We All Know the Answer, right? There is no letter “I” in the word ‘TEAM’!
But have you ever noticed that there is also no “U” in it either?
I was in a meeting. We had an evangelistic function to organize. As I sat at the table, I heard more than once: “That’s your job. You’re the youngest. You can do it. You’re so talented at that, we’re sure you will do a good job!”
Suddenly, I felt like a default setting!
I knew the women around me, all talented and very capable, were all older than me. It could have been said that they had paid their dues. Some might even claim they deserved some time off, but there is no timeout with the Lord’s work at hand; no retirement. We were supposed to be a team, working for Him.
I listened for about five minutes. The list of things for me to do grew longer and longer. Finally, I thought I have had enough of this. I told all those present that while I would carry out the jobs that they were giving me that year, next year things would have to be different.
I needed to look after my own health—and that of my family—first. So, when I said “No” in the future, it should be taken seriously. The firm tone of my voice surprised even me. Looking back, I am certain that it was the Holy Spirit speaking.
As I reviewed the meeting on the way home and the next day, I was aware of being completely calm about the stand I took. I could have worried about being bored without so much to do, but it didn’t concern me. Something inside told me it wouldn’t be a problem, almost like an obedient move.
Interestingly, once I had taken the stand, other members did step-up and take on a couple of the jobs passed to me during the meeting. I thanked them.
I remembered as a child, some of my friends had what doctors called a ‘lazy eye’, so in order to make it work more effectively, the other eye had to be covered. In effect, the strong one had to take a break, forcing the weak one to step-up and be strengthened.
The Bible says:
“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So, we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:4-6
Friends, working for the Lord, makes you part of a wonderful team. Sometimes—to make sure that it works together properly—you need to say “NO”. You’ve probably experienced a situation where you’ve had to take a break in order to allow others to serve the Lord.
I’m so thankful He led me to say “no” at an appropriate time and gave me peace. It’s especially hard for some to say!
Has God moved you out of a team situation where others were encouraged to step-up and work for Him?
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Born in Mount Isa, Queensland, in northern Australia, the eldest of five children of Salvation Army Officers, Having learnt about the love of God through the teachings of her parents meant that she was always aware of the His love for her. She made a personal choice to follow Jesus sometime during her ninth year. Helen Brown lived an almost nomadic life until she was fifteen years of age. However, she discovered books as a preteen and read a lot, well into the night and occasionally all night.
Two stories that captured her imagination were: “Anne of Green Gables” and “Little Women”. Just like the heroines in these stories, she wanted to write. A learning disability, which was not corrected until she was in her thirties, meant that schooling was a real struggle. It also meant that her dream seemed to be a distant mirage.
The struggle of raising five children and being a wife to a shearer/farmer in a small town, taught her a lot about life and the grace of God. During this time, she also completed her teaching degree and worked many casual jobs, in order to ensure that the farm was viable.
Today, she continues to write, with several books to her name now, while still living at the farm on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say ‘I’. And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say ‘I’. They don’t think ‘I’. They think ‘we’; they think ‘team’. They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but ‘we’ gets the credit…. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.
Peter Drucker
There is no “I” in the word “team.”
It’s a popular business saying that is sometimes overused. Despite its overuse, the words are still true.
There is no letter I in the word TEAM. Teams thrive when their purpose is fulfilling a shared vision that makes sense for the organization — not the manager. Click To Tweet
A leader does not exist alone. He must have committed followers to implement a shared vision of a better future.
For this reason, the leader’s focus must be on facilitating his team’s success–not on fulfilling his own personal ambition and glorification.
Effective leaders serve their followers with the best interests of the enterprise always above their own. If you are focusing too much on your own needs, then you are not effectively leading your team!
It is still true that there is no I in TEAM. Click To Tweet
Written by Robert Tanner | Copyrighted Material | All Rights Reserved Worldwide
This article is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Content is for informational or educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional advice in business, management, legal, or human resource matters.
There is no i in team
Or so they say.
For years management trainers and gurus have been using the literal letters in the word “team” and tritely say:
“there is no ‘i’ in team”
– in other words in teams it is not about the individual, but the collective – the team, the common goal. They were of course wrong, as you can clearly see there is an ‘i’ in team.
Unfortunately many people say that “there is no ‘i’ in team” or “no i in teamwork” as a way to discourage individual thinking.
However for those that think as creatively as the so called expetrts that come up with this saying – well there is an “i” in team, as the image above clearly shows.
But its more than a joke.
For a team to be successful, each individual must be trusting, comfortable and relaxed with their respective team mates. If an individual cannot look after #1 (themselves first) how can they be expected to look after the needs of the team? For a team to function well, each individual must to some extent be selfish to ensure their needs are met first.
In other words…there’s no ‘i’ in team .. but we found it.
A quote playing on the spellings and letters available is often:
There’s no “I” in “team,” but there is a “ME”!
Other popular team quotes include:
- Together Everyone Achieves More – an acronym for TEAM
- Many hands make light work – John Heywood
- It’s not our preferences that cause problems, it’s our attachment to them – Buddha
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#1
From Friends sitcom: The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion Season 3 Ep 24.
[Scene: Chandler’s office, he is just finishing a meeting with his boss.]
