What Portugal Can Teach Us About Teams

What Portugal Can Teach Us About Teams

Reflections from June 10th – A Day of Identity, Connection, and Courage

June 10th, in Portugal, is not just another holiday. It’s a day where a country celebrates itself — its soul, its language, its people at home and abroad. It’s the Day of Portugal, of Camões, and of the Portuguese Communities, and whether you're walking the streets of Lisbon or building a product with your team in Berlin or Aveiro, this date carries a powerful message:

You can be small and still do epic things.

As a country, Portugal has done that. Again and again. And if you look closely, there’s a lot your team can take from that same spirit. This isn’t a list of "best practices" or a leadership masterclass. Just some raw, grounded reflections about what makes a team — and a nation — truly strong.

The Power of Story — Why Camões Still Matters

Luís de Camões, Portugal’s national poet, captured more than just a historical moment — he wrote about identity, courage, legacy. Os Lusíadas told the story of Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India, but also the emotional and philosophical weight of what it means to explore the unknown.

Your team also has a story. Are you telling it? Are you aware of it? When we remember where we came from and why we started, it grounds us and gives us energy to keep pushing — especially when we hit storms.

And speaking of voyages...

A Nation of Navigators — Daring to Cross the Impossible

Let’s just pause and appreciate a fact: in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was Google Maps before Google existed.

• First to round the Cape of Good Hope (Bartolomeu Dias).

• First to reach India by sea (Vasco da Gama).

• First to truly globalize the world with trade, culture, and language.

That’s not bad for a country smaller than most U.S. states.

There’s something here for teams: Portugal didn’t wait to have the perfect plan. It moved. It experimented. It failed forward. And above all — it believed the world was bigger than what was already known.

Yes, Tekever absolutely deserves that spotlight! Let’s plug it into the innovation section — with flair, of course — and give it the credit it deserves. Here’s the updated section of the article with Tekever included as one of Portugal’s cutting-edge players:

Innovation Is in Our DNA

You might know Portugal for past glory, but don’t sleep on the present and future:

• Home of Europe’s biggest tech conference — Web Summit.

• World-class startups like Tekever (pioneering AI-powered drones and maritime surveillance), Feedzai (fighting financial fraud with machine learning), Sword Health (revolutionizing digital physical therapy), and Unbabel(breaking language barriers with human-AI translation).

• A renewable energy champion, with over 60% of electricity from clean sources.

• And yes, we even turned pastéis de nata into a global brand. You’re welcome.

Great teams innovate when they’re trusted to take risks and stay rooted in who they are. Portugal never forgot its cultural DNA while evolving — and neither should your team.

Communities That Stick Together — Even Across Oceans

There are nearly 5 million Portuguese living outside of Portugal. That’s about half the size of the country itself. And yet, the identity remains. The connections are real. The culture travels with them — from Newark to Rio, Paris to Johannesburg.

This is what real connection looks like. Belonging without borders. And for teams, especially remote or hybrid ones, this is gold. It’s not about being in the same building. It’s about building the same meaning.

Ask yourself: Does everyone on your team know they matter — even if they’re working from another country or time zone?

The Secret Sauce: Desenrascar and Reinventing Ourselves

"Desenrascar" is a word that doesn't translate — and honestly, we don’t want it to. It means getting out of tight spots with what you’ve got. Making it work. Being scrappy, flexible, and endlessly creative.

Whether it was surviving earthquakes, dictatorships, or economic crises — Portugal always found a way to rebuild and move forward. That resilience is the opposite of perfectionism. It’s real-life agility.

Your team doesn’t need to be perfect — it needs to be adaptable, human, and resourceful. That’s how progress happens.

The Power of Celebration and Identity

Portugal knows how to honor its roots. June 10th is a chance to say:

“This is who we are. And we’re proud.”

The same is true for strong teams. Identity fuels direction. Culture gives you resilience. Celebrating victories, even small ones, creates meaning — and meaning is what keeps people engaged.

Final Thought: Teams Are Like Countries

They’re messy. Beautiful. Frustrating. Inspiring. They’re made of people, dreams, conflict, passion, compromise, and energy.

But when they know where they came from, where they’re going, and why they exist — they become unstoppable.

On this June 10th, we invite you to look at Portugal and ask yourself:

• Where is your team trying to go?

• Are you creating something worth remembering?

• And most importantly… are you building something together that makes you proud?

At Growing Centuries, we help teams grow not just in skills or performance — but in meaning, cohesion, and identity. Because like Portugal, we believe that greatness starts with knowing who you are and daring to explore what could be.