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Parenting Principle #15- Teamwork
By Bob Kalle
One of the lessons most of us have to learn during our lives is teamwork. Some of us face that issue in school. Some of us face that at work. Some of us face that in playing sports or coaching. But it seems to be a concept that can play an important role in our family lives.
There were times in school, both as a student and as a teacher, that I thought it would be better if an assignment was completed alone rather that working in teams. There are many things that can go wrong when we work with other people. We can’t account for other people’s motivation, abilities or responsibility. There have been many times that I have questioned the concept of a team as both a student, a teacher and as a parent.
I read a book by Ken Blanchard called “High Five”. It is a story that talks about the need for teamwork in many aspects of our life. It is clear to me why teamwork is necessary in sports. But I realized that teamwork has its place in all facets of our life. And the secret has to do with our understanding of why teamwork is necessary.
Usually, we think teamwork is simply splitting up the task and getting it done quicker. But another way to look at teamwork is to use a statement from their book, “none of us are as good as all of us.” What this means is that the goal of teamwork is not just to accomplish the goal, but to accomplish it better than any single one of us could have accomplished it. When we focus on this concept, we can appreciate how teamwork should yield better results than working on a task by ourselves.
How does this work in your family? Does everyone pitch in on the needs of the family? Is everyone in the family contributing to the common good, or is everyone just trying to be an individual and live their own lives? What do you think? How does this concept of teamwork work in your home?
