Interesting points. sorry couldn't get to it earlier until lunch break. Here are my thoughts:
> Perhaps a win for themselves personally.
EVERYONE who's logical wants a win for themselves personally.
Your non selffish teammate wants the company to do well so they continue to get paid, builds a reputation for success and gets the bonuses.
Your CEO wants the company to do well so they continue to get paid, builds a reputation for success and gets the bonuses. Their role require them to think about the company as a whole or there will be guaranteed failure.
The single mother is working hard over multiple shifts for HER children to be fed and schooled. She's not doing the hard work for my family. I don't see a single cent from her.
The billionaire contributes millions to charity so that the planet he lives in is cleaner and better just like you and I spend hundreds of dollars in cleaning OUR houses or helping our neighbors so that it's cleaner and better. No sane person wants to live in a dump or in a place where everyone hates each other.
> A freeloader is a selfish individual in team dynamics. They only want accolades/home runs for themselves, and not a World Series for the team.
I really wish people were more selfish.
Then it would be easier to reason about the world.
The most complicated individuals are those who are "not selfish" - very difficult to reason about IMHO!
There cannot be action without motivation, so what is their motivation, exactly?
Is their motivation to work hard because they want to make the starving kids in Africa more educated?
Do they understand what it takes to make the starving kids in Africa more educated?
Do they have control over what it takes to make the starving kids in Africa more educated?
Do the starving kids in Africa actually want to be more educated or do they want something else first, like food?
How will they behave if one day they realize it's not going to happen like they envisioned? Can I continue to depend on them to deliver they have been or will there be a meltdown?
Selfish people seem to have better clarity over what they need and can communicate it better.
They have better and closer/direct control over their needs and wants. It's not dependent on another random thing or individual or group.
If you have a freeloader on your team and your team agrees on the matter - WHY is that freeloader still around if they are not providing any value?
When I was in college, there was a group of students who were frustrated about how the pub they frequented had a bunch of young women who seemed to go out with much older, well off men. They were upset that the attention of these young women were being taken away by the older, well off men and the men were distracting the women and exploiting them.
They theorized about the ethics, long term effects, viability and so on about the situation.
Since they were computer science students, they wondered whether making better dating apps would improve the situation for these young women who were perhaps not finding the right men.
The reality is the young women were getting something from the older, well off men; the older, well off men were getting something from the young women. Both parties were selfish and knew exactly what was needed and wanted and provided.
Maybe the selfish freeloader at your company is giving the company something it needs and wants that they can't get from the less selfish team members to further its business objectives?