# Making a Contribution By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-08-09 Organizations succeed through a combination of individual and collective action. It is easy to understand individual contributions. Making sense of individual contributions to group success is more challenging. There has been a great deal written on teamwork. There is an element of making a contribution that is under-examined. Respect. It is easy to chip in and do more when one respects the group members. One instinctively wants to do what one can to help these people succeed. The focus isn’t on the amount of credit one will receive from one’s work. Instead, the focus is on how to help those one respects succeed. It is worth it if one can contribute to that effort. The key is genuine respect, not what often passes for respect in organizations. Contributing is an act of solidarity. It requires more maturity than going it alone. An ancient saying conveys the point; if one wants to go fast, one should go alone; if one wants to go far, one should go with a group. Long-term, lasting success is a long journey. It requires solidarity. We have much to do. Solidarity is about finding a group of people you respect and making meaningful contributions to its advancement. #### Related Items [[Organization]] [[Respect]] [[Teams]] [[Solidarity]] [[Success]]