A group of geese travels a long distance, flying in a V formation. There is a reason for their V-shaped formation. When the bird in front flaps its wings, it creates a vortex in the air, and the vortex creates uplift as it moves back. This allows the birds following behind to fly comparatively easily than the bird in front.
However, it is too much work for the bird in front to keep its position the whole time in the V formation. The geese solve this problem wisely. Instead of having a certain leader, they take turns to lead. The secret to the geese’s long-distance journey without getting tired is their teamwork which is to help and encourage each other and use their energy efficiently.
The Apollo Syndrome
Living in this complicated and segmentalized modern society, there is no one who does not belong to at least one group or organization. As for workers, whether they like their jobs or not, they have to spend all day with their co-workers in their company—community.
Wherever you are, if the team or community you belong to accomplishes a goal and produces a good result, your life will be more satisfying. So, you may think it is advantageous in many ways to work with capable people. Those who are evaluated as capable by people around them and put much confidence in their abilities tend to lead others in everything. Then, what happens when only capable people gather?
When the Apollo spacecraft—first spacecraft that successfully landed on the moon in human history—built, a large number of highly capable people were mobilized. It is natural that capable individuals with much knowledge are required for a difficult, complicated job. There were great expectations because many talented people from all walks of life gathered together to build the spacecraft, but the expectations soon turned into disappointment. The results were far below what people had expected. From this came the term Apollo Syndrome.
The Apollo Syndrome is a phenomenon mentioned by Dr. Meredith Belbin, a British researcher and management theorist. In his book, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, he reported some unexpectedly poor results with the teams formed of people who had sharp, analytical minds and high mental ability, and he called this the Apollo Syndrome. He conducted a series of experiments to test the team role theory, where he formed several teams and created one team called the “Apollo” team, composed exclusively of very smart people. Then he gave each team the same problem and observed how the Apollo team solved the problem.
The experiment participants thought that the Apollo team would outperform the other teams. However, the team members spent a large part of their time on the abortive debate, trying to persuade the other members to adopt their own point of view. It took a considerable amount of time for the Apollo team to reach an agreement and solve the problem.
A boatman is needed to move a boat. However, if everybody wants to be a boatman, the boat will end up going in the wrong direction. Although people in the same boat are divided in their opinions at first, they have to reach an agreement and row in the same direction so that the boat will sail on the right path.
Teamwork, the shortcut to success
Every team needs a leader to guide the whole team, and the leader’s capacity has a huge influence on the team. However, since we live in the organized society, it is hard for the leader to guide the team alone, and cooperative interaction among the team members is necessary in most cases. As the importance of teamwork is increasing, each group is making various attempts to help the team members learn teamwork and to evaluate their teamwork skills. Nowadays, more university professors give students group assignments, and many enterprises interview people through joint activities. An enterprise has a personnel management system called “duty rotation” to help the workers experience different duties so that they can understand the difficulties of the workers in different departments, work together with them, and make great teamwork.
In this situation, there is no place for a leader who tries to teach the members unilaterally and ignores their opinions. It is good for a leader to show initiative. However, if a leader is never satisfied with the team members’ work, always points out at their mistakes, and tries to solve everything by himself, there is a great possibility that such a team will produce results lower than expected, just like the Apollo team. Although they are working, the way to their goal is not shortened, and it makes the leader and the team members exhausted.
Learn from the geese that make a long journey without much trouble through the power of teamwork. Andrew Carnegie said, “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” Teamwork increases the energy of the team and allows it to accomplish its goal fast.
Teamwork is made by all members
It is not only the leader that hinders the fuel, which is called teamwork, from being supplied. There is also something that the team members need to watch out. It is negligence.
There was an experiment where participants were asked to shout. At first, they measured each person’s voice individually, and then had them shout by two. When they shouted by two, their voices did not even reach 70% of their individual voices. When they shouted in a group of six, their voices reached only 36% of their individual voices. They didn’t use their full strength, thinking that someone else would do it.
Geese are different. Concerning the geese’s movement, there is one more thing that we need to pay attention to: The geese continue to make a certain sound when they follow the leader. It is to encourage the lead goose not to feel tired. There is no negligence or lack of leadership in geese.
Some may think that there is nothing they can do for the team because they are incompetent. However, just being with them is helpful for the formation of teamwork. Cycling is a good example; cyclists can go faster when they bike in a group than when they do alone. Great teamwork comes from a team where each member does his best for his assigned task and the leader guides the members so that each capacity of the member can make balance and harmony.
To heaven with the best teamwork
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Co 1:28–31
There is no Apollo team in the gospel work that God is leading. If some look more capable and some less capable, it is only by the human standard. None of us has anything to boast about before God. So we shouldn’t be proud though we seem to have some abilities or are ahead of other members.
It is not good either to only stand back or just to go with the flow, saying that we can do nothing. God has called us to Zion, and has given us duties and abilities to do them. So, we ought to do our best in our given positions, and make the gospel teamwork with our brothers and sisters in Zion, with mutual respect and understanding.
It is said that teamwork can be much stronger when there is a clear common goal which all the members can agree with and when the members’ roles are clearly divided. We have enough conditions to make the best teamwork. We are running towards the same goal—the kingdom of heaven, and we have the mission which God has given to each one of us for the gospel. Although we look weak and feeble in the world, we have the best teamwork in God, the best leader. Therefore, there is nothing lacking in our path towards our final destination, heaven.
“The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly.” Isa 60:22