Just this morning on our drive to work I was talking with my co-worker, who I car pool with, on this very subject. The habit of Creative Cooperation is a beautiful habit to attain. Two heads are always better that one, in my opinion. However, both of those heads need to be working towards a common goal TOGETHER, not in competition or to beat out the other.
In order to grasp this goal you must first understand that you do not hold all of the answers, ever. You are not the center of process, and yes, your group can go on without you. You must know that your opinion is valued, and like-wise, you must value the opinions of the other people in your group or team.
No matter how many times you have done something, or read about something, or researched a topic, or played out the game plan on your own you must utilize SYNERGY with the other people in your group or team or you will fail. You may reach the goal that you and your team set out to accomplish, but you will fail because you did not achieve your goal as a team.
This can pertain to your day-to-day office environment, or to a new work group, or to your life in general. The use of synergy lets us uncover and discover things we would not have on our own.
At the end of this article Covey says,
"Valuing differences is what really drives synergy. Do you truly value the mental, emotional, and psychological differences among people? Or do you wish everyone would just agree with you so you could all get along? Many people mistake uniformity for unity; sameness for oneness. One word--boring! Differences should be seen as strengths, not weaknesses. They add zest to life."
I would have to honestly say, majority of the time I just want everyone to get along. I believe in order to appreciate people you must appreciate what makes up the person as an individual, and that (as humans) is a very difficult thing to do. I have witnessed one of my co-workers honestly try to understand and appreciate all of the different personalities and personal habits that make up our office. It is a very humbling thing to see, because I can honestly say I do not. On most days I have no desire to understand the women I work with; I just want to get through the day in harmony like we all work inside of a Disney movie. However, that is not reality. In order to achieve harmony (in real life) you must strive for it, work for it, and if everyone is working for that same thing you will achieve it.
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