The team player vs the lone wolf

Each of us has a desire to seek improvement in our lives: to earn more, to live better, to feel more comfortable and so on. In a word, to succeed. On this endless path to success, eventually, you face this dilemma: to work alone or as a part of a team.

Why is it more profitable to work without partners?

Many are attracted by the silent path of the samurai. A strong and independent single player, who conquers the brutal world of modern business thanks to his own talent and hard labor… This attitude can really attract respect and admiration from others. And there are some obvious and less ephemeral bonuses than “being cool.” For example:

  1. You know that everything you have, you earned. Money, fame, useful contacts; They all belong only to you. Moreover, no one can influence you because nobody has given you anything that they could threaten to take away.
  2. Peace of mind knowing that you are responsible only for yourself. The only person you need to worry about in regards to mistakes and oversights is you and you alone. There is no need to cause yourself stress, worrying that your co-worker may fail. This improves concentration and efficiency and develops self-discipline.
  3. Each new stage of the way gives you more motivation. Having achieved something independently, makes you feel strong, which helps you to reach new heights. Even the smallest personal victory guarantees a rise in productivity.
  4. Unexpectedly, your new talents are revealed. A loner continually encounters all sorts of unique challenges that do not happen when in a team. For example, a successful photographer may suddenly find out that he has the ability to develop the talents of an accountant or an experienced programmer may understand that he could work in trades. A loner is forced to deal not only with his craft but also needs other special abilities as well. He may have to do the work of a finance specialist, a promoter, and a manager all at once.
  5. You have complete autonomy to make your own schedule. You get to choose where and when you wish to work – at home on the couch, in a cafe, in the jungles of the Amazon…etc.
  6. No longer having to deal with quarrels, gossip, squabbles, and disagreements. This is just one of the negative features of having to work in a team. You don’t need to worry about people pleasing. You no longer have to worry about the time and effort it takes to socialize, which is good because the one who works alone spends his time more rationally.

So why do people still choose to work together?

Despite all the advantages listed above, there are still millions of people who are not ready to take the burden of living outside the collective. For example:

  1. There are only 24 hours in one day. When a single player reaches a certain level, he doesn’t have time to do anything except for work. This can even hinder his ability to set aside time to look for new projects. Once you hit a certain ceiling of skill, it would be wise to find more like-minded people and make them your colleagues.
  2. Loners or “hermits” have a reputation of being biased. As a rule, they are not entrusted with large, profitable projects. At least not often. This is not because they are less professional, but because cooperation with a whole team of experts is more reliable. More so, a strong desire to work independently is associated with the inability to work with people, which is especially important in a social media-era and in business in general.
  3. In a team, you have a more critical look at the finished product, this is important because people tend not to notice their own mistakes.
  4. The “creative vacuum” will never happen in a team. It is much easier to find inspiration and new ideas in the process of communication and discussion. Just as it is easier to learn new, more effective methods of work from colleagues than to master them by yourself.
  5. Lost opportunities for growth. A loner is deprived of the opportunity to learn from others day after day because the only person he has to learn from is himself. Of course, there are conferences, seminars, training videos, etc., but chances are that one is more likely to improve their professional skills by simply working with a team.
  6. Life is unpredictable. Today you are successfully coping with the project, but tomorrow something unforeseen may happen. The chance to work with others is gone, cooperation between you and your superiors gets interrupted, the reputation of the company has suffered and the goal has not been achieved. This can lead to stress, depression and of course lack of money.
  7. Being an expert on everything is impossible. The violinist cannot be a mason, and the medic does not fly the plane. Delegating responsibilities are key components to success and profit.
  8. When working alone, all the costs associated with the work is also on you. Taxes, business trips, training…  And you won’t have anyone to help you to calculate how much time, money and effort all of this will take.

A perfect “size-fits-all” tool

The answer to the question “is the lone ranger enough of a hero for the business scene?”, just like the concept of “the universal recipe for success”, sadly, does not exist. The work that can reveal the talents of one person, can also drive another person into exhaustion and depression. Fortunately, effective work is possible both alone and in a team. Both variants work much better though if you have the suitable tools for what you are working on.

signNow provides an easy to use, universal eSignature solution for both the team and the solo player. Therefore, regardless of whether you plan on starting a “solo career” or if you’re thinking about how to create a strong team, make sure that you have this single tool. It will let you sign, approve, track and save any important document in seconds. You can share documents with your partners and/or clients, create legally binding contracts, all on-the-go.

And remember, a man is not a tree! You can always change your business strategy and try something new. For example, maybe you started out as an individual entrepreneur and got yourself a signNow account. You wanted to ease the paperwork management load, speed up the customer relationship and make every signature you sign instant and legal. But maybe later, you decide to grow the business and get yourself a team. Everything is still made simple. You just add those five new teammates to your signNow account and then you share all or specifically chosen documents with them. In case you need more than 5 people on your team, simply change your subscription to “Enterprise”.

Create groups and folders to sort and track documents, contracts, and invoices. Use the audit trail feature to see if and when the file was changed and signed. In case you need an urgent signature – use alerts and reminders. It doesn’t matter, if you work alone, or if your whole team has to be involved in the workflow – signNow offers you the best paperless workflow tools that can be used both by the “business loners” and “The dream teams”.