Being a Team Player
A Park and a Pram
A missionary couple lived in Japan and it was the custom of the
wife to walk her baby in a pram to the local park each day. One morning
she looked out to check the baby who was sleeping the in the pram outside
the door, when she saw a man measuring the pram. On enquiry, she learnt
that the local authority intended to put a gate at the entrance of the
park, and they wanted to make sure that she would still be able to get the
pram through.
This story highlights two pivotal elements that are part of being
a team:
- intention: the desire to consider and include another member of the
group.
- attention: the capacity to be aware of the impact of our decisions
on other members of the group.
The teams of yesterday
These two elements were a normal and natural part of the teams of our
ancestors. They were the foundation of indigenous community structure.
Without them, every member of the community knew that they would not
survive. If other members of the group were not considered or included,
this caused dissention and ultimately revolt. If individual members made
decisions that served only their own needs, the community as a whole was
threatened. They knew that the needs of the individual were served by
meeting the needs of the community.
The needs of the community
Communities are built on relationships and relationships are built on
need. When agrarian communities needed to harvest crops or build barns,
everyone came together to participate in that work. There was a shared
understanding that came from the lives that they led, and a complete trust
in the fact that every member of that community would reciprocate in kind.
They would never have thought to act otherwise, as they knew the dire
consequences on their neighbours’ lives if they did. This built a
strong feeling of reciprocity and community.
The new community
With the development of modern economies, the exchange medium became
money. It enabled those outside the community to access resources
without contributing to their production. It enabled exchanges to be
made without a shared understanding. It enabled resources to be used
unsustainably. Attendant to that was the break-up of what held
communities together - intention and attention - and the development of
the individual consciousness at the expense of the team consciousness.
With this came a belief that the needs of the individual could only be
met by the individual, with the consequent loss of reciprocity.
At Semilla Besada
The remit of sustainability demands that we create a holistic way of
life, one that takes into account the social, economic and environmental
implications of our decisions. This also means putting the needs of the
group above that of the individual, trusting in the spirit of reciprocity.
The group at Semilla Besada includes the environment and all its
inhabitants. Any decision which compromises the wellbeing of that group
will compromise the wellbeing of the individual.
Being part of the team
From the moment a volunteer sends us an enquiry, we believe that we
are in relationship. This is the beginning of forming a new team.
With this comes the responsibility of knowing that every decision made
and every action taken will have an impact on that team. This will
involve a new way of communicating, one which considers and includes the
concerns of the team.
A new way of communicating
The demise of the indigenous community structure has resulted in a
limitation in communication. Mostly, the relationship with another member
of a team involves either asking permission, or announcing what is going
to be done. The former places the responsibility on other group members
and the latter excludes any group member from participating. At Semilla
Besada, we encourage you to act as follows.
- Raising awareness of your needs and attending to them in a way which
does not compromise the wellbeing of the team.
- Where you cannot meet your own needs and require team support to
involve the members of the group to see if there is a way in which
these needs can be met without compromising the wellbeing of
others.
Real responsibility
Being part of a team involves responsibility. There seems to be a
belief that taking responsibility is announcing one’s needs and the
action one intends to take. This only serves the needs of the
individual at the expense of the whole. There is no intention to
consider and include another member of the group and there is no
attention to the impact of that action on other members of the group.
Back to the beginning
At Semilla Besada we wish to recreate the community structure of our
ancestors based on considering and including all members of the group
(remember this includes the environment and all other inhabitants) and
being aware of the impact that our decisions have on that group. We
wish to reinstate trust in reciprocity and place the needs of the group
above those of the individual, secure in the knowledge that when we look
after the group that we look after ourselves.
