My son-in-law and I recently took on a household project that seemed relatively simple, but in reality would have been much more difficult if we had not been working together. David, being very gifted mechanically, could have performed the task on his own, but with my help the job went much more quickly. I, being the very antithesis of the word “handyman,” would have been hopelessly lost without David’s insights and instruction.

During my professional career, this principle has manifested itself repeatedly. As a newspaper editor, I directed the gathering of news, the reporting and editing. But others were required to take photos, sell advertising, lay out the pages, print and assemble the newspapers, deliver them to the readers, and do billing and accounting.

As a magazine editor, I was responsible for overall content and did some of the writing. But many others contributed articles and photographs, someone did illustrations, a design team combined the elements into an attractive package, my administrative assistant focused on important details, and a printer took our raw material and produced the “book.” Many times, upon seeing the magazine in print for the first time, I could not help but to observe, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

If you think about it, this is true of your workplace as well. You have specific job responsibilities, but there are many others that contribute in one way or another toward achieving the desired end result. The Bible describes this in simple terms: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!... Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

There is a management term for this: Synergy. This refers to corresponding, complementary strengths; a combining of respective strengths, gifts, skills and experience for the common good or a shared goal. Too often the business and professional world is focused on “stars” – individuals who rise to achievement levels far above their peers. Yet, even the most talented people need administrative, clerical and logistical support of many kinds.