Take a moment and read that again . . .
Do you believe it?
If work is a team sport, then you are dependent upon others for your success. You cannot perform at a high level alone.
However, in many organizations a “hero mentality” abounds in which individuals wait to step in and save the day. In those organizations, I tend to see a short-term focus in which firefighting becomes the norm and long-range fire prevention is overlooked.
In extreme situations, it’s not just firefighting that occurs, but arson, where individuals actually create a crisis in order to be the hero. Those who save the day are then rewarded with other “problem areas to fix” or other recognition that serves to perpetuate the individual mindset. A culture of silos and barriers to collective success abounds!
While this solo mindset may deliver results in the short term, burnout occurs when the self-imposed demands become too great. Team members may become complacent, sitting back and saying to themselves,
“Why bother? She will just do it herself anyway.”
For the organization, when key individuals leave, the institutional knowledge leaves with them.
The lack of collaboration results in single points of failure that undermine corporate success.
Another reason for leaders to create a culture of cultivation!