Team work

I have at times felt like organizations emphasize team work more than they really ought to? It is no surprise that team work tends to bevel sharp edges. The best performers get a raw deal while the worst ones manage to escape without a problem. Alexander Fleming could not have said it better in his quote… "It is the lone worker who makes the first advance in a subject; the details may be worked out by a team, but the prime idea is due to enterprise, thought, and perception of an individual."

Then why is the organization conical not flat or cylindrical? There is a single leader and multiple followers in every organization. Every post game analysis on ESPN is filled with number of assists, rebounds, free throws, and so on by individual players?

Is the issue with the scale? Is it the measures? Is it our lack of understanding to track these measures? Is it the ideology? Is it the judges? Or is it the peer group?

Are we following a blind faith who told us that team work is important? So how important is team work really? May be Mark Twain could help… "Adam was not alone in the Garden of Eden, however, and does not deserve all the credit; much is due to Eve, the first woman, and Satan, the first consultant".