I like to use two categories of metaphor when talking about teams: sports, and music. Within those 2 I lean into soccer (futbol), and garageband.
I haven’t played soccer in any real organized way since I was in elementary school. But, it’s an easy sport to watch and see teamwork in action. Knowing how to communicate – read teammates body language – in the midst of a game is something that happens after a lot of reps. Best positioning your teammates for success is a learned skill. Soccer is a low scoring affair. That means most of the time the team is on the field they aren’t celebrating a score. They have to find that feeling of success in execution.
I also never played in a garageband, but this is closer to my experience level. I played french horn for years in HS and college. And I’ve played guitar with people a fair bit since then. The ensemble makeup doesn’t matter as much in this metaphor – but paying attention to everyone else on the team does. I can think of some very amazing musical moments that I’ve been a part of. For those to exist – everyone needed to put the team ahead of themselves. There are always times for solos – and when that happens the team pulls back to spotlight the soloist.
In capturing these I need to think more about Consistency of team members and Practicing or Competing?