Eddy Parham, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP

by Eddy Parham, SPHR 

I once heard a story about a city slicker who, while driving in the country, drove his car into a deep ditch. Luckily, a local farmer came to help. The farmer had a big strong horse named Buddy. The farmer hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Bessie, pull!" Buddy didn't move. Then the farmer hollered, "Pull, Buster, pull!" Again, Buddy just stood there. Once more the farmer shouted, "Pull, General, pull!" Nothing.

Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And with that, Buddy easily dragged the car out of the ditch.

The city slicker was most appreciative and bought the farmer a Coca Cola (red can, white letters) from a nearby country store. While the two were drinking their drinks, the city slicker asked the farmer why he called his horse by the wrong name three times. The farmer said, "Oh, Buddy is blind and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't even have tried!"

How often are we like Buddy. We don't like to do something if we think that we're the only one pulling. Have you ever caught yourself saying things like, "Why should I pour my time and effort into that project? No one else seems to care!". Or, "Why should I put forth the extra effort to do a good job? No one else does, and it wouldn't be appreciated anyway!" Or, "Why should I treat him fairly? He's certainly not going to make an effort to treat me fairly!"

Challenges require teamwork. And, one of the qualities most needed by a team when they face a great challenge is collaboration. Now, collaboration is not the same as cooperation. Cooperation is working together agreeably. Collaboration is working together aggressively. Collaborative teammates do more than just work with one another. Each person brings something to the table that adds value to the team. In the case of Buddy, he thought that the horses were bringing additional strength even if it was in his own mind. This is often referred to as a synergistic effect - the sum is always greater than the individual parts.

To increase your collaboration quotient –
•       View teammates as collaborators rather than competitors
•       Be supportive rather than suspicious
•       Concentrate on the team rather than yourself

Now competition certainly has it's place but I would argue that collaboration and teamwork are usually more vital to the survival of the organizaiton.
</br>