This book title by John C. Maxwell is now a bit of a cliché, but it’s true. The projects and jobs that I’ve enjoyed the most are not just because of the content, but it’s the people. Your client, your co-workers, any external organizations you need to work with… all these people are an important part of your project, and you need each of them to succeed.

Having a good team is more than just having good people. There are team characteristics that should be looked for, standards of business that should adhered to, norms and expectations to be agreed to, tasks to be allocated, and so much more. Let’s look at what makes for good teamwork.

What Makes a Team Good

Haas and Mortensen (2016) sum this up for us: “a shared mindset.” A shared mindset is not something that just appears in place because you want it to…it must be developed and fostered. Responsibilities must be clearly allocated, processes must be efficient, all team members must be open to constructive criticism, and a positive morale in the group (and organization) is required for success.

There are several common traits that are noted for team success:

• Leadership

• Communication

• Accountability

• Respect

• Clearly outlined responsibilities and objectives

• Leverage strengths and weaknesses

• Support from team and organization

• Open to ideas, possibilities – no negative consequences for any failures

Additionally, as our culture shifts and the workforce evolves, there are other important factors to consider:

• Diversity

• Adaptivity

• Creativity

As our teams are becoming more diverse, distributed, and virtual, establishing strong team processes and a shared mindset are more important than ever, as there will be new challenges to teamwork that cannot be specifically predicted.

An Organization’s Responsibilities to the Team

It isn’t enough for an organization to just hire top-notch people and expect top-notch results. The organization is responsible for creating a culture where teams can succeed and providing the support and resources the teams need to achieve their goals. The organization should ensure that the goals for the team are communicated clearly to all members, expectations are outlined, and a plan is agreed to for how to achieve those goals.

When planning for teams, it is important to be as detailed and specific as possible about the situation and the desired result. Throughout the lifecycle of a team, it is important that they receive the respect of the organization, and everyone (team members and organization) are all held accountable. If there are conflicts within the team that they cannot work out on their own, the organization needs to be able to manage and resolve this conflict to keep the team moving forward.

This all involves a lot of solid communication, problem solving, and quality leadership. Some groups recommend creating team-building activities as a regular part of the organization’s business operations. It can be very costly and time-consuming to build effective teams. But the returns can be amazing. By creating a positive team environment within your organization, you can experience improved productivity, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction.

The investment an organization makes in their teams can result in employees staying longer, keeping the teams together longer, building more trust and working interactions…all being a huge benefit to the organization. With more remote workers and distributed employees, and more global-based work needing to be done, having good a team building culture within your organization is going to become a requirement.

Your Responsibilities to the Team

You can’t just expect your teammates and corporate management to control the success of your project. You are a critical link in that chain! You have the power and ability to influence the success or failure of your team’s project. You must have as much accountability as everyone else who is involved.

So, how can you make sure that you are a quality team member outside of just accomplishing the project tasks that are assigned to you? Make sure you understand your role on the team, be open to and welcome the collaboration of the team, be committed to the team and its goals. A positive attitude and approach to the work always makes a difference to both the work done and your fellow teammates.

There are also things you can do proactively to be a better team member. You can’t always control how your fellow team members act but know that you are in control of your participation in the team.

Making Your Next Team Better

I hope that some of the team and personal actions that I’ve described in this post have given you some ideas about how you can make your next (or even current) team function better and be even more successful.

Even employees who aren’t officially assigned as a “team” all have an important part to play in the success of the organization and its customers. The team working suggestions outlined here apply to all work (and life) situations.

Some of the things that we can all do to create better environments are to be helpful, listen for comprehension and work to solve problems, communicate effectively, be respectful, and celebrate everyone’s successes. By being involved in this way, you set the example and have a solid base for the success of your team and organization.

References

Beasley, N. (2020). Teamwork Makes The Dream Work: Investing in Teams. BetterHelp. https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/teamwork/teamwork-makes-the-dream-work-investing-in-teams/.

Bryant, A. (n.d.). How to Build a Successful Team. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/manage-a-successful-team.

Circa Works. (n.d.). What Makes a Great Team? https://circaworks.com/articles/what-makes-a-good-team/.

Garvey, J. (2018, July 24). What Makes a Good Team? PeopleGoal. https://www.peoplegoal.com/blog/what-makes-a-good-team.

GraphicMama-team. (n.d.). Teamwork drawing. https://pixabay.com/vectors/meeting-business-brainstorming-1453895/.

Haas, M. & Mortensen, M. (2016). The Secrets of Great Teamwork. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/06/the-secrets-of-great-teamwork.

Herser, H. (n.d.). Gears working drawing. https://pixabay.com/vectors/gears-work-team-together-5193383/.

Kiquebg. (n.d.). Handshake image. https://pixabay.com/photos/technology-hands-agreement-okay-4256272/.

Nieves, S. (n.d.). 5 Qualities Every Dream Team Has a Common. FairyGodBoss. https://fairygodboss.com/career-topics/teamwork-makes-the-dream-work#.

Samuel. (2021, January 20). Teamwork Makes the Dream Work. How I Got The Job. https://howigotjob.com/articles/teamwork-makes-the-dream-work/.

Sennett, P. (2021, April 28). 6 Qualities That Make a Great Team Player. University of Rochester. https://hbr.org/2016/06/the-secrets-of-great-teamwork.

t-three. (2017, January 17). What Makes a Good Team Great? The Six Characteristics of Successful Teams. https://circaworks.com/articles/what-makes-a-good-team/.

Teak Sato. (n.d.). Arms raised photo. https://www.freeimages.com/photo/team-1493923.