 Peter's grandfather survived his military experience as having gone through a major military conflict. He was a part of an elite military unit that operated as a single person when it was active in that conflict. Now, 35 years later, Peter is introduced to the other two surviving members of that team. Grandpa is obviously proud to give the introduction, and his care and respect for these two other men is almost disturbing. What is it that can bring people this close together? The answer is trust. It is in their very lives once being preserved by the ability to act as a unit. It was their trust in one another as a way the team survived. Even the shadow of that trust holds them together after more than three decades of separation. That is the power of trust to all human beings. It is the value of knowing that the other members of the team will put their own lives in threat to preserve the lives of others on the team. It is people trained to act who can act as a corporate being because of the great trust they have for one another. Membership in a group always involves some level of trust concerning those who choose to be members. It is their choice that indicates the value that they have in being members. It is their acceptance of the cost that indicates how great that value is. Peter is also an offensive guard on the football team. He takes his duties very seriously. He protects those in the backfield, those who commonly handle the ball and move it forward. He does his function in trust that they will do theirs. They trust him to contain the act of defense, giving them support as they fulfill their functions. This is the essence of teaming. It is each volunteer member of the team doing their part in light of what other team members will do, putting forth their time and effort to do what is needed. It is the voluntary acceptance of duties and training and practice and costs and potential for injuries or discomfort in order to further the team purpose. The challenge of membership is in the limits of trust that it does not extend to things outside of team efforts. Peter could not trust other team members to preserve and honor his interests in Maxi, his girlfriend. He could not trust someone who was just a team member to preserve and support their personal relationship. Other and more personal interests would be likely to intrude. Still, there is great value in having teaming experience, and that is both in taking part in the team effort and learning about its limitations. Teaming is a valuable human potential, a source for being effective. I have also had personal experience with gatherings of people that were declared to be a team, but did not function as any unit. These are often encountered when people who have an external purpose gather others who do not have that same result in its value, giving them direction that they are to act as a team. The trust is just not there. They cannot trust one another to act based on each person seeking the same end result. Teaming requires volunteer time and effort. It must involve each member accepting the cost based on gaining the same result. It has to be personal with each team member, or they cannot be trusted to be an effective part of the team. The value to be gained by the teenager in learning to team, learning when and where people can be trusted, learning what has such value to others that they will voluntarily commit themselves to the cost and time and effort that will be required of team members. This is very much a matter of learning for a teenager whose earlier life experiences were as children in a family setting and being an important focus in the actions of parents and other family members. The family teams have a necessity for being a family, but the teenager finds themselves in a new environment where others are like themselves just learning to make their own life decisions. Keep in mind that organizations of people only do what the members do. Organizations are always looking for new members to accept the cost and volunteer their efforts in order to gain the benefits of being members. Organizations will be there for the one who would volunteer, so long as they agree to accept the costs. Also, there is potential for the teenager to learn new teaming skills and to identify and initiate new organizations to meet those needs and wants that are common for many people, but not being effectively satisfied. The task for teenage effort is not one of accomplishment, it is one of learning. It is learning both how to accomplish things and learning what things people so value that they can be accomplished.