Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.— Michael Jordan

Alone you go fast, together you go far! When a team works well together as a unit they are able to accomplish more than its individual members can do alone. When members apply different skills they are often able to come up with a more effective solution than one person working on the same problem.. Mutual support can have the benefit of encouraging people to achieve goals they may not have realized they could reach on their own.

Some Benefits of Teamwork

Better outcomes: Good teamwork maximizes involvement, utilizing everybody’s strengths and areas of expertise, as well as distributing responsibility to all. The team can bring more resources to bear against a challenge and there is more oversight to reduce risk of poor individual contributions.

Increased innovation: A good team is made up of diverse members. When these members apply different skills to the same problem, they come up with a more effective solution than one person working on the same problem. A good team can produce a wide range of possible solutions to each specific problem and ascertain the most effective one from the range through collective input and interaction.

Mutual support: When teams work well together they are supportive of one another. Mutual support can encourage people to achieve goals they may not have realized they could reach on their own. It also gives individuals an interest in encouraging and aiding other members of the team to achieve those shared goals.

Greater effectiveness: When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles and tasks to more thoroughly address an issue. For example, in hospital settings teamwork has been found to increase patient safety more than when only individual efforts are made to avoid mishaps.

Source: Boundless. “Advantages of Teamwork.” Boundless Management. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/defining-teams-and-teamwork-51/advantages-of-teamwork-259-4562/

Greater effectiveness: When a team is able to work well together they accomplish more than individuals can do alone. This helps a company save money while being more competitive in their market. There is often a greater sense of accomplishment than what an employee may feel when working on their own.

When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles and tasks to more thoroughly address an issue.

Source: Boundless. “Advantages of Teamwork.” Boundless Management. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/defining-teams-and-teamwork-51/advantages-of-teamwork-259-4562/

3 Ways Teamwork Doesn't Work

1. Placing a 'one' in front of the name

While the intention to connect members is positive, unity comes from actions, not intentions. Placing a “one” in front of a business department or company doesn’t reveal the untapped potential just waiting to be unlocked known as teamwork. Teams and teamwork are not the same. Joe Sales Guy, for instance, may be part of the sales team, but if nobody trusts each other enough to share information and work toward a common purpose, then that team remains a group comprised of individuals who just share the same team name.

2. Re-labeling a group as a team

This is perhaps the worst of it all. The words 'group' and 'team' are, for the most part, interchangeable - at least most people use them that way. But there are distinct differences between groups and teams. The main difference is that a team's strength or focus depends on the commonality of their purpose and how the individuals are connected to one another. On the other hand, a group can come from having a large number of people or a cohesive willingness to carry out a focused action - political reform, for example. A team works together and shares in the outcome, while a group is more independent of each other. The problem with re-labeling a group as a team is that there is lack of accountability as roles are usually not defined in work groups.

Even the strongest, most well-built team will, at times, be met with adversity. What makes us great is not that we should anticipate less adversity the stronger that we become, but rather that in anticipation of adversity we become stronger.

— Michael Joling

3. Being nice rather than honest

People sometimes confuse conformism for teamwork, thinking that if there’s no arguing, then the team dynamic must be healthy and productive. Wrong. When you avoid facing difficult issues, you inhibit not only your own self-management skills but also those of others. Then, as a result, team dynamics change. Animosity, jealousy, uncertainty and resentment spur up and then snowball into a toxic contagion that prevents the team from reaching optimal potential.

Characteristics of Effective Teams

1. There is a clear unity of purpose.

There was free discussion of the objectives until members could commit themselves to them; the objectives are meaningful to each group member.

2. The group is self-conscious about its own operations.
The group has taken time to explicitly discuss group process -- how the group will function to achieve its objectives. The group has a clear, explicit, and mutually agreed-upon approach: mechanics, norms, expectations, rules, etc. Frequently, it will stop to examined how well it is doing or what may be interfering with its operation. Whatever the problem may be, it gets open discussion and a solution found.

3. The group has set clear and demanding performance goals
for itself and has translated these performance goals into well-defined concrete milestones against which it measures itself. The group defines and achieves a continuous series of "small wins" along the way to larger goals.

4. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable, relaxed.
There are no obvious tensions, a working atmosphere in which people are involved and interested.

5. There is a lot of discussion in which virtually everyone participates,
but it remains pertinent to the purpose of the group. If discussion gets off track, someone will bring it back in short order. The members listen to each other. Every idea is given a hearing. People are not afraid of being foolish by putting forth a creative thought even if it seems extreme.

Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish more than an individual working alone.

Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often complete tasks and activities in less time.

Source: Boundless. “Advantages of Teamwork.” Boundless Management. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/defining-teams-and-teamwork-51/advantages-of-teamwork-259-4562/

Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish more than an individual working alone.

Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often complete tasks and activities in less time.

Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish more than an individual working alone.

Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often complete tasks and activities in less time.

More thoughtful ideas: Each person who works on a problem or set of tasks may bring different information and knowledge to bear, which can result in solutions and approaches an individual would not have identified.

Source: Boundless. “Advantages of Teamwork.” Boundless Management. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/defining-teams-and-teamwork-51/advantages-of-teamwork-259-4562/

Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish more than an individual working alone.

Source: Boundless. “Advantages of Teamwork.” Boundless Management. Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 27 Jun. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/groups-teams-and-teamwork-6/defining-teams-and-teamwork-51/advantages-of-teamwork-259-4562/

Young Entrepreneur

Monday, 27 June 2016

Teamwork makes the dream work

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.— Michael Jordan

Some Benefits of Teamwork

3 Ways Teamwork Doesn't Work

1. Placing a 'one' in front of the name

2. Re-labeling a group as a team

3. Being nice rather than honest

Characteristics of Effective Teams

1. There is a clear unity of purpose.

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