As the old saying goes “There is no ‘I’ in team”, but that’s just an old cliche dragged out to remind people not to be too full of themselves, right? Why then, would Frederick E. “Fredly” Frederickson, Professor of Leadering and Manageristical Arts trot out that old saw? Because there is truth that must be spoken. The truth is there really is no I in team. Say it again, this time out loud and with conviction. THERE IS NO I IN TEAM! Now embrace it like a python embraces a bunny, nearly squeezing out all signs of life before swallowing it whole and absorbing it’s essence.
Got it? Good. Because “There is no I” is just the appetizer in this three course meal of leadership enlightenment. While you savor the tang of wisdom that is lingering on your tongue be prepared to have your mind blown by the main course. Take a walk and visit each of your employees in turn. As you gaze into their beady little eyes say to yourself “There is no U either”. That’s right, just like there is no I, there isn’t a U either. Boom! Mind successfully blown? Thought so.
You’ve probably never really examined the word team, but experts in our Department of Manageering have and it’s true, there is no U. Parse the word T-E-A-M and you’ll see. No U there. Not one. Chew on that for a bit before taking another bite, but be sure to savor every delicious morsel. In every meeting look around the room and imagine the words floating above the heads of all your reports: “There is no YOU in team, not my team.”
Ready for dessert? The sweet sweet end to an already delicious meal of leadership? The cherry on the ice cream sundae of inspiration? You can’t spell TEAM without ME. Wow! There it is hiding in plain site all this time. Like most managers you never noticed, but now you can’t unsee it. More importantly, you can’t unlearn it either. It’s part of you now so grab “You can’t spell team without ME” like that proverbial python and squeeze. Time to unhinge your jaws of learning and gulp it down. Feels good doesn’t it? This nugget of truth sliding down your gullet? You bet it does!
Like the holy trinity, each component is useless without the others to make it complete: “There is no I in team, there’s no U either, but you can’t spell team without ME.”
Let’s just sit and digest for a moment, reveling in all we’ve learned before we begin to apply our lessons. Ready? Yes, yes you are.
Ask yourself who’s the least important member of your team: YOU
Ask yourself who is your most important team member: ME
As you sit there basking in the glow of your freshly gained leadership genius remember everyone on your team is interchangeable and disposable. TEAM is spelled without YOU. It is always spelled with ME. Just like a sports team where you get to be the coach, quarterback, pitcher, catcher, striker, goalie or jockey, the most important person is me. Everyone else is there for your benefit. Every “you” is like yet another sheep wandering aimlessly around the pasture of your office. If someone isn’t doing their job to your full satisfaction? Move them, trade them, sell them, send them to the slaughter house, because there’s no room for YOU on team ME.
“There is no I in team, there’s also no U, and you can’t spell team without ME.” There you have it. What at first glance seems like a tired old cliche turns out to be one of the most powerful, enlightening sayings you can own once you know the whole story. Just remember that ME without YOU is still the A team.