# team spirit (excess)

*Ordinarily means:* a feeling of unity and enthusiasm among a group of people

a state where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, sustained by a self-model that treats the group as a single agent

- Computed level: L15 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: social  ·  Arena: team

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [greater than the sum](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-greater-than-the-sum.excess), [self-model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive)

**Through:** when parts interact in a way that makes the whole exceed their individual contributions

**Novel properties:**
- collective agency
- shared identity

## Examples
- The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviet squad in a single game despite being outmatched individually. *(sports)*
- Employees at Valve Corporation coordinate complex game development without formal managers, using shared principles and peer accountability. *(institutions)*
- Ant colonies transport prey weighing hundreds of times more than any single ant through synchronized collaboration. *(biology)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-team-spirit.excess*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-team-spirit.excess.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*