Throughout history teams have been formed either through necessity or desire in order to accomplish tasks, get jobs done or even to simply have fun. The main drive for establishing a team is to achieve a goal that can be performed more logically and efficiently or in some cases only possible through the product of team efforts. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a team as, "A number of persons associated in work or activity especially a group on one side in a match". Although this definition is true, anyone who has been part of a team would define a team as being much more.
Teams have certain characteristics and qualities found in not just any random group of persons. The presence of these characteristics within a team often specifies the quality of a team and the ability that team possesses to accomplish its purposes. I have had the privilege to be part of various teams including a swim team, basketball team and a work crew. A family also has many of the attributes that are being discussed about teams, and if contemplated is in fact a team striving for happiness. And although I am not a soldier I thought it would be good to talk about the kind of team a soldier is a part of because it exemplifies many of the characteristics that I have found present in the teams I have associated with.
The first characteristic of a team is that each member is included, contributes, helps and desires to attain the goal of the team. This is an obvious requirement because a team could not function without it. The members of a team must contribute and be driven, partly by their own interest or wants, to a great enough degree to sacrifice and work hard for the good of the team. In a work team, there are sometimes certain jobs that must be done, but require a little more work or effort to accomplish. In those situations, a good worker will take it upon themselves to do the harder job and contribute a little more, so that the job will get done and the team will operate smoothly. This type of effort made by individual members of a team is of essence in every successful team.
The next characteristic, which is a step higher than the first, is that each member does their best. Whether in practice or during performance, doing their best constantly is the only way a team can fully meet its potential. In swimming there are individual events as well as team relays, (which consist of four swimmers). Not surprisingly the members on each relay that I swim on, including me, do their very best for the team and always make their personal best times in the leg that they swim for the relay. Somehow, as part of a team effort, each person performs better and pushes themselves harder when they swim together than when they swim individually; some how when we are put together on a team we subconsciously try even harder than we normally do. This is how a true team functions, enabling it to be the very best it possibly can.
The following characteristic of a successful team is that the members train hard, have fun and practice together. Through this team bonding takes place, and everyone feels the need to contribute, the team members also become accustom to their place on the team and what they need to do to meet their expectations. In basketball, the team works together relentlessly drilling plays and making sure that cooperation is taking place, so that on the court they can smoothly work together and know what's going on as a whole. In the army intense training and practice is often the difference between life and death for themselves and their fellow soldiers. And in a work crew, working together is the key for efficient, productive and even enjoyable labor
By having the previous characteristic the next one develops which is that the team members are friends or at least show the respect towards each other that a friend deserves. This ensures that a team stays together and intact, and is a characteristic that may already be present or in some cases develops through being part of the team. In a work group or on a basketball team the performance of the team is greatly dependent upon this. In the army and a family this characteristic is vital, and almost always develops of its own accord. When the members have a desire to be together, they accomplish much more together.
One of the more important characteristics of a team is that everyone keeps each other going. If a member is feeling down or overwhelmed the team helps them to get through their challenges and continue to persist. During demanding sets at swimming, it can be very hard to stay positive, and without a team there to support you and make you continue, throwing in the towel and saying its enough would be very easy. Without a team it would be difficult to push yourself to the limit and do things you didn't think you could. Likewise in the military during a battle, you would just want to give up, but when your friends are around you fighting and dying, they buoy you up and make you want to keep going, to try harder and never give up. They drive you to go beyond your limits and accomplish what seems the impossible. A team becomes amazing when it functions so as to drive each individual to keep going and to continually try even harder.
Once all the characteristics thus far mentioned are present, commitment to the team always follows. When people work hard, endure together, help each other and have fun together they can't help but want to be with each other and continue to stick together and get through trials as a team. And the more a team works, accomplishes and has fun together, the more their love and commitment to each other and the team grows.
There must be sacrifice in a good team. A team who sacrifices, whether it is time, money, fun or even the sacrifice of enduring pain and suffering together when they could be doing other pleasurable things, builds a team like nothing else. It shows true commitment to the team, making the team stronger and also helping each other to bond and become friends. In a close family, sacrifice is constant, the father of the family sacrifices his time and efforts to provide and look after the family, the mother of the family sacrifices her time by nurturing, loving and teaching her children, and the children within a family occasionally sacrifice so that they all can be together. However all the sacrifice is not in vain, through it comes love and a deep care for one another; it also provides a stable foundation of safety and unity for each member. On a swim or basket ball team each member sacrifices their time and money, but more importantly they sacrifice it so that they can work together, and endure pain together, and in doing so they get better and become stronger together. In the military sacrifice is always present. Each comrade does his best, fights, hungers and endures pain and suffering in order to protect themselves, their fellow soldiers and the rights and freedoms of their family, friends and people they don't even know. And through their sacrifice they show their love and care that they have for us, which builds us as a country and makes us have a greater appreciation for the freedom and liberty which we have. Like Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
The characteristic which comes from being apart of a team who sacrifices, is that team members develop and share a brotherly love for each other. This characteristic always develops in a good team because of the triumphs they share as well as the pains they suffer together. This care extends beyond the team and makes the individuals hope for the safety, well being and happiness of each other outside of regular team activities. When this happens the team becomes unified and develops into much more than a simple group of people trying to accomplish something, they become the equivalent of a family towards each other. It is not odd or even weird to hear veterans refer to each other as brothers because on the battle field they share experiences and develop a bond for each other that could not be built, brought about or reproduced in any other circumstance or way. This love for each other, which is an important and motivating characteristic of a team to do good and succeed together, is already present and found within a family, making the family a powerful team that can accomplish great things for the well being of each other and bring about much happiness as a result of their love. Love is most assuredly the greatest force in existence.
The last binding characteristic of a team is that they win and lose together. It is important for a team to stick together no matter what, and through their efforts, hard work, pain and commitment either reap the reward of accomplishing their goal or do not, as long as they do it together. A team that loses and blames its loss on certain individuals, greatly damages its team spirit as well as the obligation which follows loss to personally recommit and try even harder next time in order to triumph. On the other hand losing together as a team supplants each member with a desire to try and work even harder, which eventually leads to victory and success. Nothing can be greater and of more value in a team, than winning together. In swimming, the joy felt after winning a relay race is indescribable. The practice, time, energy and pains spent together in striving to get better and be faster pays off and becomes completely worth it. You just want to scream and shout for joy. In basketball the same joy is felt after a close game, when your team tries their hardest and performs their best and then barely wins in the last couple seconds of the game. In a war, I couldn't imagine the happiness felt by soldiers upon hearing that the war was over and that they were victorious. And of even greater magnitude I cannot comprehend the joy each family entering in to the Kingdom of Heaven will experience, having passed this life's test and obtaining the blessing of being together forever.
Teams are truly worth being part of. A team helps individuals to find friends, develop their talents, learn of commitment and hard work, and provides each member with rewarding and memorable experiences. A life void of the characteristics found in a team would be empty and unsatisfactory. I submit that teams are surely more than just a group of persons, and if you aren't a part of a team, then you should definitely find and join one.