Teamwork is the combined effort of a group to persevere and finish a task or event, and leadership is the ability to guide and help that group to succeed. I believe that that I am able to be a very good team player as I am able to utilize the skills of my teammates to make everyone feel contributary or helpful. I know from personal experiences that void of these feelings can make others feel detached from the team which makes the person feel worse.
Recently, I had the privilege to go to camp and I was able to interact with my peers in a whole new light. We showed a variety of different skills, but teamwork and leadership were ones that seemed to outshine the rest. We were able to show both front and backseat leadership as we each led the group through the Australian outback each day and we helped each other take up groupwork to work as a cohesive team.
An example of a time of teamwork was when someone twisted their ankle on a hike and two other kids, and I stayed behind to help find the safest path of least resistance. We went at a pace he was comfortable with and we were very patient so he could make it back safely. We also divvied up his luggage between us so he would not have to carry more than necessary. Because of this he was able to make it back home without a serious injury.
Since teamwork also means helping your team emotionally, there were a lot of heart to hearts during the camp. I remember when we were about to head out for another campsite I noticed a group member on a rockface by himself, so I talk to him and find out that he doesn’t feel the greatest and so we started talking about it. As time went on, more and more guys came over and we all started having a chat. This conversation wasn’t the typical guy conversation with people making jokes and cutting in, but it was a more sensible one, which was uncommon between boys but heartfelt nonetheless. This caused us to bond over time as we got to know more about each other, which caused our teamwork and receptiveness to become better. Overall, it was an experience where me and my classmates both got to utilize our skills in teamwork and leadership and get to bond with each other over it.