Innovation counselors and organizational consultants alike extol teamwork as the key to shared success. For projects or new initiatives to succeed, it’s said all involved have to be “on the same page” or working together as one.
But does that include innovation initiatives in the corporate environment?
Some years ago, an assistant coach on the Chicago Bulls chided Michael Jordan for the star player putting on a stellar – albeit individual – performance in a team win. The coach stated the now famous line, “There is no ‘I’ in team.”
The statement has come to epitomize the place of players in a team performance. For a team to be successful, the thinking goes, there is no individual.