There is no “i” in team

Or so they say.

For years management trainers and gurus have been using the literal letters in the word “team” and tritely say:

“there is no ‘i’ in team”

– in other words in teams it is not about the individual, but the collective – the team, the common goal. They were of course wrong, as you can clearly see there is an ‘i’ in team.

Unfortunately many people say that “there is no ‘i’ in team” or “no i in teamwork” as a way to discourage individual thinking.

However for those that think as creatively as the so called expetrts that come up with this saying – well there is an “i” in team, as the image above clearly shows.

But its more than a joke.

For a team to be successful, each individual must be trusting, comfortable and relaxed with their respective team mates. If an individual cannot look after #1 (themselves first) how can they be expected to look after the needs of the team? For a team to function well, each individual must to some extent be selfish to ensure their needs are met first.

In other words…there’s no ‘i’ in team .. but we found it.

A quote playing on the spellings and letters available is often:

There’s no “I” in “team,” but there is a “ME”!

Other popular team quotes include:

• Together Everyone Achieves More – an acronym for TEAM
• Many hands make light work – John Heywood
• It’s not our preferences that cause problems, it’s our attachment to them – Buddha