When people on a team need to be right, it signals they believe being right is tied to their value. This creates a zero-sum win-lose dynamic that damages relationships and prevents the best solutions from emerging. Nobody is 100% right — when two people disagree, there’s a sliver of wisdom in both positions. Combining those slivers produces something better than either alone.
Joe compares it to a soccer team where one player insists on scoring all the goals instead of ensuring the team scores. The individual need to be right (or to score) actively undermines the collective intelligence that makes teams powerful.
“Being right really hurts relationships because it’s a zero-sum win-lose… nobody is 100% right. So if two people disagree on something there’s some sliver of wisdom in both things at least and if you can combine those two you’ve got a better solution than either one of them alone.”