Executive PA Australasia Issue 1 2021 | Page 56

DEVELOPMENT shared by a group and to which they could contribute and be valued — pushed people to work hard and resist immediate pleasures ”, David wrote .

Why you should put ‘ we ’ before ‘ me ’

Working as part of a team might seem like it will slow you down . You might want to believe that you can do it all yourself . But Michelle Gibbings is here to tell you why embracing teamwork will benefit you .
THE EXPERT
Michelle Gibbings is a workplace expert . She is the author of ‘ Step Up : How to Build Your Influence at Work ’, ‘ Career Leap : How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career ’ and the new book ‘ Bad Boss : What to do if you work for one , manage one or are one ’.
Would you prefer to work alone or as part of a team ? It ’ s a question people are often asked in a job interview . How a person answers that question isn ’ t solely determined by whether they classify themselves as an introvert or an extrovert . For many people , the answer will vary and depend on context and circumstances . Some days they may want to work alone , and other days they want to work collectively as part of a team .
Belonging motivates What is common , however , is that as tribal creatures we are genetically wired to be part of a group . Feeling excluded and not feeling like you belong impacts not only your self-esteem but also your mental health and wellbeing .
Belonging is critical , and being part of a healthy and engaged team is good for motivating us to go beyond what we think is possible .
Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University David DeSteno recounts in his book , Emotional Success , how being part of a team — even a team made up of strangers — can lead people to persevere longer than when they weren ’ t part of a team . He explained the results of a study by Stanford psychologists Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen , who examined how being part of a team impacted perseverance for students .
“ Knowing they [ the students ] were part of something — having a goal that they knew was
Achieving together Often , it is when we come together that we achieve extraordinary things . Throughout my corporate career and in the work I do now , I ’ ve frequently seen how ideas by one person are improved by another and how it is when we are in a group that our best ideas are generated , debated and achieved .
Curiously though , organisations typically reward people as individuals , and reward and recognition schemes often focus on rewarding the individual over the group and their collective team achievements .
Fairness matters It ’ s a problem of fairness . On one side of the debate is the question of how you can be fair if people do not contribute equally to the results . Conversely , reward and recognition schemes are highly subjective , and the outcomes can negatively impact team dynamics , cooperation and collegiality when individual rewards appear unfairly allocated .
If a person believes they work harder than someone else , and yet they are rewarded less , they will likely be unhappy . While we would commonly see this as fairness , in research terms , it is known as equity theory . As Furnham and Taylor , in their book Bad Apples : Identify , Prevent and Manage Negative Behaviour at Work write : “ Equity theory is concerned with outcomes and inputs as they are perceived by the people involved , not as they actually are ”.
What happens in practice is that the greater the perceived inequity , the greater the motivator for the person to try and find a way to restore the balance .
Leadership is key As a leader , you play a crucial role in treating each team member fairly , and consequently , balancing the focus on the ‘ we ’ and the ‘ me ’.
Sure , different people want to be recognised in various ways . But what ’ s common is people want to be valued and appreciated for what they do , and for that recognition to be genuine and fair . More often than not , the gestures that make the most significant difference and have the most impact are sincere and heartfelt . A simple ‘ thank you ’ can go a long way — both individually and collectively .
Focus on efforts that bond the group , rather than divide the team , because what we can achieve together is so much greater than what we can achieve alone .
It ’ s worth remembering the words of NBA legend Michael Jordan , who said : “ Talent wins games , but teamwork and intelligence win championships ”. S
www . michellegibbings . com
56 Chief of Staff | Issue 1 2021