Nourish Relationships - External enemies can focus a group
Sometimes having a common goal, shared sense of purpose, or external enemy can bring together a group that had previously focused on infighting. Now, I am not suggesting that you demonize the competition or, worse yet, your customers, but think about an observation an English friend once made about us Scots, particularly those from Glasgow. He said if two Glasgow supporters of rival sports teams are in a bar, they will engage in a heated conversation, until a third party from Edinburgh (another Scottish city) arrives, at which time the two former advisories will band together to focus their aggression on the “outsider”. Now, if an Englishman enters the same bar, the three Scots will put aside their differences, because being English is more egregious to the three Scots than supporting a different soccer team, or living in a different city. This analogy made me smile, partly because it is very true, and partly because I had never realized it before.
Now think about your own teams, departments and organizations. Is there infighting? Are there clashes of personality? If an external enemy presented itself, would these trivial day-to-day heartaches disappear to serve the greater good? Could you convince at least fifty percent of your team that was the case? If so, why not discuss it? Come up with a consensus goal for everyone to strive toward and see what happens. What do you have to lose?
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Nourish Relationships - External enemies can focus a group
Sometimes having a common goal, shared sense of purpose, or external enemy can bring together a group that had previously focused on infighting. Now, I am not suggesting that you demonize the competition or, worse yet, your customers, but think about an observation an English friend once made about us Scots, particularly those from Glasgow. He said if two Glasgow supporters of rival sports teams are in a bar, they will engage in a heated conversation, until a third party from Edinburgh (another Scottish city) arrives, at which time the two former advisories will band together to focus their aggression on the “outsider”. Now, if an Englishman enters the same bar, the three Scots will put aside their differences, because being English is more egregious to the three Scots than supporting a different soccer team, or living in a different city. This analogy made me smile, partly because it is very true, and partly because I had never realized it before.
Now think about your own teams, departments and organizations. Is there infighting? Are there clashes of personality? If an external enemy presented itself, would these trivial day-to-day heartaches disappear to serve the greater good? Could you convince at least fifty percent of your team that was the case? If so, why not discuss it? Come up with a consensus goal for everyone to strive toward and see what happens. What do you have to lose?
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