Page 100 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 3: Parts Versus the Whole ■ 83

Problems and Solutions

Sometimes, the interest of the individual can be juxtaposed
with the interests of the team. In these cases, should the
individual accommodate the desires of the group or should
the team provide greater freedom to the lone individual? In a
business context, a similar question might be: Should man-
agers focus on the development, enrichment, and achieve-
ment of the individual employee and shareholders or should

they focus on profit to the organization, the clients, and the
greater good?
This dilemma has many aspects. There follows a num-
ber of problems and solutions from business practice:

• Competition versus cooperation
• Individual versus team rewards
• Rival disciplines versus agreement in the business plan
• Process of consensus versus realization of mature product

Competition Versus Cooperation

In a small harbor near a peninsula in England, where sev-
eral streams and small waterways meet up with each other,
there are many independent water taxis operating. They
all offered “River Trips” in order to survive off the limited
income that tourism provides. Although they compete with
each other for clients, when it comes to providing supple-
mentary services and coordinating schedules, they work
together. In the local brochure they advertise themselves as
“Independent Operators Working Together.”
There is a good chance that this particular solution was
thought of by a servant-leader. Such a person knows how
to create an effective team from creative individuals, as well