In my younger days i did a lot of track and field. I ran the 400M hurdles and proved to have some success in it. I would attend track meetings most weekends during the summer. What i use to feel, and what is reinforcing it self now, is how isolating running my race could be. It was me against others and as much as people may support on the outside it was down to me on race day. I warmed up and got into the zone ready to race and felt the nausea of the adrenaline before a race and quite a few times the high of winning at the end but that was always just me with those feelings.
In some respect it is the loneliness of every runner who runs an individual race. A few years ago i did a relay with a team of 12. We were one of over 400 teams running this relay. It went on for over 24 hours and covered more than 200 miles. It was a remarkable experience and one i will never forget as you form bonds with a group of people, some of whom i didn’t know, and encourage not just your team members but others. Many people during that run achieved more than they ever thought possible including me. I felt accountable to finish my legs of the relay as part of my role in the team – it wasn’t a race but an event to complete. It was meant to be a team event and truly was.
It made me realize how much being part of a team means to me. How we have our roles to play but to have others around encouraging you, supporting you and you support them means so much and creates a ‘high’ you don’t get on your own. I crave the same at work – the ‘high’ that comes from being part of a team and from the pure human interaction and camaraderie of working together for a joint goal regardless of personal gain. There seems to be so much focus on the individual and the isolation that comes from us all using our personal devices and believing we have team work without the human interaction.
We all need to take a step back, form relationships that build teams and start to enjoy the ‘high’ that comes from that basic human desire to socialize and collaborate – make it a goal of 2018.
Project Delivery and Team Building 