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“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Aristotle.
Teamwork offers a wealth of advantages to any small or large business. By working together, individuals can leverage each other’s strengths, helping the team achieve their goals more promptly and effectively.
Teams outperform individuals when arduous tasks require multiple skills and experience.
This dynamic combination of abilities produces better results than when people are alone. However, it is fundamental to develop a language to communicate ideas successfully.
Teams are paramount to streamline operations because when they roll up their sleeves, there are more opportunities to achieve a planned goal.
A team is not a collection of people who work in an office – that is just a group; a team is an association of individuals who are engaged towards a common target.
Of course, it’s challenging to work with others, even when everyone has the same goals. People need to be aware of how they interact with their co-workers.
Successful teams comprise a diverse mix of attitudes. Recognising staff abilities, regardless of function, is an important part of a manager’s job.
The relevant point is to get workers excited, talk to one another, solve any problems that come up, and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, we’ll look at the different types of team players and how to recognise their team-playing style.
But before, let’s describe the concept of teamwork.
Defining Teamwork
Teamwork is the combined effort of a group of individuals, each with their own unique set of skills, working together for a unified purpose, sharing responsibilities, resources, and rewards.
It involves collaboration, trust, coordination, and the communication of ideas and information amongst team members.
Working in teams improves productivity, allows workers to leverage their personal strengths and talents while also letting them work through challenges collaboratively.
Types of Team Players
In the 1970s, Meredith Belbin conducted a series of studies supported by behavioural tests aiming to measure how an individual works in a team environment. The results showed nine clusters of behaviours, which he called Belbin Team Roles.
Surprisingly, being more academically gifted was not found to be a significant factor.
Belbin based his research on behaviour, not personalities, applying practical examples to have people recognise what a person offers in a group and the role others are playing as well.
Belbin Team Roles are not only about teamwork, they are a guide to recognising people’s strengths, styles of working, along with their motivations and inspirations.
Victoria Bird, Research and Development head in the Belbin organisation, said: “It is not necessarily about job descriptions; it’s how personnel work collectively, the way they interrelate, build rapport, and focus on the aim the team is pursuing.”
The roles that emerged from Belbin’s investigations are:
Team Worker
Steering clear of confrontation is their motto. They are excellent listeners, good at calming things down, and enjoy working with everyone. But as they don’t enjoy picking sides, it’s hard for them to decide.
Monitor – Evaluator
For them, it is easy to judge and analyse a situation. They look at all the available options objectively, but they may fall short of expectations and find it difficult to be enthusiastic about their work.
Shaper
They push the unit into action. But those on the team should tread carefully with this character. Why? Since they thrive on pressure and challenge, they might treat others unfairly to get results, enraging the party.
Plant
This person can come up with innovative yet strange solutions. Oftentimes, this individual spends time working alone, producing answers to problems. However, the downside is that this worker may have trouble communicating their ideas adequately.
Implementer
These are the disciplined ones. Team members can rely on them to perform high-level tasks. But because they’re so organised, it’s not easy for them to wander off the path, and taking on new ideas isn’t their forte.
Coordinator
This person is the ideal chairperson – they can step back and see the entire plan, not just the details. They help the team make decisions, but they don’t always focus enough on their own tasks.
Specialist
As they are highly skilled individuals, the other players see them as the go-to source for specialised knowledge. The issue with ‘specialists’ is that they lack a broad perspective and get stuck on technicalities.
Resource Investigator
These professionals are full of energy and enthusiasm at the start of a task, and they’re good at networking. But they tend to lose steam at the end of a project.
Completer – Finisher
With painstaking attention to detail, this person is looking for perfection. Sticking to schedules while keeping the best quality is essential for them. But their frailty lies in worrying excessively about minor details.
Benefits of Teamwork
No matter the industry, working in teams has countless advantages in the workplace. Through collaboration, members can share resources, concepts, and unique perspectives to reach a common goal.
Moreover, teamworking helps develop problem-solving skills, communication, and decision making. Another advantage is that moving in teams fosters trust, vital in every organisation, while giving employees a sense of belonging.
When individuals work together, they support each other and use their unique abilities and expertise to improve job satisfaction and get better results; hence, projects are completed more quickly and effortlessly.
But something even more important is that those who are part of a team gain new perspectives and see tasks from different angles, allowing for a broader and more creative approach to problem-solving.
What problems occur when working with other people?
Although teams are beneficial, working with others can lead to certain complications. People may not share the same vision or values, leading to disagreement and tension.
For instance, poor coordination could cause team players to work against each other instead of with each other, wasting valuable time and resources.
On the other hand, if there’s a lack of trust between members, the connection and partnership can be broken, hurting the chances of success.
Another major obstacle to advancing in any collaborative endeavour is a deep sense of competition, as everyone strives to prove their value to the team.
So, communication and strong leadership are necessary to avoid these issues that might destroy any sense of unity and, of course, may cause a poorly developed project.
Challenges of Teamwork
As the world shuffles into the future and technology advances, it’s becoming increasingly relevant for teams to be creative and collaborative to meet their goals.
Teamworking is no longer simply a matter of professionals working in the same office; it requires strategic participation between people from various departments and locations, often across multiple time zones.
It includes the need for increased cross-platform communication, the capacity to work remotely, and the ability to manage a diverse array of skills. Here is where an adept manager should play the role of an orchestra director.
Today, it’s more important than ever to learn how to use new technologies and tools to improve the overall performance of a team through better ways to report and more efficient processes.
Strategies for Effective Teamwork
Communication, collaboration, and trust are three core elements that need to be established for a cohesive team.
First, team members should make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, while ensuring that everybody is aware of the aim and how each person’s specific tasks contribute to reaching that objective.
It’s also vital to respect others’ points of view so that opinions and solutions can be exchanged in an atmosphere of open communication.
Conclusion
Teamwork offers a wealth of advantages to any small or large business. By acting together, individuals leverage each other’s strengths, help the team achieve their goals, and allow for the sharing of ideas, resources, and knowledge, resulting in faster and more efficient solutions.
Team participation enhances creativity and innovation, while also providing motivation that can facilitate success.
Working as a team ensures everyone is in sync and taken into consideration, while forming a powerful collective and reducing the stress and risks associated with a particular task.
What kind of team player are you?
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