Teamwork and social interactions have always been part of our evolution as human beings. From survival to well-being, we depend on each other, as we are deeply interconnected. Today, this is more obvious than ever. Not only that, but our interactions, as well as our lives, are increasing in complexity. Our work environment is a reflection of this change.
It seems that our cooperation methods and skills are lagging behind. Our projects and duties are rapidly becoming more and more complex, while the ways in which we relate as humans are changing slowly. We logically understand the roles of our team, but we seem to lack the ability to connect with our team members in ways that enhance our creativity and results. When this happens, we end up judging and blaming each other for not accomplishing our duties.
If we pay close attention to our work environments, we see that most of them are designed in an old and simplistic way, such that they do not reflect the complexity of our current life. We tend to focus on just a few indicators to measure our work, while ignoring the real context in which those indicators are used, which is our entire life. In such conditions, it’s no wonder that our work becomes a cause of stress and our colleagues sometimes become our opponents.
If we want to solve this problem, we must first realize that forcing ourselves to be strong and deal with the situation is not a real solution, but just a way of hiding our pain. Once we are aware of this, we can start looking for solutions that address the main issue: our superficial approach towards our work environment. We need to start looking at our team as being made of not just roles, but humans with roles. Once we start integrating more and more aspects of ourselves, our teamwork will take new forms, which will reflect the true complexity of our lives.
Such a process of transformation can only start with individuals. We need to reimagine our team dynamics and get involved in reshaping them. The process can be slow and tedious, and full of mistakes, but it will be worthwhile. It will require courage and effort, as well as patience. Whether we find ourselves in a managerial position or any other role, it matters less. Our challenge is to increase our awareness of which aspects of life are involved in our work and then imagine solutions to capture and integrate them. The results can be exciting.
If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction.
— Eckhart Tolle
