“Alice, are you blind? Don’t you see the family resemblance? That’s my brother.”
Bringing people together to work as a team towards a common goal.
It’s one of the most challenging endeavors humans embark on and it is absolutely necessary for the success of just about anything.
It’s a model that you find in armies, sports teams, governments, police work, and many other countless fields.
It is probably one of the most defining examples of what it takes for humans to progress as a civilization. It’s why sports movies are always welcomed and loved, especially when it’s a true story. They present with both opportunities and reminders of what it takes to look at someone next to you, who is different from you, and work with them.
It’s incredibly challenging because one of the biggest components of achieving collective success, is overcoming an individual’s need for success on his own.
For a person to realize and work as part of the team, they need to relinquish their own ideas of ego.
An ego is probably a person’s worst enemy, sadly this enemy is usually unknown to them because they rely on their ego. An ego is also the kryptonite of any team, and it can present itself in so many ways.
1) Resisting change
When you’re too comfortable in your own ideas, that you refuse to accept the possibility of other better ideas, because it threatens your comfort zone.
2) Resisting others
“Particulars? Man, no matter what I tell you, you ain’t never gonna know nothing about me.”
If you’re not willing to get to know other people, and accept them, you will always have a harsh ego that keeps you from relating to others, from creating bonds with people, and from being a true leader.
3) Leading by example
Speaking of leadership, if you’re not willing to apply the same rules on yourself that you do on others, simply because your ego makes you think you’re an exception, then you’re very much mistaken about the nature of leadership, teamwork, and even common respect.
“Attitude reflects leadership, captain.”
4) Bravery
It’s not easy confronting your ego. Usually your ego is masking something else behind it. It could be fear, or anxiety, or any kind of insecurity. So you need to be brave to break down you ego and expose what’s behind it.
“I was afraid of you, Julius. I only saw what I was afraid of, and now I know I was only hating my brother.”
5) Self-Awareness
This is vital. If you’re not self aware, you’ll never catch yourself showing your ego, or relying on it. It’s important to know yourself and when you fall back on you ego, catch yourself and learn not to repeat that.
“I figured as long I’m going to be in school, I might as well hit some people while I’m at it.”
6) Listening to others’ advice
“Honesty? You want honesty? Alright, honestly, I think you’re nothing. Nothing but a pure waste of God-given talent. You don’t listen to nobody, man! Not even Doc or Boone!”
It can be hard to swallow when someone corrects something we did or said, it hurts none other than our ego. But we need to learn to not take these matters personally, otherwise we’ll never improve in any aspect of our lives. We must be willing to always learn more, and to head others’ wise advice.
