Chanakya said “नैकं चक्रं परिभ्रम्यति|” i.e. you cannot move a chariot having a single wheel. This sutra by Kautilya is about significance of teamwork and importance of coordination amongst the team members. Have a look…
An Individual must Know his Weaknesses:
A Chariot is a successful partnership of at least two or more wheels. A one-wheeled chariot is useless as well as troublesome. An individual must have a good understanding for his abilities as well as his limits. Only a person well aware about his limitations, can truly appreciate the importance of a team.
Partnership is a nice way for attaining or accomplishing something beyond individual’s own capacity. Now, the question arises about finding and identifying the right partner? Right partners can fetch you huge profits. On the other hand the partnership involving inappropriate individuals is likely to prove disastrous.
In a partnership, every member is dependent on each other. As Phil Jackson once said,” The strength of the partnership is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team”. They cannot work independently. Similarly if one stalls and other move, the vehicle rotates in a circle. Also, it will keep rotating until the problem is fixed.
Authority and Unity of Command:
The chariot only ‘works’ when all wheels work together under a common authority. This is a universal attribute of all successful partnerships. Existence of a common objective is of great importance in a team. In reality, people have their own agenda and priorities. Only a good leader can merge those differences to a common goal.
* If there exists a difference in opinion then you cannot call it a team. It’s a group of two or more teams depending on number of opinions within that group. A leader must know the trick of managing such affairs for short term.
* We don’t continue with a busted tire. We replace it at next stop.
About Trust in a Team?
Everyone and anyone will support your cause, provided their trust remains intact. Simple!
On the contrary, a group is just a collection of people with something in common, such as having the same interest or being at the same place. In a group, members work autonomously and do not believe in other members. They often do not share their knowledge and information with their team. This is how a team is different than any ordinary group.
* You can name a group as “team” but if there exists a lack of trust then the benefits of a team will not be achieved.
A famous proverb says,” Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” The nice thing about teamwork is that one always has others on its side. People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them.
Other Important Things about TeamWork:
The lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone. This is why birds migrate in big groups. Teamwork is more about sharing the burden and multiplying the success.
Protection is another important attribute.
Profit and loss could also be said as two wheels of partnership. Teamwork is not only meant for profit sharing, it is also the platform to bear the burdens. The losses if any, must be shared in a partnership. Time tests everything.
In a nutshell, team promotes the idea of growing together, following the decree and achieving goals, instead of working hard and working alone.
On going through all the above aspects we can definitely agree upon the following lines :-
Corinthians 12:17-20
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but only one body.
Bhagavad Gita 2.47
No matter what conditions you encounter in life, your right is only to the works — not to the fruits thereof. You should not be impelled to act for selfish reasons, nor should you be attached to inaction.
So, appreciate your strength, identify your weaknesses, and gather the right kind of men to create history.
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