Sharing is a primary component of being a good teammate. Sharing signifies unselfishness, kindness, and a willingness to care about something greater than our own interests.
When we share, we both equip and empower others. This is true when we share material things, as well as when we share intangibles, like our knowledge and our time.
I recently came across a book titled Sharing Is Healing: A Holocaust Survivor’s Story. It made me think of another reason to share, which we tend to overlook.
The book was written by a retired teacher named Noemi Ban, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau. While in the concentration camp, Ban lost her mother, grandmother, sister, and infant brother to Nazi genocide.
She was eventually transferred to Buchenwald, before escaping during a forced walk to another camp.
I am always moved by stories of individuals like Ban, who demonstrated courage in the face of unimaginable atrocities. But at the same time, I also find myself wondering why someone who endured that sort of suffering would consider reliving the event. Why would they share their story with others?
The answer, of course, lies in the book’s title—sharing is healing.
Survivor networks and support groups are grounded in this belief. Participants find comfort in discovering they aren’t the only ones struggling to cope and experience the benefit of unburdening themselves of the emotional baggage they carry.
The path to healing can be found through the act of sharing.
Many times, we are frustrated by the actions of some of our fellow teammates and the direction they are taking our team. Instead of speaking up, we choose to internalize our frustrations and suffer in silence. This is rarely the best approach, for you or your team.
The stress of harboring your anger, resentment, and frustration puts you at risk of becoming jaded, which can cause you to become a toxic teammate.
By sharing your concerns, you free yourself of the distractions that accompany your frustrations. You allow yourself to focus on serving the needs of your team with a clear conscience.
I have heard it said that complaining is like vomiting. You feel better, but everyone else around you is disgusted. The type of sharing I’m describing isn’t complaining, venting, or whining, because what you have to say has purpose and is spoken with the intention of helping your team heal.
Remember this the next time someone on your team shares his or her frustrations with you—and listen with interest. Because sharing is how you mend a broken person and a broken relationship. Sharing is how you mend a broken teammate and a broken team.
Sharing is caring, and sharing is healing.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
