Does TEAMWORK actually work?

This is a question that I've put it off my list for a long time.
Because I believed I've arrived at A CONCLUSION for myself.
And that is -- Teamwork does not work! It actually slow things down.
I derived that conclusion from my past experiences of working in a ''team''. And the result is never satisfying. It's not that it did not work out, or that my team has done something so low graded that can never be accepted, it's just that, when I compared a ''team''work to my own work, I always find myself doing better as an individualistic doer.
That's how that conclusion comes from.
I've received conflicting opinions with special regard to this topic from people around me, but those opinions never really satisfied me, because they didn't have a strong reason.

Alright, but today (okay, a few weeks ago actually, but today is the day I've decided to write it out in a public domain after putting enough thoughts into it), I believe I've discovered one aspect of the dynamics behind how to make ''team''work really works!

The secret is..........(drumroll)........

RELIANCE VS SUPPORT


I'll explain.
The purpose of having a team is because one need support from the others as the amount of work one can do is really limited.
The key word here is support.
A simple definition of support is to complement the lack of one by the others.
Eg: If I were to do a presentation and I suck in powerpoint. A person who is good in powerpoint can support me by doing the slides for me. In this case, he complement my lack of skills in powerpoint.

This is all well and good. Attaining a fairly good result is predictable.

However, the equation breaks down when SUPPORT is misunderstood as RELIANCE!!

When instead of supporting each other, the team members started to rely on each other for the progression as a team.
An example that I can think of now is, imagine a company run by a technician who is responsible for producing new products and a salesperson who is obviously responsible for getting sales. A technician needs information about the demands of the market to create RELEVANT PRODUCT that is of demand by the market which the salesperson possesses through all his interactions with the consumers; the salesperson who lacks technical knowledge need the help of the technician in explaining and convincing a potential prospect regarding all the technical questions that may arise.

 This team works when they SUPPORT each other by complementing each other's lack.

What if instead of supporting each other, the technician thinks that all he has to do is to produce product to be sold and getting contracts signed is really the job of the salesperson and is not his concern?
A simple linear consequence is that the salesperson will have difficulty securing a sales for the company.

A simple guideline that I've drawn out for myself is to ask this question:

Is the team supporting me in whatever I'm doing? Or am I simply relying on the team to move?

You are here to help me in my movement, and I'm here to help you in yours. 
This is how a poor team define teamwork. And that is as far as their definition goes.
But what they don't realize is....
I don't need you to move and you don't need me to move either. 
(This is, in my opinion, the part that separates the good from the bad.)


There is a fine but crucial distinction between Reliance and Support. However, the distinction is usually not so obvious at first sight.

The perfect team that I seek, therefore is a team which all of us have the competency to do what we are supposed to do, and to be so competent that, we are able to really SUPPORT each other. NO RELIANCE IS ALLOWED.

Reliance is a poison. No matter how high your team's spirit is, reliance will kill the team.
Support, on the other hand, is what produces a great team.


Although the words that I used may be mistakenly sound like I'm here trying to teach a lesson or sound like a professor, truly, I'm just directing those words to myself.
Simply ignore, if they do not fit your appetite.
Letting it out in public is a gesture to welcome constructive opinions to help build on this theory.

Thank you!

Listen to your heart 2011

Alright, this is another movie that I just finished watching. Personally, I'm very picky when it comes to choosing the movie that I would spent at least a minimum of 2 hours on. That explains why I don't really go to the big screen that often. Most of the blockbusters didn't really attract me. I'm actually only interested in watching movies that have the power to touch people and most importantly bring inspiration! And for your information, these movies are usually sleepers. Very few people know about them, and never appeared in cinema. I always have a hard time searching and filtering through for a true gem and this is one of them. Its called ' listen to your heart'. 2011 is the production year just to make sure you didn't hit the wrong one.

