We've all heard the old adage "There's no I in team." Somewhere in those words lies the motivation to pull together, work as a group, and put the needs of the many before the needs of the individual. However, if we are honest with ourselves, this old adage needs to be put out to pasture.
Sure there are times when the team dynamic is perfect. Everyone is able to play to their strengths and the group just seems to be in sync. I had that once about 6 years ago. And once it was gone, it was gone. I am 100% sure that I will NEVER find that again. I call those lovely ladies my "work soulmates" and people on campus often referred to us as the Three Amigos. It was perfect. We listened. We contributed. We gave willingly. We supported. We reigned each other in. We pushed each other. We grew together. And we were never afraid. Never afraid to try something new. Never afraid to question. Never afraid to push a little harder. Never afraid to disagree. Never afraid to ask for help. Never afraid to be ourselves. We worked in perfect tandem with one another. We had sickening inside jokes and ridiculous nicknames for each other. We pranked each other on end. We even planned our Halloween costumes together. The things we knew about each other were way to intimate and borderline frightening. I would give anything to go back to those days.
Now let's get back to reality...
This type of team very rarely happens. And, usually, when it does happen, the people on the team show some kind of leadership potential, and at the next possible opportunity, the team is broken up and everyone becomes the leader of something new. This happened to me about six years ago. I was moved onto a new team, which I was so excited about. Then, reality set in. The reality that the team I had once been a part of would never happen again. No matter how hard I try to recreate those relationships, those bonds, those "safe" spaces to work in, I don't know that it will ever happen again.
As a PLC/Team Lead I always try to get to know my team and try to get some kind of cohesiveness working. This year, one part of my team consisted of three ladies new to our school and new to the grade level. It was evident from meeting number one that we were going to face some challenges. There was a personality clash within ten minutes. Despite my best efforts to steer the team into healthy dialogue, meetings ended on a positive note only to turn sour the moment I was no longer around. Despite my attempts at mediating there appeared to be no real answer to what was happening or why it was happening. I was clueless. Not only was I trying to carry the team through a course work and curriculum that I was not actually teaching and not one of them had taught previously, but I was also playing bouncer and trying to keep them in check personally. There were more tears and more "mediation" moments in the months of September, October, and November than I care to ever experience in my entire life. It was exhausting. For all of us.
There may not be an "I" in team, but there sure as heck is an "I" in my vocabulary. As we head into the winter holidays, it is my personal mission to do a better job for myself. As a team leader, I know that it is my job to support and help and to be a sounding board and to carry the team when necessary, but "I" refuse to ignore "I" any longer.
So, on an ending note, I would like to raise a toast to all of those who have found your work soulmate. Never let it go. But for all of those who haven't found him/her/them yet, I want to remind you that sometimes the team is what the team is: a group of dysfunctional individuals pretending that working as a group is going to make it better. In times like these you just might have to find the "I" in team in order to survive.
