![]() When I was growing up, I did my share of team sports, mostly soccer and rugby. ![]() More importantly, from my observations the sort of behavior implied when the concept of a team player is raised is the exact opposite of what you want when you need to accomplish something. But, while I don’t go out of way to be unpleasant, personally I would rather eat sushi made from raw slugs that conform for no better reason than someone else’s convenience. If nothing else, people afraid of having a negative label applied to them can be coerced in endless hours of over-time. Such behavior may make daily life easier for a manager. Otherwise, you are letting people (or the company) down. In other words, the threat of being called “not a team player” encourages you to be polite and do what is expected of you. In both cases, the implication is that you should conform and do what others want to do, regardless of your own inclinations. In many ways, the usage reminds me of the admonition by a crowd to be a good sport. It suggests that something is deeply wrong with you, and that maybe you have other nasty habits as well. In an office setting, not being a team player means that you are uncooperative, unwilling to make sacrifices for the sake of the company for which you work, and probably first in line to be fired. Nobody ever says so in as many words, but the implication is that something is wrong with you if you are not a team player. This admission is so burdened with nasty connotations that finding the courage to make it has taken most of my adult life. ![]() ![]() OK, I confess: I am not a team player – at least, not in the sense that the expression is usually used around an office. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |