Join the Team You’re On

I experienced many moves during my Army career. My wife and I often reflect on each of the twelve places we lived during our first twenty years of marriage. Every move meant a new school for the kids, new friends, new neighbors, a new community. We loved the experience. For me it also meant a new team with new teammates. I loved that too. Over time, I learned a lot about teams; the good, the bad, and the ugly. I learned the importance of working with others to contribute to the team’s goals and what it meant to be a valued teammate. I learned too that some teammates were never happy. Even in the best times some just couldn’t be satisfied. As a result, they often failed to contribute in a meaningful way to the team’s goals. We often joked of them, “The two best units in the Army are the one they just left and the one they’re going to next.” These types of teammates were common enough that one of my commanders included in his newcomers’ welcome briefing the charge to, “Join the team you’re on.” In other words, be where your feet are. His simple words of wisdom stuck with me. Now, I use them all the time when I’m speaking with teams.

“Join the team you’re on” applies to every member of the team, leaders and junior members alike. But if you’re wondering what it means to join the team you’re on, here are three principles that will help answer the question.

1. Values and vision. To join the team you’re on first requires you to embrace your team’s values and the leader’s vision for the team. Not only should you embrace them, you should champion them. If you lead the team, it’s your responsibility to behave in ways that demonstrate the team’s values and to hold others accountable to them. You must also communicate a vision for the team that others can visualize, understand, and buy in to. Regardless of your role on the team, if you cannot adapt to the team’s values and embrace its vision, you should leave the team.

2. Followership. Whether you’re serving in the role of a leader, or you are the junior member of a team, joining the team you’re on requires you to practice good followership. Good followers are willing to cooperate with others while working to accomplish the team’s goals. Good followers demonstrate disciplined initiative and a high degree of interactive teamwork. Being a good follower doesn’t mean you must always be happy, but it does mean you should always contribute in a positive way. This may require you to have the courage to disagree, debate, then get to work. Short of doing something illegal, immoral, or unethical, great teammates always contribute in a positive way.

3. Role acceptance. A wise leader once told me that doing your best in the job you’ve got will often lead to the job you want. He was right. Understanding your role on the team is one thing, but accepting it and giving it your full energy is another. Failing to perform your role, whatever it may be, to a high standard will cause others to have to pick up your slack. This creates unhealthy friction and slows the team down. If you’re the leader of your team, failing to give your team 100% is as unforgivable as the junior member of the team shirking their duty.

Join the team you’re on. You’ll be glad you did…and so will your team.