What Is A Team?

As we go into Super Bowl weekend the concept of what is a team came to my mind once again. Now I don’t care if you are a Bears fan or a Colts fan or any of the other teams that didn’t make to the Super Bowl, when you think of the team you usually think of the guys on the field. Is that really the team?

Living outside of Indianapolis and watching all the festivities surrounding the various playoff games and now prep for the Super Bowl is difficult to not get pulled into the excitement, the celebration of the team. As a matter of fact the days leading into the AFC Championship there was much discussion about the 12^th man. And for those of you that are football deficient, the 12^th man is the fans. So now are they part of the team?

Then I picked up the Indianapolis Star last Saturday. There was very small article on the front of the sports page (yes I read the sports page) about Jim Irsay the owner of the Indianapolis Colts. The article title read “[Super Boss} Irsay Foots Travel Bill For Colts Employees”. Wow, did that catch my eye. In the article I found out that the Colts organization consists of approximately 150 people in a variety of roles. Why did the Colts owner do this? He wanted his entire organization to be able to experience and savor the First Super Bowl since the Colts arrived in Indy. So are they part of the team?

So it made me think who is the team? So how does your organization define teams? I was working with a client last week and during the day I put them on “teams”. I then gave them an activity to accomplish. When I asked them why they didn’t work together they said “we were on a team.” But did that mean they couldn’t work together, what was the ultimate team?

In the article regarding the Indianapolis Colts, I saw a owner who saw that the “team” was not just the guys on the field. Or the whole host of individuals that make up the coaches, trainers, etc. who travel to keep the Colts performing. Or even the 12^th men (fans). That for Irsay his team also included all the individuals in the office that make it possible for the Colts to even take the field.

Who is on your team? Who supports the sales team? Or the manufacturing team? Or even the management team? How do you celebrate your team’s success? Do you think that the Colts organization will benefit from taking the entire staff to the big game? I think so. How many individuals feel left out of celebration/recognition of success that they felt they were part of?

So as you watch the game this weekend, think about how your organization is like or could be like a championship team. But go beyond the hype and the team on the field. How does the organization behind them support and make it possible for those teams to take the field and be successful. Does your organization have this type of support?

And finally I would be remiss if I didn’t end this article with: GO COLTS!!!!