WHY is there no I in TEAM?

Someone recently commented to me that he did not feel like we were a TEAM. That got me to thinking. What exactly IS a team, really? One noun definition is that a team is a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport. The verb definition is to come together to achieve a common goal as in the ‘team’ up with the group to build a barn. So when someone says they do not feel a part of the team, what exactly is being felt?

You probably have heard the phrase, “there is no I in team” so much it has become cliche. I’m pretty sure it originated with some sport or another. I know businesses have also picked up the phrase but I can see a coach on his soapbox telling his team that victory is not achieved by any single individual, but through players coordinating and all that jazz. I am SO not an athlete.

If you think about it, aren’t there plenty of “I” in team? You can’t have a team or a group without a leader. That is usually an individual or an “I”. It is really hard to have a perfectly equal team or group for anything. Without a leader everything seems to go at a slower pace and every decision is questioned. I know there is no surefire recipe for a successful team, but every good team I have even been a part of has a combination of good leadership, great communication, access to ready resources and the ability to put ego aside so you can understand each other and work well together.

So when someone says I don’t think we are a team is he/she really saying, I don’t think we are working well together or that he/she feels like a follower instead of a leader? I will of course ask the person who made the comment in the first place, but I thought I would blog about it and see what you thought as well.