Commentary by Josie Sanders
The NoblesvilleWORKS initiative is a campaign that will highlight a monthly “soft skill”. The campaign is comprised of work by Noblesville Schools administrators and counselors, the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce, Ivy Tech, Work One, Noblesville Economic Development, non-profit organizations and several local businesses. In a partnership with Current in Noblesville, students who are part of the NoblesvilleWORKS initiative will have their monthly essays published. September’s “soft skill” is Teamwork. For more information, visit stayheregrowhere.com/Noblesville-Works/.
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Teamwork is often assumed to occur every time a group of people get together to work on something. But that’s rarely the case.
Teamwork takes active participation, open communication and commitment to a common goal.
Being a high school student athlete, I am faced with opportunities to work with others on a daily basis, whether it’s in the classroom or on the volleyball court. One thing I have found is that not everyone will play the same role on a team, but each person is equally important to the team’s success.
Being on the volleyball team, I play an offensive role that often scores many points that I get credit for. But the truth is that there is a player who had to pass the ball to the setter and the setter had to set a ball to me in order for me to even attempt to get a kill. And along with that, there are others on the court communicating with one another and players on the sideline cheering us on.
All of these factor into our ability to score points. The moment we stop working together as a team is the moment we can start to fall apart. The same is true in the classroom. When working on a project, the final product is often all the teacher will see. But everyone’s contribution is crucial in the group for the final product to turn out as planned.
Someone may contribute his or her creativity to a group while another acts as a leader who helps organize everyone’s ideas, and a strong speaker in the group may present the project.
The best teams not only share a common goal but also use everyone’s individual talents to reach that goal. So next time you find yourself on a team, know that your contributions matter.
