UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF TEAMWORK

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Team work and collaborative work is almost compulsory in any
work environment. There are different views on the advantages and disadvantages
of teaming up to achieve set goals.

While
we like to think in terms of whether teaming up is good for our productivity or
not, we forget the essential things that are foundational to everything we do.
We only think of the coin as having two sides, the front and the back. We
forget that there are other parts of the coin that hold those two sides
together, of course there are other components of the coin that tie the two
sides together: the edge and the rim without which there’ll be no coin.

Let’s
deal with the rim of the teamwork coin, the holding and binding factor of the
two sides of the coin. So whether you are in a team, or you are the
Do-it-Yourself (DIY) type you need to take note of these things:

Bureaucracy
is a show stopper, the output is most important: Those long processes that
are time consuming, resource consuming and enervating are annoying. The most
important thing is the final product and output; the result that comes out in
the end. So, all the long processes need to be cut off or made as short as
possible. Save time, resources, do more than just your allotted part. Take
ownership for the whole purpose and product!

The
Individual is a Team: It is true that a team is made up
of individuals, with diverse view, creativity and skills. What is however more
true is that, every individual is made up of different parts. So, each person
is a team of him or herself. Every individual has different views, is creative
and has a combination of skills. Every part of your system works
tightly-together to produce your whole. Without the collaboration of your
components, there’ll be no you. When you look at things this way, you know it
is essential to put in every ounce of energy you have.

Emotion
is Contagious: The emotional conundrum that comes
with working in a team is sometimes scary. Emotions are good but they don’t
matter to the final product. The product or service does not know or care that
you are melancholic, cranky and touchy. So, bringing emotional tantrums to play
in the crafting of your output and product is downright depressing and energy
draining for yourself and other people.

It
is cynical that you would expect everybody to understand your temperament and
expect them to be perfect. It means you are planning to work with aliens. And
if you are the king or queen of negativity and complaint, you ought to keep it
to yourself. It’s bad for business.

The
Consumer Does Not Care: You were
almost through with that job, feeling very proud of yourself and the amount of
work you had put into doing your part. Alas, the next person in the chain of
work line did not do his/her part when you wanted her to. Now, the product or
service is delayed.

Guess
what? The consumer does not care about your excuses. I am the consumer. I want
my service and I want it, like yesterday. The consumer does not care the amount
of time it took you to craft that thing, or the number of people involved in
the process of crafting and making. He just wants his product and service.

Everybody
is in the Marketing Department:
I take that back. Everyone is in all the departments. There’s no such thing as
“it’s not in my jurisdiction”. Everybody is marketing the organization in one
way or the other. Every element works together to sell your
organization/company. This means that no matter how subtle and downplayed you
think your part is, you are marketing yourself, your team, and your
organization. Take responsibility.

Who
Takes the Shine?: Unless you want to start frying eggs
off your ego, don’t rub all the oil on your body. There’s no need to look like
you just got out of a pool of oil, it’s way too greasy and slippery. Don’t take
all or most of the shine. That’s just plain theft. Share the glory. That’s why
it’s called teamwork. Team Work, Team Shine.

Whether
you think it’s absolutely fabulous to work in a team or not, these are
fundamental truths that should guide your lone work or team work.

 Over
to you now, what do you think matters most in business?