Dictionary.com provides the following definitions for the word “team”:

“A number of persons associated together in any work; a gang; especially, a number of persons selected to contend on one side in a match, or a series of matches, in a cricket, football, rowing, etc.”

“A group organized to work together: a team of engineers.”

There is another definition about a group of small animals, especially ducks. However, although fascinating, this one doesn’t help me with the topic of today’s blog.

Every season spotlights a different sport, and each one of these sports show the the importance of teams, each in their unique way.  Some are more dependent on a single player (the quarterback in football, the center in basketball), while others are more of a team sport (baseball and hockey).

A few years ago we were in the throes of the baseball strike. America’s “game” within a game between owners and players was nothing, if not comically sad. Splitting up a few billion bucks is a problem most of us average joe’s would gladly struggle with, and I believe reaching consensus on a fair and equitable settlement would not have taken regular folks like us more than three months. One thing we did see was the strength of the two competing teams – the team of owners, and the team of players.

The loyalty of the players was to their team, not necessarily the ball club they played for, but the union of players. I’m not saying there wasn’t a loyalty of the players to their team and the market they played for, and to a lesser extent to the fans. However, there was a dual loyalty playing out to:

• The team (and subsequently the owner who writes the check, and the fans who buy tickets, concessions, and memorabilia)
• The union being the organization that is designed to look out for the best interests of the individual players, the team of players; in this case, loyalty to a team (or union, or department) outweighed their loyalty to the game.

A few years ago, us Indianians (yea, I made it up, but you know I mean those of us living in Indiana) got real excited when we landed the World Basketball Championships. Hoosiers and our brethren all around the country believed we would again see a U.S. team of NBA pros remain undefeated against the rest of the world, showing dominance in our sport. So what happened? Well, simply put, we lost.

And, not just once, but twice. When you listen to the pundits – and even some of the players – the reason the U.S. lost was because the group of 12 players didn’t play as a team, unlike our gold medal victory in the last Olympic games.

Employees are always the CEO of one organization, and that one organization is themselves.  Organizations who don’t understand that employees are often more loyal to the eight or ten people they work with on a daily basis will pay the penalty.  And in today’s environment, when many employees are being “cut” by their team, managers have to understand how to overcome the anger and hurt the remaining team members feel.

Tough game, huh?