Here’s a great leadership tip if you’re looking to build a stronger team.
Throughout my athletic career, I’ve had teammates that were very different from me. We came from different worlds, had different interests, and approached life from very different perspectives. If we met on the street, there would be no apparent reason for us to get along.
How do you take motley crews and get them to work together as a team? When you can’t find similarities among them, you identify a common opponent working against them.
As Penn State football players, each of us had a common desire – to defeat our opponent. Whether it was Notre Dame, or USC, or Michigan, the mutual desire to defeat our common opponent forced us to work together as a team.
As it turns out, it was our opponent that created the bond.
You’ve seen it before. When a threat challenges the welfare of those that normally are divided, that same common threat can be the catalyst that actually draws people closer.
Identify and leverage your common opponent to help build a great team.
“We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall hang separately.” – Benjamin Franklin