​​​​Christopher Sopko

Quite simply, I define teamwork as the ability and desire to give and receive help. Helping others and begin willing to let others help us is a key to the success of any organization.  

If you have people on your staff that cannot understand this, or do not want to be good team players then you seriously need to consider whether or not they are worth keeping. 

Who wants to deal with self-centered people that are only focused on their own well-being?  I have heard manager’s in some organizations justify selfishness and a lack of willingness to help others because the person in question drives a lot of sales. 

Somehow the end result justifies the means and I would suggest that this is not a wise decision.  I firmly believe that accepting this type of behavior sets the wrong tone for the organization.  Everyone will see that you are turning a blind eye to the situation simply because the person has met with some success at one specific part of their job.   Allowing it to continue sends a message to the team that the person in question does not have to play by the same rules as everyone else, and that they are being judged by a different standard.  This kills enthusiasm and the desire to work hard for the rest of the employees. 

How much additional effort will every member of a team put into the success of an organization if they knew that their help and efforts would be reciprocated and appreciated?  How much damage is being done by people who have a “me” first attitude?  

My experience tells me that self-centered people are also very difficult to manage in other areas as well.  They feel that since they have experienced some success that they need to be left alone so that they do not have to do the administrative work that should be done by everyone.  These types of people will typically tell you that they want to be left alone so that they can sell. They don’t want to help anyone else because it will not put any money in to their pockets. 

How terrible it would be if others in an organization that do not earn commissions decided to adopt the same attitude?  Can you imagine a customer service person who has responsibilities to generate customer quotes to simply decide that they will not put the effort in to get a “rush” quote out the door.  Or the field service engineer that shuts her phone off at 5:00 because that is the hours of operation for the business.

Needless to say if everyone were able to adopt a selfish attitude in a business then it would soon begin to suffer.  Everyone needs to feel like they are on the same team and that they are all pulling in the same direction.  Those who do not want to take part are actually hurting your organization no matter what their individual sales results may be.