Teamwork

Skill	Teamwork
Definition:	What is team working? A team comprises a group of people linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks. Teams maybe interdependent such as football teams and work for a common cause for example, in business, as a project team. Why is it important to consider team working? In many work situations people will meet and work as teams. Team members may be chosen or even self-appointed. They may work together for longer or shorter time periods. Teamwork should promote and facilitate member interaction. Teamwork can lead to better decisions, products, or services. The quality of teamwork may be measured by analyzing six components of collaboration among team members: 1. Communication 2. Coordination 3. Balance of member contributions 4. Mutual support 5. Effort 6. Cohesion.
Purpose:	This page is part of our series covering ‘Groups and Teams’ and looks at the various roles people take on as part of a formal group. The roles and responsibilities of the leader or facilitator and the individual members working within the group or team are examined. The word ‘role’ refers to how a person will behave and what function they will perform within the group as a whole. Group roles are not necessarily static – people may adopt different roles at different times during the group’s life-cycle. Teamwork skills are essential to your success at work, no matter your industry or job title. Working well with clients, colleagues, managers and other people in your workplace can help you complete tasks efficiently while creating an enjoyable environment both for yourself and others. An organization is that emphasizes good teamwork skills is typically a healthy, high-functioning workplace.
Description:	Teamwork has always been an essential capability for successful enterprises, but with today’s organisations undergoing disruption and digitization in an ‘innovate or die’ economy, it is now more important than ever that employees can collaborate effectively across geographical sites, between business functions and within increasingly fluid job hierarchies. Successful teamwork is also an important for employee engagement and well being at a time when talent retention faces the highly competitive global job market as well as the ‘loyalty challenge’ posed by millennial workers. The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2016 reported that, among other findings, millennial’s linked job satisfaction with high-levels of cross-team collaboration, open and free-flowing communication, a culture of mutual support and tolerance, the active encouragement of ideas among all employees and a strong commitment to equality and inclusiveness—in other words, millennial’s might stay for a strong team. Teams in the future of work will be increasingly ‘4-D: diverse, dispersed, digital, dynamic’, but the fundamental skills that comprise effective teamwork are likely to remain the same.
Knowledge:	How can we create more effective teams? 1. Problem solving Collaborating to come up with, hone and develop solutions is a great strength of working in teams. Each team member has a responsibility to contribute equally and offer their unique perspective on a problem to arrive at the best possible solution. 2. Accomplish tasks faster As one person taking on multiple tasks you will not be able to perform at a same pace as a team can. When people work together they can complete tasks faster by dividing the work to people of different abilities and knowledge. 3. Healthy competition You can use healthy competition in groups can be used to motivate individuals and help the team excel. 4. Developing relationships A team that continues to work together will eventually develop an increased level of bonding. This can help you avoid unnecessary conflicts since they have become well acquainted with each other through team work. Try to ensure communication at all times. 5. Everyone has unique qualities Every team member can offer their unique knowledge and ability to help improve other team members. Through teamwork the sharing of these qualities will allow you as a team member to be more productive in the future. Appreciate your own and others qualities and differences.
Abilities:	Research shows that the most effective teams have someone who can take on each of the nine key roles. That doesn’t mean that a team has to contain nine people, as most people can take on two or even three roles at a time. Belbin’s Team Roles 1. Shaper – drives work forward and gets things done, has a clear idea of the desired direction of travel; 2. Implementer – also gets things done, looking for ways to turn talk into action and generate practical activity; 3. Completer-Finisher – focuses on completing tasks, and tidying up all the loose ends; 4. Coordinator – manage the group dynamics, often in a leadership role; 5. Team Worker – helps the team to work effectively by supporting personal relationships; 6. Resource Investigator – gathers external resources and information to help the team; 7. Plant – generates ideas and creative solutions, not all of them practical; 8. Monitor-Evaluator – good at critically assessing ideas and proposals, and at making decisions; and 9. Specialist – brings expert knowledge to the group, not always necessary to effective functioning. Belbin’s team roles can be divided into Task and Process roles. Task roles focus on ‘what’: the job in hand, and getting it done. The key ‘task-focused’ team roles are Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Monitor-Evaluator, Plant and Specialist. Process roles focus on ‘how’, and particularly on the people involved. They include Coordinator, Resource Investigator, and Team Worker. The most effective team-workers are those who can see what skills are available within the group, and use their own skills to fill any gaps. People tend to be either task- or process-focused, rather than a mixture. It is perfectly possible to learn to take on the other focus, if you want to do so, and this will make you a highly effective team member.
Tips for teachers:	The elements crucial to building a productive team include: Communication: Effective communication is the most important part of teamwork and involves consistently updating each person and never assuming that everyone has the same information. Being a good communicator also means being a good listener. By listening to your colleagues you show them respect, which is an essential trust-building method. Offering encouragement also goes a long way to getting the best out of team members. Collaborating and being open to new ideas are also essential ingredients for a harmonious team environment. Delegation: Teams that work well together understand the strengths and weaknesses of each team member. One of the benefits of strong teamwork is that team leaders and members are adept at identifying all aspects of a project and allocating tasks to the most appropriate team members. Efficiency: A strong and cohesive team develops systems that allow them to collaborate efficiently to complete tasks in a timely manner. Through working together, colleagues will be aware of their own capabilities and the capabilities of the group in general, and can organise the workload accordingly. Ideas: When a team works well together, colleagues feel more comfortable offering suggestions and ideas. A respectful and trusting team environment will not only enable colleagues to think more creatively, but will lead to more productive and collaborative brainstorming sessions. Support: All workplaces provide challenges, but having a strong team environment in place can act as a support mechanism for staff members. They can help each other improve their own performance as well as working together toward improving their professional development. Building bonds on trust and reliance on each other can be extremely important when facing a particularly difficult challenge or if the group is forced to deal with the loss of a team member while continuing to maintain productivity. Good teamwork means a synergistic way of working with each person committed and working towards a shared goal. Teamwork maximizes the individual strengths of team members to bring out their best. It is therefore a necessity that leaders facilitate and build the teamwork skills of their people if they are to steer a company toward success.
Sources / resources	Videos, readings…  http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison/develop/my-skills/team-working https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/team-working.html https://www.deakinco.com/media-centre/news/the-five-elements-of-successful-teamwork