day 493: Teamwork, Part Three, Back-To-Back

I often write of the politics of the office and that while we should not engage in the politics, we need to be aware and cognizant of these happenings so that we are not blindsided or taken unaware. We have all experienced that moment when we are sitting at our desks wondering why someone who yesterday supported something that we were proposing or doing and then out of the blue, from left field, that person changes their position and we are left alone, now wondering what to do next. Pure and simple; politics have been played. That is why we hear so often, “I got your back on this one”. If there were no politics and no one was gunning for someones job, position or assignments, then there wouldn’t be any reason to have to cover someones back or watch out over them. But, that is human reality as it relates to work. So, without playing into the game, we can certainly secure ourselves and use teamwork to ensure that we are able to do our best without having someone else undermine our efforts. This is why we need to be good team members and learn to practice teamwork! Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:12; “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Just as we need to have someone standing at our backs, there is someone else, or more than one person, at our job who needs someone to stand at their back today. Think through who is standing alone today and go and offer to support them, and assist them in what they are doing. At the same time you are giving to them, they will be giving to you and before you know it, you will be back-to-back or as the verse says, “triple-braided”. To have one standing back-to-back to us, we have to do the same. Let’s be the first to offer. This is what it means to practice teamwork.

Reference: Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New Living Testament)