careernav.

By Anne Parker

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - Andrew Carnegie ( 19th century Scottish American, rags to riches, industrialist and philanthropist)

The ability to work cooperatively and effectively in a team is one of the key employability skills that employers are looking for. Why is teamwork so valuable, and what can get in its way?

Career Advice - Teamwork

What good teamwork can achieve

1. Efficiency: working in a team promotes efficiency and faster work as the group has a purpose in being together. Time therefore is used more productively, and as we all know, “time is money”.
2. More ideas: it stands to reason that more ideas will be generated if there are several brains at work on the same project or issue. This too is a good thing.
3. More input: with several people putting their minds to something there will be a greater amount of knowledge and understanding to draw on, so a more complete and thorough job will be the result.
4. Better understanding: How often do you receive an instruction or topic to work on and sit back wondering what it means, what is required here? More brain cells on a job leads to better understanding of what the job or issue is really about. Better understanding will also lead to a better finished project.
5. Communication: having to work with others develops your communication skills, as you have to express yourself clearly and accurately to get your ideas across to others. This is also a direct benefit to the organisation you work for, as clear communication and understanding is essential to the successful operation of any business or organisation.
6. Accuracy: greater accuracy will be achieved with more brains at work. No one person knows it all, so having a team of people will ensure greater accuracy of the project.

Threats to good teamwork

There are a few obstacles that you have to continually get over when working closely with a team.

1. Conflicting personalities: of course, you have conflicting personalities. Some people are morning people, while some people take a while to get going in the morning. Maybe you get two people that are very self-centred, so they clash all the time. Some prefer to work alone and simply don’t like having to work in a team environment.
2. Negative attitudes: another problem that might occur is the negative attitudes of co-workers. When you encounter an employee who is unhappy with their job, the tiniest little problems will become the rant of the day.
3. Too many opinions: sometimes there are too many opinions to consider and everybody promotes their own. This will slow down the work and may promote conflict among some members of the team.
4. Political behaviour: self interest and conflict may arise when one or some in the team use it to promote themselves to look good in the eyes of the bosses to the detriment of others.
5. Poor leadership: every team needs a leader to coordinate it so it runs smoothly. If the leadership is too weak, too domineering or too disorganised, the team will not function well.
6. Social loafing: there is a psychological phenomenon called “social loafing” which occurs when one or more team members may not do their fair share of the work, leaving it to the group. This will lead to conflict and counter the benefits of team work.

How do you work successfully in a team?

Almost every organisation values a successful team player. If you are able to contribute positively in a team environment at work, chances are that you will eventually do well for yourself also. Working as part of team is an acquired skill and can be learned over time.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Have an open, co-operative attitude to all other members of the team. This includes staying away from the troublemakers and gossip mongers who intentionally promote conflict among team members.
2. Help and motivate other members of the team. This may be in the form of asking for suggestions, valuing their inputs and also encouraging others to go ahead with their ideas.
3. Develop a good working relationship with the team leader. This means supporting him or her on team issues and valuing feedback on your work.
4. Be a problem solver. Instead of complaining that the task at hand is too difficult, find ways to solve it. Enlist the help of your team members and if necessary ask for expert guidance outside the team. In the short term, a simple pat on the back or a compliment will do wonders for your self-esteem; and when the boss sees you taking on challenges and getting results in team projects, you may well find yourself rewarded through a promotion, a pay increase or a bonus.
5. Respect the values of the team, such as being on time. Coming to a team meeting properly prepared will also stand you in good stead.

How do you resolve conflict in a team?

Conflict arises from differences. When individuals come together in work teams their differences in terms of power, values and attitudes, and social factors all contribute to the creation of conflict. It is often difficult to expose the sources of conflict. Conflict can arise from numerous sources within a team setting and generally falls into three categories: communication factors, structural factors and personal factors (Varney, 1989).

For individuals to work effectively in teams they must be able to clearly communicate their ideas, to listen, and be willing to disagree. Although it is difficult, learning to appreciate each other's differences reflects a team's ability to manage conflict. Well-managed conflict can be a source of positive change and innovation.

6 steps to conflict resolution

1. Recognition that there is negative conflict in the team.
2. Quickly act to resolve it.
3. Appoint a skilled mediator to handle it.
4. Listen to all parties.
5. Analyse the problems and sources of conflict.
6. Generate possible solutions to the conflict.
7. Select and implement the most acceptable solution.

Individual timetables versus common goals

It’s common in the workplace to be part of a team or teams as well as having individual tasks to complete. Teaching is a good example where you have responsibility for your own classes as well as being part of a faculty, a member of the school and probably a member of other related organisations. Each team, plus your own individual tasks associated with your classroom work has goals and time frames. How then do you manage these competing timetables and stay sane?

It’s very much about seeing the big picture, i.e. the organisation that employs you and the goals of that organization, rather than your individual goals and timeframe. Inevitably there will be conflicting timeframes which will cause frustration and stress but by focusing on the main game, you might just meet the deadlines and stay sane.

How is this achieved?

Prioritise tasks and projects according to their importance and deadline. Ask yourself the question – what can wait, what can’t?
Time management is crucial. Dividing up your day into blocks of time for certain tasks will keep everything on track.
Keeping a diary (and remembering to check it) will alert you to your obligations  and will help you avoid overloading yourself, as well as keeping you up to date with your commitments.

Summing up

Working in a team can be challenging, requiring sensitivity to others, being organised and prepared, and sharing the common goals and values of the team. The bottom line, however, is that it can’t be avoided unless you are a one person business - so learn to live with it and make it work for you.

In a nutshell the advantage of team work is all about producing a better end result for the organisation as 1+1+1 can indeed = 5.