Comments on: Personal Achievement vs. Team Achievement

By: scheng1

scheng1 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:26:24 +0000

Actually I think the strength of a team is seen only when a player loses the game. That is the time for the team to show support for each other. Most teams blame the poor player, until he is so discouraged.
scheng1´s Last Fabulous Post ..7 tips to self improvement

By: Lanceman

Lanceman — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:32:50 +0000

@Jen – Thanks for stopping by here also! Kids and sports are something I deal with almost every day it seems! But it’s all fun and good…

By: Jen Sinkler

Jen Sinkler — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:28:24 +0000

Lance,
Wow, great post and perspective on a controversial topic. Thanks for commenting on my post about kids and sports — I’m glad it led me here!

By: Lanceman

Lanceman — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:29:20 +0000

@Peter – Thanks, and great points — we do have to be careful what we do as parents, as there are people watching and learning from what we do.

By: peter vajda

peter vajda — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:36:07 +0000

Often in life, as in sports, too many folks consider the contest, the game, the experience from a zero-sum perspective – if you get yours, then I won’t get mine. Competition vs. collaboration.

Too, since many ego-driven, hubris- (rather than pride) driven parents live vicariously through their children, many children have become indoctrinated to view their parents’ “winning at all costs” (read-”me, first”) mantra as their own…

You and your chidlren are blessed…the hope is they carry this mind-set into adolescence and into adulthood where the planet (and the workplace) will be better of because of their presence.

By: Lanceman

Lanceman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:54:27 +0000

Marelisa – No, I haven’t heard of the golden hand. It’s a great point – kind of like someone taking a leadership role on the team. And has the skills to back it as well. I can see this being very effective for the team.

By: Marelisa

Marelisa — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:49:18 +0000

Hi Lance, Have you heard of the golden hand? Basically, if one person on a team is “golden” (a great player), he/she raises the bar for everyone else on the team, thereby helping them improve their game. If you have a team and everyone is off doing their own thing, I completely agree that this isn’t going to work. On the other hand, at the end of the day you only have control over yourself and how well you perform. I think it’s a delicate balancing act.

By: Lanceman

Lanceman — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:00:11 +0000

@Amanda – Good point, it can be easy to get wrapped up in our own little world, and forget about the big picture.

@Barbara – Thank you! Sometimes I think they get this concept better than I do.

@Kathy – Thanks much! I agree — that is one of the great benefits of playing on a team, is the skills you learn that will be with you the rest of your life.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:34:55 +0000

Your boys are obviously reflecting the values they seem practiced before them at home on a daily basis. BRAVO!

So many parents today have forgotten that the REASON we have our kids play on sports teams is so they’ll learn how to be a team player. Being able to function as part of a “team” is important in so many areas of life. Our careers, our relationships with others, our marriages are all areas where team work is a virtue.

Glad to see your little guys have the right perspective!

By: Barbara Swafford

Barbara Swafford — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:59:33 +0000

Hi Lance,

I thought that was awfully sweet that your boys were more worried about the team, than themselves. You’ve taught them well.

Anytime we engage in activity where there’s more than one, we do need to be thinking about what’s good for everyone involved. When selfishness enters the picture, it totally changes the dynamics. Like they say, there’s no “I” in “Team”.

By: Amanda Linehan

Amanda Linehan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Lance – I think because personal achievement is so highly valued we forget that team achievements can be very satisfying too – even if our own personal achievement is not highlighted.

By: Lanceman

Lanceman — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:15:45 +0000

@Rachel – good point. I guess it comes down to human nature (it’s good) and that we have a hard time celebrating when everyone else is feeling down.

@Mark – we could get together and make up a team. I have an 11 year old daughter as well as the two boys. Thanks for stopping by!

By: Mark Salinas

Mark Salinas — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:05:31 +0000

My 10 year old daughter is in softball and my 8 year old son is in baseball. Good advice and nice story!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:11:14 +0000

I do think it is hard to enjoy a personal achievement when you don’t succeed as a group. Not that you don’t think you did well, but more that you feel you could have done more to make things better. I think it is important like you said to just remember to try to do our best and try to give ourself credit when we do a good job.