Value #8: Teamwork

“Mutual self-supportiveness is the only way to accomplish great things. The

emphasis remains on the individuals in a team, supporting other individuals.”

No one can change the world on her own. Even Atlas Shrugged, what is considered
by many as the opus of individualism, is a story about our reliance on others. When
John Galt decides to stop the motor of the world, he builds a movement. He recruits
other individuals to join his cause, to work with him in building a new world. Galt’s
heroism comes from his ability to organize.

This is especially true at Students For Liberty. No individual operates in a vacuum.

We rely upon others to succeed in our endeavors to advance liberty, and others rely
upon each of us.

There is no contradiction between valuing teamwork and individual autonomy.

They are complementary values. Respecting individual autonomy lays the
groundwork by which people can collaborate as a team with one another. It is the
conceptual alternative to slave-like dependence or masochistic self-sacrifice
approaches to interactions with others.

Teamwork means mutual self-supportiveness. The individual is primary. We

support others to help them fulfill their full potential and we work with others to
realize our own potential. In working as a team, we work as individuals.

Students For Liberty is a team. We are (a) a close group of individuals who are (b)
striving toward a common goal, that (c) care about and support one another beyond
the pursuit of that goal. None of these facets can be removed without undermining
SFL’s team dynamic. The overriding reason that we are brought together as a group
is to achieve SFL’s vision of a freer future. As such, that is the ultimate standard by
which decisions must be made. However, we must also remember that we are more
than a group of contractors or collaborators indifferent to the circumstances of our
colleagues. We support one another both in our pursuit of a freer future as a team
and in our personal pursuits beyond SFL’s purpose.

The ideal of teamwork is objectivity. This may seem counterintuitive at first because
teamwork seems to involve subjectivity on its face; working with others requires
interpersonal understanding. In supporting and being supported by others, we must
consider the subjectivity relationships. But the closer we can strive toward
objectivity guiding decisions, actions, and our worldview the easier it is to facilitate
relationships with others, especially across a sprawling organization. Data rather
than intuition and reasoned analysis rather than opinion provide a predictable
framework for decisionmaking and action that applies beyond oneself.

Here are some ways to instantiate the value of teamwork:

 1. Collaborate with others to produce value. Find opportunities to provide
someone else with value that they need to excel rather than doing work for
them. Ask others to work with you by adding discrete value to your projects
rather than excluding them or having them do the work for you.
2. Meet your own expectations. When you take on responsibilities in SFL,
others depend upon you to fulfill them. They are not taking the actions
necessary to meet those responsibilities because they expect you to do so.
One of the best ways to engage in teamwork is to meet your own
expectations so others don’t have to be concerned or strive to do so for you.
3. Be honest (in general, but especially) with others when they are not meeting
expectations & do something to ensure those expectations are met moving
forward. Sweeping problems under the rug does nobody any good, including
the person who is causing the problems you ignore. If expectations are not
being met, work with the person responsible to create a way to meet them
moving forward, even if that means shifting the responsibilities to someone
else.
4. Think about the entire Students For Liberty team. SFL includes over 2,800
student groups, 1,400 volunteer leaders, and tens of thousands of students
who are part of the SFL network. Each individual is important to the success
and future of SFL. The needs, desires, and opinions of ourselves and our
closest friends in SFL matter. However, they may not line up with the
objectively best interests of the organization.

Students For Liberty is a team working to create a freer future. We best support the
team when we support one another as individuals. And by working together, we can
change the world.