Aside from one of most frequently used phrases in both professional and social cliques, there really isn't an I in team. But, I am in a team, and chances are that you are, too. Chances are there are quite a few I's in every team, but that's what makes it a team, ladies and gentlemen.
I've been a part of quite a few collaborations and team efforts: my family back in Wisconsin, the sports teams in elementary and high school, and most recently, the team here at ZURB. The most significant idea I've come to realize has been the fact that no matter what you do, you're with the team, and as a team player, you've got your own part to play.
We've all been there, in the same situation that myself and the rest of my ZURBians are in today. We're a team. We do things together because we have a plan, a goal, an end that needs the means. It just so happens that your team does, too.
You pull your own weight, you help out your crew when they need it, and you never forget that you're with the team. Everyone is an I in their team, but the fact is, those I's are holding your team together. Think of each I as a column, a supporting piece of a structure much more grand and intricate than you, one essential to the well-being of your entire team. Now, if, as a column, you sprouted legs and walked off on your fellow columns, that structure—that team—would crumble.
It's quite simple: teams fall apart when an I singles him or herself out. Over a month in at the new job here and the most important piece of information I've gained is one that I've had all along, but never with such vigor. Work together, never let an I leave the team. It's a we, not an I, who got the job done. A we who scored that last goal. A we who helped get that project done in time to meet a deadline. No I did it, but a we did.
Keeping your team together as a central unit is key to everyone's own success—and most importantly, and obviously, to your team's success.