One military experience I vividly remember took place during a particularly arduous winter field training exercise. Before planning began and orders were issued, the section commander drew the team around him. He asked, “Has anyone done this before?”
In turn, that question reminded me of a book called The One Minute Manager. It’s sold more than 15 million copies. It’s been translated into many languages. I was always struck by a quote from the author: “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
The section commander’s question and the author’s quote have always made sense to me. So I try to apply the principles behind them every day. They’ve worked for building teams in my working life, and in my military career. They’re the core of my new project, Los Leones.
I thought I’d find out more about why this focus on teamwork is both simple and profound. Clearly, if you have a problem, more brains can mean more answers. At the same time, that can mean extra complexity. This might make decisions harder. Why is the team approach often best?
I think most of us would describe being in a healthy team as special. It’s deep-rooted. A team switches on the bits of your brain that are made for social bonding. That’s a clue that humans have always relied on working together for survival and success.
Here are a few things I’ve discovered about teamwork. I hope they inspire you to find, support, or grow a team that helps you reach your goals:
Bonding with others
When you form connections with others, your body releases oxytocin. This is often called the ‘bonding hormone’ because it promotes trust and empathy. Without those, you won’t get far if you’re looking for teamwork and collaboration.
Oxytocin also reduces your levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. So it makes relaxation easier. It’s good for keeping anxiety at bay, helping to fight off symptoms of stress, loneliness and depression.
Solving problems and creativity
Being in a team stimulates your prefrontal cortex. That’s the ‘modern’ part of our brain that allows us to show self-control and think about the future. No surprise that it doesn’t fully develop until our 20s.
The prefrontal cortex is central to human intelligence, adaptability, and emotional well-being. That’s because of its role and connections to other parts of the brain. Being exposed to the views of other team members strengthens all these links. It’s especially useful in lateral thinking.
One of my favourite examples of intelligent teamwork comes from Finland. The country shares a border with an unfriendly neighbour, so all its citizens have to be prepared for defence. One issue is dealing with disinformation and propaganda. So schools teach critical thinking by getting pupils to work together on this. It’s a core subject in their national curriculum. As a result, Finland was recently rated the European nation that’s most resistant to fake news – for the fifth time in a row.
Warding off loneliness with your ‘social brain’
Teamwork is something that all our communities could enjoy a little more of. The World Health Organisation tells us that 25% of older people experience social isolation and up to 15% of teenagers get lonely. That has a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity. It’s comparable to risk factors like smoking, obesity, and inactivity.
Having teammates means your mirror neurons kick in. These are a special type of brain cell that fire both when you perform an action and when you see someone else do the same. They allow you to ‘feel’ what others are feeling. In that way, they play a big role in understanding the actions and emotions of others.
In turn, the empathy that follows is needed for developing maturity and character. This is why I encourage young people to find ‘their’ tribe early in life – whether it’s the Scouts, cadets, or a local sports team. My rule would be to focus on participation first, then performance second. Build the habit. The role model here is parkrun – I wrote a blog about this wonderful initiative two years ago.
Use your team to help with goal-setting
I said that performance comes second. But when that teamwork leads to success, our brains release the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter called dopamine. This reinforces positive behavior, encouraging you to keep contributing to the group. It becomes a virtuous cycle and increases the chances of you reaching both your personal and team goals. To learn more about goals and the SMART approach to setting them, you can read my blog.
Improve your self-esteem
Over time, being in a team reshapes you. You’ll start to feel more aligned with the values you all build and share. This group identity can help you feel better about yourself and strengthen your self-worth. Group identity will help you feel connected and part of a larger collective – whether it’s the national identity built by the Finns, or simply the parkrun organised by friends and neighbours.
Finding my team
When I left the military I knew I’d miss the teamwork and camaraderie. So my latest project is bringing together a new team for new challenges. We’ve christened ourselves ‘Los Leones’ – the lions. ‘Los Leones’ are mainly ex-military folk but also serving military and civilians. We’re raising funds for various charities and have recently added some information on my website – take a look here.
In the future, I’m hoping that Los Leones can become bigger and reach more people. It’s early days but in years to come we may be able to support other teams and individuals reach their goals in all sorts of ways. Keep in touch and watch this space. To contact me directly with your thoughts and ideas, please email me at jason@freestylefunctionalfitness.com.
