The art of teamwork
Teamwork is a beautiful thing.
There’s just something about having the support and motivation of a group that allows great things to happen in the work environment. You may not realize what your colleagues’ strengths are until you work collaboratively as a team. It’s a much needed art. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to make it happen. But when it does, your company will end up with great results.
A mentor once said, “If we could just come up with 100 ideas over time, one of those is bound to be a really good idea.” Imagine the few outstanding ideas that could come out of that. At the moment, 100 ideas seemed to require a lot of thinking for an individual. But as a collaborative effort, it was not that difficult. This mentor was right; there was always a hidden gem that emerged from the collective thoughts of a team.
Teamwork tends to be a lost art form. In retrospect, we’re taught to work in teams since grade school, even college. When it comes to diving into the work force, we tend to lose sight of that. Instead, we become hyper-focused on our job roles and individual duties. It becomes harder to pull way or step out an office to get together with co-workers. But face-to-face time with your team is crucial for an innovative and productive work ethic.
A variety of personalities are brought to the table through teamwork. There are creative personalities who are constantly generating ideas. These creative types don’t necessarily care if the ideas get shot down; they simply want to help by initiating the thinking process. Then there are conductors, who guide the process, pulling back and pushing forward to stay on track. Aggregators also contribute to the team through strategic problem solving; they identify strengths and talent within the team, and then work to piece them together like a puzzle.
Teamwork is essential because it creates community from within. For instance, assisting someone on your team will help others in your company see you as a reliable, helpful worker. Meeting with your team can be a time to tell how other employees have done to help you. It means more to speak out your appreciation in front of the team, and it gives other members a chance to see fellow colleagues’ accomplishments. Plus, it makes people feel really good.
Working in teams evens out the playing field. Whether you’re an experienced executive, a director or just beginning as an intern, working in teams compels individuals to take on responsibilities for the greater good. It allows upper management to take an active role in a project, and not just assigning others to certain tasks. On the reverse, it helps junior employees see all the moving parts that go in to making significant changes.
An important aspect of teamwork is that it prevents failure. Let’s face it – there’s nothing worse than having a project go awry because one person dropped the ball. However, a lot of mistakes are made due to a lack of information. While working as a team won’t prevent every slip-up, the line of communication helps members understand what is acceptable in moving forward in a project, as well as what should be avoided. By hashing out the details of the project from the beginning, teamwork can stop a bad idea from happening before it even has a chance to do harm.
Everyone wins through the art of teamwork. When you work together, it makes big achievements even bigger. By acknowledging everyone’s contributions, all members of the team feel that they made something great happen. Successes help the team realize how crucial everyone else’s role in the process is. Without teamwork, the credit for a job well done is usually given to the person on the tail end of a project. But what about all the help and advice that was given along the way? Teamwork brings all the behind-the-scenes efforts to light. In the end, everyone wins.
Why do you love working with teams? Tell us in the comments below!
