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Teamwork is an important factor that determines the success of any entity. So much has been written about teamwork that sometimes individuals know the theory of teamwork but fail to put it into practice. If you have been associated with the task of recruiting candidates for your organization, you would have seen applicants enlisting 'an ability to work in a team' or 'teamwork' as one of their attributes in their resume. But, the fact is that teamwork as a quality has been used so languidly over the years that in some cases, it has ceased to be what it stands for and has rather become a cliche. So, it is important to remember for everyone that rattling off the theory of teamwork would do no good unless and until it is put into practice. We will give you a primer on the principles that lay the foundation of building a strong team with the hope that you will try to inculcate these principles to achieve the desired results.
Teamwork Principles
Teamwork Principles
- One of the first principles of an effective teamwork is that while a team is formed, there should be a clarity as to what the team wants to achieve. It is important that you view the team as an entity and have clearly articulated goals in place. In the absence of an objective, the team members may not be able to understand their responsibilities, which can cause ambiguity.
- The team members should be willing to learn from each other. There may be some members who may be excellent with the process, while some may require some time and guidance, so it is essential that there is a willingness to teach and learn new ideas. Team members should not be hesitant in seeking help from the senior members of the team and the senior members, should in turn step forward to help the new members.
- There should be a two-way communication among team members about the roles that they are assigned, so that there is an understanding and appreciation of the effort put in by everyone. This is very essential as it has seen that a lot of times when things do not work as planned, members engage in a blame-game. If members are aware about the challenges involved in carrying out a task, they are more likely to appreciate each other for their efforts.
- While some control over a team is necessary, it is important that the team is given a certain amount of flexibility in carrying out their tasks. Too much of interference can affect the efficiency of a team and dampen the morale of the members.
- One of the most important principles of effective teamwork is effective communication. Communicating effectively means that information is shared among all the members of the team so that rumor-mongers are kept at bay. Involving all your team members in a discussion on effective business strategy helps in making the team members feel a valuable part of the organization. Effective communication also calls for discussing matters of importance openly so that everybody is on the same page.
- There should be an initiative to reward and recognize team and its members who have performed exemplary and helped the team in achieving its targets. This will encourage others to follow suit and act as a boost to people who genuinely believe in the values of teamwork and team-spirit.
- Last but not the least, there should be a healthy competition among team members to outperform each other. In the absence of a competition, the job may cease to become interesting and monotony can creep in, which again can be detrimental to a team. So, it is important that the team members are provided with enough opportunities to grow in their professional lives.
These were some of the principles of effective teamwork. There are no hard-and-fast rules as far as the principles of effective teamwork are concerned, but the points mentioned can definitely prove to be effective when practiced sincerely. We leave you with this quote from Henry Ford - one of the legends of automobile industry, "If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself."
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Account Manager
