“Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about.
They didn’t do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another.”
Vince Lombardi
These aren’t the kind of words one might expect to hear from a football coach. Whenever I use the word love in the business environment, the push-back is immediate and forceful. I always give in, and the group works to find a more acceptable word. Usually they are more comfortable with something like respect.
Let’s give Vince the benefit of the doubt and assume for a moment he was right. He said love so he must have meant love. How did he know whether or not his players loved each other? The same way we do. He observed their behaviors. These are my guesses about the behaviors he may have seen.
- They brought out the best in each other.
- They helped each person meet his needs.
- They went out of their way to help and support one another.
- They acted genuinely happy when one of their teammates did well.
- They showed a teammate who failed that he was still a valued member of the team.
- They told each other the truth.
- They fiercely defended each other against any and all threats.
- They argued but knew that the relationships would be just fine.
- They shared the pain of their teammates.
- They selflessly gave what they had to each other.
And the list goes on and on. How about your team? How do the members treat each other? Does it look and feel like love?
Team leaders can’t mandate love. Rather they can foster an environment where is flourishes on its own. Most work teams I know aren’t anywhere near this ideal. Most probably never will be. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth pursuing. Imagine what your team could achieve if the members loved each other.
Image credit: US Postal Service
