A friend of mine once gave a very insightful mathematics sometimes ago. It may look wrong, but it has a lot of insight in it. He said that "in teamwork, 1 + 1 will become 3." I laughed and ask him what the mathematics meant and he said "that is the magic of collective effort, which is synergy." I realised that when you act alone, you will be limited, but when you act as a team, your individual efforts will become amplified. No matter how you try to use a single broomstick, you cannot sweep your house with it. But when the broomstick forms a bunch with other broomsticks, it will become usable for sweeping. This same thing happens in a team work, you will become more productive and achieve more.
Image from [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/soccer-sports-team-team-spirit-4714395)
There is almost no force as powerful as teamwork in bringing about success, be it in business, sport, community, place of work, etc. Take a sport team for example: if you get the world best player, probably the current Balon D'or winner, and place him alone. Then assemble a complete team of amateur players from a B-rated academy for him to face alone. No matter how good he may be, the complete team will win him. This show the power that can be pulled by team effort. The result of the efforts of a team is better than individual brilliance.
You have to understand that what makes a team great is not about uniformity, but about diversity. When people of various backgrounds, school of thought, qualifications, skills, talents, and perspectives pull their efforts together and act with common purpose, the result will be great, not about uniformity. In a great football team for example, every player will not be playing in the same wing or with the same skill, rather they will have their own position. When they act with a common goal and in unity of purpose, they will achieve greatness. Effectiveness and productivity is beyond acting alone, it is about acting as a team. That is, leveraging on the strength of everyone, where each of the teammates brings something to the table.
In a team, one person can be creative, then another person can have time management, the someone else can be a deep thinker, a motivator, an organiser, or even a doer, but one person might not have all these qualities. So when each one brings their strengths, it will make up for their weaknesses, and will also form a balanced team. The strength of a team does not lie in independence but in interdependence. You have to understand that difference or diversity is not actually weakness, but it is an asset that should be managed and should be appreciated. You also need to appreciate each teammate's efforts so as to encourage them to put in their best towards the working of the team.
Image from [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/teamwork-cooperation-brainstorming-3213924)
Leveraging on the power of diversity to achieve the necessary results does not work by chance but it requires humility, mutual respect and open-mindedness. That is, the members in the team will require you to listen to the opinions of the teammates, accept ideas, welcome corrections, and most importantly, appreciate the contributions of others. Then you need to let go of pride and ego, so that it will not hamper the smooth working of the team. The working of the team is not about everyone doing what they like and how they want it, but by working together with a common agenda, common goal, and unity of purpose.
It is also worthy to note that good and effective communication is also very important to the team working effectively well. It does not only lie in what you say but how you say it. By communicating effectively, you will tend to understand each of the teammates' intentions and perspectives, so as to reduce misunderstanding. You also learn to imbibe the nature of gratitude and appreciation. Acknowledge the input of others, so as to strengthen the bonds between members. More so, as a leader of a group or a team, you need to lead from the a place of example, with the goal of the team in mind. You also need to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the individual members, then work to consolidate on the strength of everyone, while overcoming their weaknesses collectively.
***Thanks for reading***
Peace on y'all
