December 28, 2007

“We’re all in this alone.”

There seemed to be a certain cognitive dissonance when I first heard these words.  Being alone had always meant something that I could only do by myself.  Yet, upon reflection, this quote aptly described the feelings of isolation we were all experiencing at the time it was uttered.  We were alone together.

Unfortunately, groups at work are abandoned, detached, and forsaken more often than we might think.  These are the groups that work around the clock on proposals in isolated proposal areas.  They’re in the same building with everyone else but no one acknowledges their existence until it is time to review their work.  

These are the team members solving the hard project.  Their work is so difficult and arduous that they are avoided by all others.  If we acknowledge their presence, we might get asked (heaven forbid) to be part of their team.

Another group alone together is the negotiating team.  They need difficult decisions from headquarters.  The team across the table is demanding timely answers from them.  No one from the home office answers their call.  They are deserted by the same group who sent them to the table.  When it’s decision time, you can virtually count on loneliness.   

Undoubtedly, you’ve been part of a group during a project when you felt “we’re all in this alone”.  While there develops a bunker mentality in such groups that enables us to get through the effort, no team should ever feel detached from the larger organization. Perhaps the coming New Year is a good time to evaluate our involvement in even the toughest of projects.

After all, loneliness has rarely, if ever, been a measure of productivity.