no matter how much monetary reward they have. Success is achieved by working for a purpose that one believes in. That also makes it possible for someone to find a meaning in what they do. For a company or a team to be successful, a leader who will instill this goal in the people and who will meet the conditions to keep the team spirit alive is needed.
Source: https://www.temelaksoy.com/ takim-ruhu-parayla-satin-alinamaz/
