“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” That was a lesson that retired basketball player Michael Jordan learnt the hard way over the course of his storied career. From the moment Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls in 1984, people were calling him the most talented player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), a seemingly unstoppable athlete who could score at will. But what he couldn’t do by himself was to make the Bulls the best team. It took Jordan until 1991 to figure out that he had to trust his teammates and make them better before he won the first of 6 championships which cemented his legacy as the greatest of all time. Let’s discuss how teamwork is important to your child’s development.

Most of us are not born with Jordan’s generational talent. In order to achieve our dreams and our goals, we will need the help of others more often and to a greater degree than he did. Whether in school, at work or at home, we have to be able and willing to work in a team. Your child stands to benefit greatly from learning how to be an effective team player as early as possible. No matter how capable or talented the child, he or she will eventually encounter an endeavour beyond the ability of a single person to complete, or to complete well. A child who appreciates the value of teamwork is not only more likely to succeed on a consistent basis but is also given more opportunities to develop important life skills such as problem solving, empathy, and leadership. 

But facing an impending deadline, he or she would be better served by splitting up the work and playing to his or her group mates’ individual strengths to get things done, instead of getting the whole group penalised for late submission while trying to do everything alone.

Learning together can also serve as a mutually reinforcing bond that motivates children to knuckle down on their studies and work towards a common goal or reward. Finally, many of the co-curricular activities (CCAs) offered in school rely on teamwork for success too. Beyond sports, teamwork is also required for the debate team and the brass band, for example. Even the uniformed groups provide ample opportunities for members to learn to act as part of a team, whether through marching drills or other activities.

Cooperative board games and video games are also excellent options to help your children learn about teamwork, especially if your child is less inclined to physical activity and the outdoors. Just like team sports, video games such as Fortnite and Overcooked 2 require players to work together in order to achieve a goal. Cooperative board games are a little less common compared to classics like Monopoly, Risk, or Cluedo which are competitive in nature. But dive a little deeper in your research and you’ll be able to find gems like Pandemic, Gloomhaven, and Spirit Island which pit players against a common foe instead of each other.