Individuality, Individualism, Collectivism and Collaboration
To understand how we can promote the individualized contribution in teamwork, let us realize what is Individuality, Individualism, Collectivism and Collaboration.
Individuality
Individuality is the quality that makes one person different from all others.
A team is built of several individuals and we want everyone on the team to feel free to contribute ideas to a project as a means of instilling ownership and, therefore, increase engagement. That does not mean that every idea that anyone says is to be implemented, but it does mean that people can and must contribute their brains as well as their brawn.
Individualism
Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him, that he has the right to:
- Live it as he sees fit;
- Act on his own judgment;
- Keep and use the product of his effort;
- Pursue the values of his choosing.
Businesses that highlight individualism among their employees play to their desire to achieve personal success as opposed to collective success. The pursuit of personal success and happiness is a powerful motivation. If a business can align the interests of the worker with the interests of the business, this increases moral and productivity.
Individualism promotes motivation and is also linked to creativity and innovation.
Collectivism
On an opposite side if individualism we have Collectivism and it’s the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part, that he has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s “greater good.”
According to collectivism, the group or society is the basic unit of moral concern, and the individual is of value only insofar as he serves the group.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the act of working collectively with other individuals for an agreed upon mission. In a collaborative work we have the collaborative individual that seeks not only to work toward individual goals, but toward his team mutual goals.
So, what should we foster on our team?
Individualism VS Collectivism
Although it is true (and should be unremarkable) that individuals in a society can exchange ideas and learn from one another, the fact remains that the individual, not the community, has a mind, does the thinking and produces knowledge.
The correct epistemology — the truth about the nature and source of knowledge — is on the side of individualism, not collectivism.
But, each one of us don’t live alone. For example, our individual liberty is an individual sense of freedom attached to a relationship with others.
So, individually we have our mind, our thinking, our knowledge but all that is really useful if we use it with each other and for a group’s “greater good”.
Individualism lead us to work alone to help to be more creative and innovative but we should not forget the benefits of teamwork:
- It allows workers to accomplish projects which are too complex or large for an individual to do alone.
- It also allows a group to investigate a problem from many perspectives through brainstorming, which allows a team to incorporate different perspectives and ideas.
- A group approach also increases the chances of detecting flaws in a solution an individual might miss.
So, individualism must be respected and promoted to bring creativity and innovation to a group. But the individual can accomplish more by being a part of a group.
We also know that teamwork is essential to organizational success but too much teamwork can be harmful if it creates barriers to innovation.
Collectivism VS Collaboration
Let’s see how collaboration is different from collectivism.
Collectivism:
- Leads to “group think”;
- Unites people around a single purpose, which is fine, but it ignores alternate paths to achieve that purpose;
- value ideology over results.
Collaboration:
- Leads to innovation;
- Brings people to similarly focus on purpose, but they arrive at their goals by incorporating variable points of view;
- Collaborators are pragmatists who build upon the ideas of many in order to get things done.
Has we have the challenge to balance individual needs with team directives, we must avoid collectivism and facilitate collaboration.
Collaboration VS Individualism
While collaboration is about working collectively with other individuals, individualism is about working alone with the goal to win. The goal of the individual is to focus on its own accomplishments over the goals of the/a group, because the individualist is competitive.
So, how can we get the individual goals work together into the common goals? The answer is collaborative individualism.
