Which is harder to win…an individual sport or a team sport?

I have been lucky enough to be able to participate in many sports, both team and individual, cricket was my best (I was a bowler), however over the course of time, people will honestly tell you I was bang average at most of them!

But which is harder to be the best at…being part of the England T20 Blast cricket team, or Lewis Hamilton in Formula One?

Clearly this depends on the sport in question, and unquestionably, they all require an incredible skill set to achieve success. BUT…which one requires the most dedication to be the best.

Assuming one already has the ability in their respective field, and not like me with two left feet, let’s look at the variables involved.

Team sport success depends on an entire team all working towards the same end, producing maximum effort, but how often does one witness one or two players having an off day when their shoulders drop, with the effect spreading like wildfire, and seemingly diminishing the motivation of the rest of the team? In essence, whatever your talent level in said team sport, you must rely on your teammates as much as your own abilities. Without pulling together, the teams’ performance will undoubtedly falter. 

On the positive side, success, fuelled by confidence, is shared and conversely, the opposite can happen. But, just as team sports can diminish the impact of the best players, they can also hide the influence of the worst players.

Individual competition requires a different mindset to bring success, because in an individual sport, that person is also their competition as well as the person they are trying to beat. Every opportunity becomes a chance to beat their own target, and this requires a high degree of discipline, focus and drive to succeed. As in the world of business, targets are there to be broken aren’t they!? 

With individual sport, there is no hiding behind teammates. For an individual, winning or losing is entirely up to that person, and every competition is a chance to beat that persons’ last result. Success and failure is down to them and essentially, success in individual sports requires a high level of discipline to continue to improve. 

It also requires, in my opinion a high degree of selfishness; for me, the rewards and the satisfaction in winning for oneself surely outweigh those feelings that are shared. For both, I believe the same motivation is required in the workplace, but I take my hat off to those of you who are self-employed. You need to be motivated to get up and do your job otherwise you do not make money. Simple as that. If you are part of a team its much easier to hide behind other people’s successes and still be paid, especially if you are not in the mood. But remember… you can only hide for so long!