I once watched a gory movie on TV. I don’t remember the title; but the storyline has stayed on in my mind. This is the story of two young ladies who have graduated from a uniquely grotesque training school that trained an elite force of mercenaries.
In this movie, the people who ran the school, first kidnapped, from around the world, about 100 beautiful and brilliant girls about 12 years old and brought them to an island. The kids were first let out into an open field and explained that they were no more normal children and were expected to behave as the master says. The kids were scared and shocked. Some of them tried to run out of the compound. As they reached the gate there was a volley of bullets that ripped the girls who thought they were getting away. The realization dawned onto those who survived that they were in a crazy place.
Over the days they are put through one of the most rigorous and cruel training program in which failure to qualify each level meant failure to survive. Of the hundred odd they started with, around 25 survived the various challenges and was now an elite force of trained commandos capable of using a variety of weapons and handling any situations. One day they were all called for the final evaluation. The rules of the final round were such that only one among them was expected to survive.
Although there were many good friendships and teams that had evolved among the students, the final exam broke all these relationships, except a pair who decided that they will stick together, no matter what happened. The trust that each of them had developed among them helped them to play as a team and survive till the end and this strength was one of the key factors that ensured their survival. I am sure you can imagine how difficult it would be to hold the faith. Although the trainers planned only for one final graduate, they realised the potential of this pair and let them graduate jointly.
This story reminded me of a few lessons. The corporate world is often like this training school. The fights may not be as physically gory, but emotionally they could be as demanding and as mean. In this musical chair of life, at every level a few chairs are removed and each of us is left to fight for survival. In this path, the strength of each of our relationship will be tested at some time or other.
How many of us have developed a few friendships along the way on which we can trust, whatever happens. If we have not, do it; it definitely would help you to survive daily travails around us.
On the other hand, we need to ask whether we make the environment in our organisations conducive to building collaborative teams, or do we encourage cutthroat competition that makes each person to look for only his own selfish interest.
I agree certain competitiveness is good and will act as a stimulant. But it should not drive each person to be extremely self-serving; but should help to build collaborative teams. If we are not alive to this and work on this specifically, we will have a group whose priority is self interest and not organisational interest.
Finding a balance of healthy competition that stimulates a passion for excellence at the same time encourages collaborative teams is the challenge for each leader today.
To build teams that scale, this balance is a key ingredient
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