Teamwork. Why is it needed and how to build it correctly?
Hello, my name is Anna Zarya, I am the HR Director at it, a learning psychologist and a team leader, constantly working on the effectiveness of work in it.
Have you ever heard/noticed that some people prefer individual work, while others prefer team work? Let’s imagine the “individualism – teamwork” scale, where on the left is the extreme individualist, and on the right, accordingly, is the absolute team player. Each of us is at some point between them, but still gravitates more toward one of the approaches. The reader probably knows or can guess whether he is an individualist or a team player, but still, for calibration, I suggest you take a short test.
Read the statements below and record your answers (“scores”) for each statement number, trying to answer “I don’t know” as little as possible.
No. | Statement | I completely disagree | I don't agree | Don't know | Agree | I completely agree |
1. | It is important for me that when talking about my idea, implemented within the team/company in which I work, my name is mentioned. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
2. | It’s easy for me to delegate my area of responsibility/task to a colleague/partner. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
3. | At a team meeting, I can sit and say nothing if there are no specific questions for me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
4. | When someone offers their idea, I feel like I have to offer something too. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
5. | I can give up the right to make a decision to someone else if I feel confident about it. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
6. | I prefer team sports to those where there is an individual competition. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
7. | It is important for me to realize my ideas independently. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
8. | Even if the team is moving forward without my participation, I believe that I need to get involved and offer my vision. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
9. | I'm interested in other people's ideas and unusual visions. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
10. | If my contribution to the work is not recognized, I can become very demotivated and lose interest in the task. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
11. | It’s unlikely that anyone around me will cope with my tasks better than me. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
12. | When I implement my decision, I need an outside perspective. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Calculate the sum of points for answers 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12
Calculate the sum of points for answers 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11
Subtract the amount of item 2 from the sum of item 1.
If you get a number greater than 0, you are more likely a team player; if it is less, then individual work is closer to you. Did the test results match your expectations?
Which strategy is more effective, being an individualist or a team player?
Advantages of individual work:
Independent decision making.
Lack of interpersonal conflicts.
Independent quality management.
Concentration of winnings in the event of a successful outcome of cases in one hand.
Benefits of teamwork:
A larger viewing angle, the opportunity to look at the situation from different points of view.
Distribution of responsibilities and less workload for everyone.
Emergence.
The joy of belonging.
The advantages of individualism are the disadvantages of teamwork and vice versa. I invite the reader to think for himself and add other items to the lists. It would be great if you write them in the comments.
Imagine that you are an extreme individualist and have decided to realize yourself and open your own business. You started producing, say, chocolate bars. You gradually developed social media. networks, grew their audience, broadcast their approach to production and increased sales. Your business began to grow faster and faster because you poured all of yourself into it. But the demand has grown to such an extent that you are no longer enough even if you optimize it. What's next? There are two options: either limit yourself to your 24 hours a day, or attract more people. If you choose to grow and connect more people to your favorite business, you will certainly have to interact with them, share responsibilities, give them space, take into account their vision and ideas about YOUR business, and pay money. And here you, as an extreme individualist, will have to face difficulties and change something in yourself, because where there are at least two people, a team approach will be much more effective than an individual one.
Of course, there are many areas of activity where an individualist can show and apply himself, but my personal opinion The point is that the team approach is a huge growth point for any individualist, and at a certain stage of his development he will either grow and learn to work in a team, reaching new heights, or he will not grow and will not give himself the opportunity to scale what he has. I will be glad to read other opinions in the comments.
If you are an individualist who has decided to become a team player, or you already are one and want to hone your work with a team to perfection, then I invite you to further read the article.
What does it mean to work in a team?
Teamwork is much more difficult than individual work, but when done correctly and with team members, it can yield much greater benefits for everyone than if they worked alone.
To begin with, I think it is important to determine that teamwork is work for the sake of a common, agreed upon result by everyone, and not for personal achievements and victories. Where teamwork begins, the influence of the “I” always decreases. This does not mean that there cannot be personal victories in this case, but they are not the goal, but a side effect of well-coordinated teamwork and everyone's win.
As for me, this is the most difficult idea to understand and accept, because it is painfully difficult for all of us to give up our personal desires and aspirations, our brilliant ideas, our unique opinion, our incredible expertise, which, of course, is greater than that of others, its undeniable importance , its superiority. I wish us all strength and wisdom on this path.
Also, when working as a team, remember that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore, if one of your colleagues/partners has less competencies or is in a state without resources for work, or made a mistake in any of their actions and decisions, your task as a team player is to support him, and sometimes take the blow yourself. And rest assured, he will repay you in kind. This is the base 🙂
How to properly build teamwork?
Here I would like to mention the author, who, as for me, gave amazing and comprehensive recommendations, business coach and creator of many world bestsellers, Patrick Lencioni. I believe that every manager, leader and HR specialist should familiarize themselves with his works. You can take his recommendations as a basis, turning them into principles for your team.
Patrick Lencioni, in his business novel “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team,” talks about the signs that destroy teamwork, as a result, highlighting the 5 main signs of a great team:
Trust. In a strong team, people trust each other on a deep emotional level. They are not afraid to be vulnerable, show weaknesses, fears and make mistakes. Team members are completely open to each other and do not try to hide anything.
Productive conflicts. A team in which people trust each other is not afraid to discuss problems and solutions that are key to the success of the entire organization. People may disagree with each other, doubt something, argue. And all this with the goal of finding the most accurate answers to the questions posed, getting to the bottom of the matter and making the most correct decisions possible.
Compliance with agreements. Where there is more than one person, relationships are built on people keeping their word. Every even small episode of discrepancy between words and actions is a reason for partners not to be confident enough in each other in the future, and without confidence in each other you cannot build a team.
Demanding of others. If people on a team are willing to take responsibility for staying on track and meeting performance criteria, then they won't be afraid to hold each other accountable. They won't wait for the team leader to do it first. They will demonstrate this responsibility themselves in direct communication with each other.
Focus on overall results. Members of a true team will put aside their personal aspirations and problems to work on things that benefit the entire team. They will not be tempted to put their own professional growth, career plans, or self-centered aspirations above the overall goals of the team.
Share in the comments, do your team have working principles that you adhere to?
If you are a team leader, then you should be the first to broadcast and confirm by your own example the importance of a team approach. I recommend reading Lencioni’s book “The Practice of Overcoming,” where he described the structure of a series of team-building trainings that will help you convey to your partners/colleagues the principles of interaction between people in a team and work through each one. Using this guide, you will significantly improve team relationships and acquire knowledge and skills that are very important for teamwork.
Effective teamwork is always a journey, not a goal. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to achieve the ideal, but at least striving to adhere to the principles of teamwork means making a huge contribution to the common cause and being an effective and constructive member of the team.
