There's no "I" in team.

Six months ago, I shared a story on LinkedIn about the “I” in team.

It sparked more conversation than I expected, but it left me with a bigger question:

In learning and development, do we explicitly build team-first capability?

We train communication.We train compliance.We train systems.We train leadership frameworks.

But do we train:

·        How to handle disappointment without destabilising a team?

·        How to support a decision you don’t agree with?

·        How to separate ego from performance feedback?

·        How to prioritise collective success over personal recognition?

Those aren’t personality traits. They’re skills.

And if you’ve read my recent posts, you’ll know my view:If someone can get better at something, it’s a skill.

High-performing teams aren’t built on slogans. They’re built on behaviours - and behaviours can be practised.

If we want genuinely aligned, high-performing organisations, we need to treat team-first thinking as something that can be developed, not something we simply hope people arrive with.

Because if we don’t build it deliberately, we shouldn’t be surprised when ego quietly outperforms alignment.

That’s a cost most teams can’t afford.

Jen