One team.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Yumiko Elesia E. Almendras

I HAVE attended a number of seminars and workshops, all of which were supposed to inculcate in me the values of unity and leadership. But more often than not, they only ended up igniting a sense of competition, of rivalry, of conflict, among the participants because in the end, only one should emerge victor or leader of the pack. The main goals of unity and solidarity were slowly broken into sub-groups, into smaller teams, and eventually just one "I" or "me."

Great people have said that there is no room for two people at the top. Others even go to the extent of saying, "It is not enough that I succeed, others must fail."

One workshop taught me otherwise. Like all the rest, it started with a story, a challenge for 47 eager students. We were divided into three groups and each group was given 12 golden bricks. Our mission: to get everyone across the "river of crocodiles" using the 12 golden bricks, unharmed and at the shortest time.

By the time our group used up all our 12 bricks, we were still halfway down the river, with hungry "crocodiles" at our feet and time ticking away fast. It got us thinking, "Who are we kidding? Unless we start growing gills and fins, there's no way anyone is going to cross this river."

Everyone had the same dilemma. We were left scratching our heads in puzzlement and frustration.