Teamwork will be the X factor at Ryder Cup 2021

Whether it’s kickball, the chess club or your career, we all identify teams that operate on such high levels, with such great strategies, we know that’s where we need to be on our path. We know that being on that team is going to lead us to our next level. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about playing a sport, becoming an employee or even choosing the right technology vendor.

Because we get there together. After all, life is a team sport.

Speaking of team sports, Xander Schauffele — pro golfer, Olympic gold-medal winner and Hyland’s brand ambassador — is on the U.S. team for this year’s Ryder Cup. As they say, the Ryder Cup is a storied golf tournament where winning, not prize money, is the reward.

And it’s all about teamwork.

It Takes Everyone, Working Together, to Win

Over the last year, we’ve also added some all-stars to the Hyland roster. So we’ve been working hard — with great results — on integrating everyone from our incredible acquisitions, including:

• Nuxeo and its digital asset management solution
• Alfresco and its cloud-native content services platform
• Another Monday and its robust RPA solution
• Streamline Health ECM and its healthcare-focused enterprise content management business
• Learning Machine and its blockchain-secured digital credentialing solutions

Whether it’s golf or enterprise content services, it really is all about winning. And winning in a team setting is all about integration.

Even though this is Xander’s first Ryder Cup, he was on the winning team for The Presidents Cup in 2019 in Australia. That’s where he saw what you have to do after you get the right all-stars on your team: You have to figure out how to work together, quickly.

The Presidents Cup, 2019: An All-Star Collaboration

“My experience at The Presidents Cup was awesome. It was really cool to share the room with all the guys I normally compete against and want to beat and see all our brains coming together for one cause,” said Schauffele.

I love that.

Even though he’s in awe of being on a team with greats like Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka, he still lets you know he always wants to beat those guys. Maybe that’s one of the reasons they chose him.

“Playing on a Presidents Cup team is special. It’s different for golf, especially. You have a lot of stars and their teams all in one room with the same goal,” said Schauffele. “You can tell how those individuals run their teams based on how they communicate with us as players. Collaborating was tricky. The coaches, and vice captains and assistant captains were always there to help us collaborate. They had ideas and ways for us to become more unified.”

And it worked.

They won, in spectacular fashion, as team captain Tiger Woods rallied from four shots behind on the final day of single matchups to clinch victory.

Teamwork is Your X Factor

At Hyland, we’re always talking about X factors that give you a competitive advantage. And many times, we do that together through technology. But we’re also all about teaming up with you to take things to the next level, whether that’s through our Global Services team, partnering with you or even hosting our podcast with industry leaders from some of the world’s most innovative organizations.

It’s about teamwork. But don’t take it from me.

“While Xander might be the one out on the course making the actual shot, there’s a whole team behind him — from his caddy Austin Kaiser helping him choose the right club, to me coaching him on the mechanics of his swing, to my wife Ping-Yi keeping us all in check,” said Stefan Schauffele, Xander’s father and swing coach. “It takes all of us, working together at our top levels, to win.”

So, as we all continue to navigate our different journeys in life, keep your eyes out for when you think to yourself: I want to be on that team. And then get on that team.

Because life is a team sport. And as Dabo says, “When we win, we dance.”

With all due respect to the European team, Xander — queue the music.