We’re better together. But we can become divided. When challenges rise and tensions build, the real test of any team isn’t how talented they are, it’s how united they stay. When people stick together through change and transition, and through the messy, complicated parts, they can create something stronger than “Us vs Them” can ever achieve.
We don't know what's coming tomorrow,
maybe it's trouble and sorrow, but we'll
travel the road sharing our load side by side.
— Harry Woods, "Side by Side”
Traveling the road, sharing the load, sticking together, side by side. That's a song our family would sing on road trips in a wood-paneled Dodge Diplomat station wagon.
Sticking together through hard times and hard conflict requires deep commitment.
Popular song lyrics over the last fifty years tell a different story: It's us against them.
Whether it’s generational rebellion, social injustice, personal alienation, or cultural defiance—the message is repeated across many genres of music: They don’t get us!
We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Hey, teacher, leave them kids alone.
— Pink Floyd
In a recent coaching session with a school head, he shared surprise and dismay that some teachers had concluded that he didn't get it. They said he had been out of the classroom long enough to forget what it's like and the extensive work load required.
In fact, he taught alongside these colleagues for many years and only moved into a full-time supervisory role this year. How had a dividing line so quickly emerged?
What are the risks if we band together against peers that we actually need to thrive?
A person of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
— Proverbs 18:24
When we are separated, vying on opposite sides, trust and growth inevitably degrade.
We're just less: less efficient, less effective, less collaborative, and less productive. Working together and staying connected is vital to our mission.
Sticky teams win!
They feel safe to be more vulnerable and honest, constructively navigating conflict.
A cohesive team fully commits, even if some initially disagreed about the decisions.
They win because the team's success is prioritized over personal goals, status, or ego.
Stick together! It's always better to share the load as a strand of cords that cannot be easily broken.
