Have you ever wondered how some work groups exhibit great teamwork while others remain dysfunctional. Effective teamwork is simple yet difficult. It’s one of the many reasons why teams struggle to get the relationships, the interaction, and the task execution right.
No matter who the team is, every member of it brings along his baggage. People with different life struggle to mesh well with one another. Given the complexity of forming a team, developing specific interaction norms and guidelines, ends up creating an effective, functioning team that is downright amazing.
You can significantly increase your chances of developing a better team with the right amount of support and nurture. Teams have the ability produce great work. Don’t let anything hold you back from helping your team.
Teams have basic needs that must be acknowledged and fulfilled. If you expect your team to experience their greatest success, their basics need to be met.
Keys to Successful Teamwork
To create a successful team, you need to follow these 10 steps. Successful teamwork serve as a cornerstone for creating a functioning team.
The team understands goals
A team will do whatever it takes to attain their goal. Team members must agree upon an overall mission that provides an umbrella for all that a team tries to do. Team clarity is reinforced when the organization has clear expectations for the majority’s work, goals, accountability and outcomes.
The team creates an environment where people are comfortable taking reasonable risks in communicating, advocating, and taking action. Team members should trust each other and not be punished for diagreeing with one another.
Communication should be open, honest, and respectful
People are free to express their thoughts, opinions, and solutions to their problems. They should be heard by other team members. They should also ask questions for clarity and spend their time listening closely to their coworkers.
Team members should have a strong sense of belonging to a group
Teams need to be committed to a group’s decisions and actions.
Team members matter
Despite their varying knowledge, opinions and view on things, the purpose of creating a team is to take advantage of those differences by approaching them in a diligent manner.
Creativity, innovation, and different viewpoints are expected
Comments such as, “we already tried that and it didn’t work” and “what a dumb idea” are not allowed to be said, at least not in this way. The team members must recognize that the most important aspect of a team is the ability to bring in their differences to solve problems, improve the process or reach a goal.
The team should be able to constantly examine itself
The team should openly discusses team-relationship norms and what may be hindering their ability to move forward and progress in areas of effort, talent, and strategy. The team should hold review meetings that acesses their process and progress in approaching and accomplishing a mission.
The team should agree upon procedures for diagnosing, analyzing, and resolving teamwork problems and conflicts
The team should not support a member’s conflicts and clashes with others, nor should they pick sides in a disagreement. Rather, they should get together to resolve this disagreement.
Participation leadership should be practiced
Participation leadership should be practiced in leading meetings, assigning tasks, recording decisions, assessing progress, and holding team members accountable for when things go wrong.
Members of the team should make high quality decisions together
They should have the support and commitment of the group to carry out the decisions being made. They also gain the support and commitment of the people they report to in order to accomplish and communicate the team’s progress and success.
If a team can get these ten factors right, success and a rewarding sense of teamwork will follow. It’s not, the team might face some challenges in the workplace.
If team members can rise above the trench, they can achieve greatness.