Chapter 7: Teamwork

The future business will focus on fewer management layers and teamwork. From the dawn of humanity, teamwork has been proven to be much more effective than working individually. Though working individually has some degree of advantages, experts are suggesting the originations to become more team oriented. Teamwork always outperforms individuals especially when the task being performed require multiple skills and experiences. Cross-functional and self-managed are the two type of team that is widely known.

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." --Andrew Carnegie

By definition, a group of people working together towards a single goal is called teamwork. Members of the team have a shared goal and they are interdependent. For example, in a football match, the team plays towards a single goal and they are interdependent. Every team will have a leader and rest of the members will follow him/her.

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. --Ryunosuke Satoro

People often get confused with teams and groups. These two terms may sound the same on the surface but they are two different things when you dive inside. Let’s look at some the key differences between a team and a group.

A team can achieve much more than an individual. There is a synergy for that, 1+1=3. Although, mathematically 1+1=2 but, when it comes to teamwork it breaks the rule of mathematics’. In another way, a TEAM stands for,

• Together
• Everyone
• Achieves
• More

A team consists several people. It is not necessary that every individual will have all the competencies but to perform certain tasks you must need all the competencies together. This is where teamwork comes in.

• Fosters creativity and learning: We all are different, the way we think and look at things are completely different. Combining all the perceptions together can bring something great. Working in a team gives a huge boost of creativity by compiling all the talents. Working solo gives you a narrow viewpoint.
• What you have learned from your job experience can be completely different from your coworker. Thus, you will have an opportunity to observe and learn new things from him/her by working in a team.
• Enhances the quality of decision making: Teamwork always results in coming up with great decisions. Individual judgment can be biased. What one member of the team sees may not be seen by others. Making the decision with the opinion of teammates will reduce the chances of being bias. Making decisions in a team opens a door of considering the vast amount of information while reaching conclusion.
• Enhances conflict resolution skills: In most of the cases, people with unique skills are summoned together to create a team. People coming different background have different opinion and way of thinking. While these unique abilities together can bring some extraordinary result it also creates resentment that can turn into a conflict later on.
• When conflict arises, teams are forced to solve it on their own rather turning it into the management. Thus, the employees get skilled in conflict resolution that will help them become an efficient manager down the line.
• Builds up trust and commitment: A team is a group of people who are interdependent with each other. Members of a team are committed to helping each other to attain a certain goal. Such environment creates a bond among all the member of a team. They must have trust and commitment to watch each other’s back. At the end of the day, trust and commitment will bring fruitful outcomes for the team and the organization.
• Advances career: If you work in a team means you are privileged. The world is full of knowledge and you can grab it from anywhere. Peers are one of the biggest sources of knowledge. Working solo will not give you the chance to share your knowledge nor gaining. So, teamwork can always help you to learn new things and apply them in your workplace. It will definitely foster your career growth and maturity.

There are several types of teams in the workplace. Some are temporary some are for a long time. But the objective of every team is common in one aspect, it is the goal. They all work together to attain one specific goal irrespective of the types of teams. There four popular types of teams-

1. Cross-functional teams: Cross-functional teams are composed of experts from different areas or working unit. Their hierarchy level is close to each other but their operations are different. For example, experts from different departments like marketing, accounting, HR together can comprise a cross-functional team. A cross-functional team is created when any need arises that require extra care of diverse skills. Typically, a crossed functional team is assigned not volunteered. It is widely practiced known to be most effective team among all the other types of teams available.
2. Self-directed teams: Self-directed teams are the ones that are formed by someone from the organization to complete a task. This kind of teams does not need to report to the top management. It’s a semi-autonomous group of people performing their tasks with very less or no supervision. Tasks of these teams are determined and carried out by the team members themselves.
3. Virtual teams: In this age era of technological advancement, people can work together from the different corners of the world. Teaming up from different places through the help of technology is known as virtual teams. They are experts from different places connected via video call, conference call or email to work on a project. They never meet each other. Virtual teams are cost and time effective although it has some disadvantages.
4. Problem-solving teams: This kind of teams are temporary. Companies create problem-solving teams to solve a specific problem. After the problem is solved the team will be disbanded. For example, ABC Company noticed a huge drop in their sale. The company called a group of experts to look into the reason for the sale drop. This team is called problem-solving team. Problem-solving teams are very effective in organizational context.

Organizations across the world are highly demanding this skill. People with team working skill are more likely to get employed.