Doug: So thanks for the warm welcome. It’s good to have you guys on my team, and I come to play. I hope you do too. Now, let’s go out there and get ‘em! Huh? And remember, there is no ‘I’ in team.
Chandler: Yes, but there’s two in martini, so everybody back to my office!
What is he referring to as humor? Is he referring to the three lunch martini? If so, what is the hint?
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#2
There’s no I in team — there’s no place for egoism in a team. (There’s also no letter «i» in the word «team».)
There’s two letters «i» in «Martini». Let’s go and have a drink.
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#3
There’s no I in team — there’s no place for egoism in a team. (There’s also no letter «i» in the word «team».)
There’s two letters «i» in «Martini». Let’s go and have a drink.
Yes that is what I understood obviously. But I am talking about any reference to the «three lunch martini» thing since they are in a business firm.
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#4
It’s a «three Martini lunch» but this isn’t a reference to it. It is no more than a play on «there’s no I in team»/»there’s no ‘i’ in team».
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#5
Argman, I think you mean «the three martini lunch.» I don’t think that has anything to do with his comment.
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#6
The three martini lunch is something that happens on Mad Men (set in the 1960s) not Friends. It’s no longer fashionable.
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#7
It’s strictly about the number of times the letter «i» appears in «martini», playing on the «no ‘i’ in ‘team'» expression.
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#8
I doubted it because as I know (and one American friend told me) that drinking during work is prohibited in the USA, especially the non-executives.
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#9
It is, generally. That’s why Chandler’s comment is humorous to the audience. It’s inappropriate.
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#10
It is, generally. That’s why Chandler’s comment is humorous to the audience. It’s inappropriate.
Chandler is usually afraid of his bosses, and although he is the ultimate mocker in our world but he almost never try to mock his bosses. To prove my point, he later in the same episode stated that «I didn’t want to be the guy who has a problem with his boss slapping his bottom» although his colleagues were envying him over that issue and considered him «the lucky one»!
P.S. I may be getting out of the «language discussion» a little bit here, but it is for the sake of understanding the English statement ultimately.
A cliche that needs to die.
Well, yeah, but there’s no u either, so shut up!
by Doc Sigma May 19, 2004
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there’s no i in team
But there’s a «U» in murder.
Screw teamwork.
by fuck you May 18, 2004
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there’s no i in team
There may be no I in team, but theres a M and an E!
Coach:there is no I in the word TEAM john
John: no caoch, just M and E
by prityful May 28, 2005
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there’s no i in team
The meaning of teamwork. No individual glory.
There is no «I» in team, but there is one in KISS MY ASS!!
by Blue Gender May 21, 2004
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there’s no i in team
yeah, but there ain’t no «we», either.
taken from the budweiser commercial featuring Leon.
by Leon November 3, 2004
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there’s no i in team
Phrase used to mean, «Teamwork takes priority over individual achievement; we win as a team & we lose as a team.»
There may not be an «I» in «team…» switch around a few letters and there’s a «me,» though! It’s all about ME!
by Terra Imperator May 18, 2004
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there’s no i in team
A stupid phrase to tell ball hogs to give you the damn ball.
There aint no I in team.
Well there aint no WE either
by DyingAlive May 19, 2004
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More random definitions
What is the meaning of the phrase ‘there is no I in team‘? It means to not work alone, but rather, together with others in order to achieve a goal.
Example: Ethan’s basketball coach identified a major weakness in his play—he frequently hogs the ball and refuses to pass in situations where he should. Thus, the coach said to him: “There’s no I in team, Ethan. Get your teammates more involved by passing them the ball more often.”
Synonyms / Similar Phrases:
1. Pull together
2. Team effort
3. Teamwork makes the dream work
Origin Of – There’s No I In Team
It is likely that this phrase comes from sports, where groups of players come together as a team to accomplish a specific goal. The oldest citation that I could find for this saying comes from the 1960s. By the looks of it, this expression was nearly always said within the context of sports. For example, in the Daily Review newspaper, 1960, it mentions a particular rule that a pitcher named Verron Law from the Pirates baseball team had:
“One of his most famous rules, although Law would be the first to admit it did not originate with him, is ‘There is no ‘I’ in team.’ Perhaps that one rule is the reason why the Pirates are out in front, winning the pannant, not backing into it.”
From the other newspapers I saw, this phrase is often used by coaches, players, and even newspaper writers to imply how victory was achieved, not by any single individual, but through the players coordinating their efforts together. Another example comes from Titusville Herald, 1960, where it says:
“It is refreshing to see St. Joe realize there is no ‘I’ in teamwork.”
Example Sentences
- Stu was trying to make a delicious dinner for his family but he wasn’t a good cook. So his wife told him, “there’s no I in team” and joined him in the kitchen.
- My niece was having trouble building a paper airplane, so I offered to help, saying that there’s no I in team; we then built one together.
Similar Examples:
- It will take a team effort for us to have a chance at winning this.
- Taking care of kids is hard work, but if we pull together, I know we can do it!
Tip: We have the meaning of hundreds of common phrases and idioms and the origin of many of them too. That is what Know Your Phrase is about, after all. So if you are looking for a list of idioms to explore, then scroll to the top of the page. You should see a bunch of letters. Simply pick one to get started!