Two donkeys we're tied together by a rope around each of their necks.
One donkey was striving to reach one bale of hay while the other was competing, trying to pull his partner 180 degrees in the opposite direction to eat another bale of hay.
They both wanted the same thing, hay, but no matter how hard they both tried, neither of those two donkeys could reach that hay.
Then, one of the donkeys, a smart donkey decided to cooperate with his mate instead of wrestling against him.
The wise donkey ceased striving with his partner and yielded.
They then both went in the same direction and both ate half of the first bale of hay.
Together, they then about-faced and marched 180 degrees in the opposite direction and enjoyed the second bale of hay... With their tummies full they then became mates.
What can we learn from this scenario? We’re either pulling together, or we’re pulling apart.
While there’s no power in division there is great power in synergy - Where there’s unity there is power!
Having said that let me make the distinction that uniformity suggests that we must wear the same clothes, look the same, think the same... We're all engineered in one mould like mass produced robots - clones. Not this chicken!
I define unity as diverse, original and unique people heading in a similar direction. We can have a similar destination in mind while finding our own unique ways of getting there.
So why not sit down with your team members and ask them, what do ‘we’ want? Look for commonality...
Best practise is to get everybody in your team involved. As a rule of thumb, involve everybody in everything!
Why? Because people support what they help create.
The process of defining your common goal is just as important as your end goal itself.
When you have a common goal that reflects your teams unified values and desires, naturally it’s going to be less ‘me’ and more ‘we’. With 'we' as the focus everyone will move forward together and when everyone moves forward together, success takes care of itself.