Alone, we can do so little; Together, we can do so much.
Helen Keller
Having worked for nearly 7 years upon university graduation, I still remember how we have been taught about the importance of teamwork. As engineers, we are always trained on how to deliver a project in a team, and always a lot of skills have to be equipped in the team. At university, we always needed to get involved in different projects, and hence teamwork is another essence to success.
I have always come in my mind for another interesting concept – What about Community? Other than specific skill sets, how do we value community? I think community is far beyond teamwork. Technically speaking, teamwork is when we have a team and we need to achieve something, and we need to work together on that, that’s why team + work is the combination. But for community, I see that it’s part of our daily life, something more emotional and humanized, compared to teamwork.
There is a trend about community, from my experience. When I was working as engineer, it’s about an engineering community, where the engineers will gather and support each other across technical, knowledge and project needs. When I was a non-local student, it’s about an international student community that supports each other needs in Hong Kong. When I am currently an entrepreneur, it’s about another level of community that supports us in networking, business opportunities and more. One typical example is Cyberport Hong Kong.
So to me, community has made me seen things differently, that I am not alone, but there are always different communities that are here to support each other together. I wish to share the power of community referencing from one of the articles I found in the other blog posts.
The Power of Community
Here are 6 powerful reasons not to go it alone:
1. Collective wisdom. No one person ever has all of the answers, and regardless of the amount of Google-fu you may have, consulting with experts is always going to give you better information.
2. Pushing our limits. When working alone, it’s oftentimes too easy to give up when things get hard. By surrounding yourself with others working toward a similar goal or objective, you’ll get motivation, support, and friendly competition to push yourself just a bit further than you would have done on your own.
3. Support and belief. Some days those big goals just seem impossible. On those days when you most want to give up, you need to lean on your community the most. They believe in you—probably more than you belief in yourself.
4. New ideas. I truly believe that when you are working within a community of like-minded people that the wisdom of crowds is considerably greater than any one person working alone. Our divergent world views and lenses mean that we all approach the exact same problem slightly differently.
5. Borrowed motivation. Even on those days when your belief in yourself isn’t waning, doing what needs to get done can seem overwhelming. Look around your community and be inspired!
6. Accountability. If you’re an uber-responsible person, you may not want to admit to people you care about who are pulling for you that something didn’t get done. There’s nothing like having to be accountable to others to up your game.
Allowing others to help is hard, but it ultimately raises everyone’s game, and suddenly that summit isn’t nearly so far off.
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