Atlantic City, New Jersey, was the sight for a Build-A-Bike team building event for United Health Care employees. Over 40 people came together from the Northeast Region to spend a couple hours having fun, learning teamwork and building bikes that were given to 8 children from the Atlantic City Boys and Girls Clubs. The afternoon was full of laughs, surrounded with learning experiences, and finished with a sense for purpose and satisfaction when the children received the bikes. Teamwork is essential when working in varied locations. It is easy to be independent and loose sight of the fact that each person, though separated by distance, is part of a team. So each person contributes to the team and must be mindful of how their actions and reaction influence others. When one person or a group of people see themselves as independent then they can easily fall into the trap of thinking only of themselves, or worse, see themselves in competition with other persons or teams. Even though a part of the larger team, this tunnel vision, of working only for the immediate group, can cause major problems.

Often times one group can have vital information that could be useful to another group or team. But it is held back because of feeling of competition, or simply that remoteness of the teams makes it possible to not be thoughtful of the needs of others. But if one team prospers while another suffers progress is not being made. No matter how many locations, or divisions, the company must be seen and approached as a whole so that each individual unit contributes to the whole without reservation. When every part prospers then the company prospers. I one part prospers, but another doesn’t, then the company suffers.

The Build-A-Bike team building event helps the participants realize the importance of the total team effort and United Health Care were great participants and understood the important of being team players.