How does one manage a team? If you ask seasoned team managers about their most challenging task, you are most likely to hear about managing conflicts among team members as a significant contender for the top spot.

Experienced team managers also recognise that conflicts primarily arise from the inherent human desire of each team member to excel over others. This fundamental need stems from the aspiration for self-governance, the autonomy to chart our own path and to make independent decisions.

We also become most valuable to our team by pursuing domains where our talents lie. Therefore, this aspect is inherently beneficial to the team.

However, the positive aspects of this need for self-reliance encounter challenges when confronted by another fundamental human need; connection or cooperation. The need for connection has consistently played a pivotal role in human evolution, from our early days as hunter-gatherers to the modern industrial society. We cannot envision achieving anything significant alone!

Throughout our lives, humans exhibit a persistent need for connection, manifesting in various forms such as social bonds, enduring friendships, romantic relationships, or belonging to a group.

This brings me to the central point of this post: the role of the manager is to devise strategies to guide the team away from prioritising individual interests and towards working collaboratively for the team’s and collective good.

But this cannot be done by ignoring the individual’s aspirations for autonomy. Only when the manager is able to recognise and align these two conflicting needs can there be a win-win for both.

Team sports, such as football, provide an exemplary illustration of this concept. While individual players possess exceptional skills and brilliance, it is rare for a team with the most talented players to emerge victorious.

The game is won by the team that develops a profound understanding that success requires the collective efforts of eleven individuals playing in harmony.

This is the ultimate challenge faced by football coaches as well as anyone who manages a team!

Worth thinking about 🤔