What's good in this is once again, love. If you notice, every beautiful thing really revolves around love. Love for life, love for a special person, love for the world, love for a vision, love for musics..
This movie also portray a handful of life lessons. If you notice again, these life lessons always repeat themselves. I bet you already know what they are. Eg : Don't take your blessings for granted.
But really, its about the way they bring the lessons out. It makes you think, that really, there are COUNTLESS ways to live the essence of life. What way to choose is really up to you.
The REAL QUESTION is : DID YOU CHOOSE?
That's why they can produce so many movies that, when boils down to its essence, is the same thing, just different methods of conveying. Alright, I'll let the trailer below do the rest of the talking..

(P/S: A BIG PART IS MISSING IN THE TRAILER! THE CRUX OF IT. BUT THEY DIDN'T SHOW IT IN THE TRAILER! IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT IT IS, WATCH IT!)

Influence

Speaking of influence, I never believed people of the same age group around me have the ability to influence me. Because I always know I have a strong character inside. When I say influence I'm not saying what kinda food for lunch, what I'm saying is a change of core values and perspectives.
But, I was dead wrong.
It's not that they can't influence me, its that I'm not opening up myself TO BE INFLUENCED.
I always believe in this: if a person is not receptive (open to be influenced), there is not point providing (trying to influence).
Well, I have to be honest, I hadn't opened.

But things started to change when my exposure widens up.

I was put into a group of people that are totally different from those that I used to be with.
It's a hard time. Really, really hard. Because I couldn't find my position between the extreme opposites.

I PRAY HARD TO TURN THE SITUATION AROUND. BUT IT DIDN'T.

Thinking back of that now, I'm proud that I never quit. I'm truly thankful. In fact, I was blessed! So blessed!

Because I was put into such a position, I have to stop, really stop, and redefine everything.
Because I was put into such a position, I was able to observe the extreme opposites.
Because I was put into such a position, I started to think bigger questions.
Because I was put into such a position, I started to receive answers to all of my questions.

Those answers contributed to building a character.

I'm grateful. For at the point when I most needed answers to my questions, I met a wise man. A man who really knows how to 'think'. He is a brutal man. who would tear your values apart. And ask you to fix them back yourself. But hey, I needed a sincere and truthful answer.
I learned the fundamentals and I developed my own path.
Sometimes, people think too much, that causes problems.
another time, people don't think, that causes more problems.
A balance between the extremes, is what I seek.
In short, He influenced my "THINKING".

Alright, when I thought I was equipped to face the world......

Another person appeared. This time, this person is somebody who I can easily relate to. He's a friend that I met nearly every day.
At first, my first impression of him is really nothing much. Typical student-with-no-intention-to-study.
Again, I was dead wrong. ( you see the pattern ? More often than not, judgement blinds me to the brighter side of everything.)
Through several sincere conversations, we established rapport. And I started to admire the qualities that he possesses and the vision he upholds. He changed my perspectives from world vision, mindsets, beliefs, to fashion sense.
This guy taught me how to 'LIVE' !
Imagine how great the influence is. It leads to so many new experiences that I could have missed had I not open to be influenced. And that's the beauty of it. You never knew what you will get. But I can assure you, you will surely get something in return.

The idea is, if you see something in somebody that you admire, OPEN YOURSELF UP TO BE INFLUENCED. Don't JUDGE! Just open and see what you can get. You won't lose yourself. This has proven to me as one of the best decisions that I can ever make.
Keep your judgements aside, and simply be receptive.

I was very judgemental before this. That explains why I never opened up. I always try to prove MY PERSPECTIVE.
I understand that there will be a fear inside that sounds like : Hey! if you accepted his influence and change your beliefs. You will no longer be YOU!
But please remember, growth is a gradual process, it's not killing the old one and replacing it with a new one.
So you won't lose the old you.
Rather, you will evolve and be a greater you!
Sometimes, the willingness to take the leap, or not makes a whole world of a difference.

Give yourself a chance to experience the world in a way that you never did.
Trust me, there will be a whole army of fear trying to pull you back to your comfort zone when that opportunity presents itself to you.
But if you can push pass those fears and simply take the leap.
You will get to see a completely new world that you will never want to return to the old one!

Happy living!
Much love.