Power of Team Work
Lessons in life come to you
from places you least expect.
On
the first weekend of February this year, my son, Rudraditya participated in a
Taekwondo tournament, his first ever, and got a silver medal. Taekwondo is a martial art originating
in Korea. It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in
some cases meditation and philosophy. Pretty excited about it, he was
too. Wouldn’t take the medal off the
rest of the day and would show it to everyone that we came across. I was
however a little less excited than would be expected. Aditya had done remarkably
well in the more difficult wooden block breaking part of the tournament and
will little or no practice managed even to break a wooden block with a kick.
But when it came to the comparatively easier act of demonstrating taekwondo
steps, he missed a few, which cost him the gold.
Finally
against my better judgment I told him that he could have won gold if he had
focused more. He and a friend of his who was also there at that instant cried
out in near unison – But our teacher
tells winning is not important participation is. They then went back to playing, paying no
heed to the speechless dad, with a gaping open mouth, staring in their wake.
I
was truly rendered speechless. For I realized the enormity of the mistake that
I was making – Not only had I come really close to depriving my son of the joy
of the moment, but what was even worse, that I was projecting a rat mentality
onto him that I always boasted of being free of. Luckily he turned out to be way smarter than
his old man. And there by hung a tale.
If
I have learnt one thing over the years is that success in any endeavor comes
not so much from patchy flashes of brilliance as it does to deep and sustained
commitment from a team. Flashes of brilliance and inspiration have their place
no doubt, for they act as flares that suddenly light up the path ahead and
momentarily afford us a glimpse of what lies ahead. However to make progress in
that path what is needed is a team that commits itself to the journey and bring
their diverse skills together for a common cherished goal. Committed
participation in my vocabulary is synonymous to teamwork and endeavors
However
perhaps the biggest characteristic of a winning team, leader included, is a
belief in the higher goal, being charged with a vision, a purpose. History
stands witness how our freedom was won by sustained and committed participation
of the common man who worked as a team for a good that was way greater than
individual aspirations. Similarly the grandeur of the pyramids, the
breathtaking beauty of the Khajuraho temples or mesmerizing charm of the Taj
would have never come to being without teamwork.
Each
of these wonders needed a long term vision on part of everyone who was
involved, needed courage, a willingness to put in time, learn and finally
contribute to the common cause. It needed hard work.
The
lesson that I now think my little Aditya learnt that day, and taught me as a
bonus, was the power of committed participation. On the larger scheme of things
a Gold medal wouldn’t have made an iota of more difference. For what he had
learnt that day was the joy of participation in a team sport, where no doubt
individuals get applauded for doing well, but the overall team score depends on
how everyone in the team performs. The short huddle that all the kids, between
six and ten years, got to after the tournament, in their cute childlike way to
scream in delight, show each other their medals and prizes and promises made to
practice more for the next tournament has set the base for long term success.
For it is always Teamwork that succeeds…
Recently I wrote this for the monthly newsletter at work and thought it should show up in my blog as well...
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