Teamwork Is Better Than Individual Work Essay

“Teams are the fundamental unit by which work is conducted in organizations.”

Introduction

A team is a group of people who collaborate on a task towards a common goal. It is an essential component in any basic organization of work. Forming and managing a team can set forth many issues and road bumps and therefore it requires a lot of techniques and specific practices to ensure not only effective but also successful teamwork.

What is teamwork?

Nowadays, teamwork has increasingly become a way of life in numerous organizations. Teamwork is when a group of people work together cohesively, combining individual strengths, ideas, and perceptions, supporting each other towards a common vision or objective. This creates a positive working atmosphere as it brings people together with a sense of companionship and accomplishment.

What problems can one face in teamwork?

When a team has been formed, it encounters several issues and concerns before it can successfully perform. These issues mainly arise through various forms of misunderstandings and miscommunication. One of the most common problems a team faces is the building of trust. Trust is proven to be a key building block of all relationships, whether it be professional or personal. Google’s Aristotle Project, proves how important building trust within a team is for effective teamwork (The New York Times Magazine, 2016). A lack of trust can break down a team as it threatens team productivity, causes demotivation, and creates a toxic atmosphere as members may be afraid to communicate with the fear of being shut down. Another very common issue that arises is conflict and tension. This is a big challenge that almost every team faces. A difference of opinion can quickly cause arguments and misunderstandings and can cause poor communication between members which in turn can hinder team performance and threatens their work. Social loafing is another issue that a team is very likely to face. This is when people tend to put in less effort when working in a team than they do when working individually. This creates a problem as each individual is not putting in an equal amount of effort and hence can lead to one member working harder than another. Ineffective leadership can also cause poor teamwork as team leaders may not be able to establish clear visions for their team or not delegate responsibilities effectively, hence confusing members. Such issues are critical to the team, as learning and overcoming them assists the team in developing a sound understanding of their members and their different attributes, all of which combine to form the perfect team for optimum performance.

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How can these problems be addressed?

All of these problems stated above can be addressed and overcome with many simple solutions. A team can build trust with their members in several different ways. Members can simply start by being themselves within the group. When a person is their authentic self, it becomes easier to establish interpersonal relationships as they are based on honesty and open exchanges. Simple team-building exercises such as ice-breakers, can help members get to know each other and hence allow them to loosen up and be more open and comfortable around each other. Conflict and tension can be overcome through healthy debates, which can be useful for teamwork as it allows team members to listen to each other’s ideas and opinions through structured communication. This causes team members to talk to one another in an honest and meaningful way, think differently, and take all ideas into account, in turn expanding each other’s knowledge, leading to flourishing results. Poor leadership problems can be fixed through effective management of the team. The team can work together to get to know each other and choose a group member who they think is most suitable for their team. As John Adair’s Leadership Theory (1960) demonstrates, the leader should be held responsible for their team, achieve a common task, build the synergy of teamwork, and then respond to individuals' needs by ensuring that tasks are being completed correctly and successfully. The team can also collectively come up with a common goal and work on achieving it together. Leadership also assists with social loafing. A good leader can distribute tasks evenly and fairly and then should ensure that each team member is completing the tasks assigned to them within the given deadline. This diminishes any procrastination and guarantees that team members aren’t passing on their work to each other.

A team’s developmental stage

[image: ]Bruce Tuckman’s model of ‘Team Stages’ (1965) suggests that there are five important cycles in a team’s developmental stage. The first stage is the forming stage. This is the most essential stage as it is when the team is initially forming. It is when most members are positive and polite as they are getting oriented to one another. The next stage is the storming stage. This stage is the most difficult and critical stage to pass through. It is a period when an individual’s personality and skills emerge. Conflict may begin to arise as members may disagree on team goals or ideas and team performance may decrease as a result. The third stage, norming, is when any conflict gets resolved and unity within the team emerges. The group comes to a consensus and the leader is decided and individuals are assigned their roles. Team performance increases and cohesion and harmony arise. The fourth stage, also known as the performing stage is when the team is organized and well-functioning. A clear plan and structure has been established and is being successfully followed. The team is actively focused on problem-solving and meeting team goals and objectives. The last stage is the adjourning stage. This is when the majority of the team’s goals have been accomplished, final tasks are being wrapped up and preparation for disbandment is underway. A team needs to experience every stage of the development stage for successful and efficient teamwork.

Management techniques during the developmental stage.

To complete each cycle of the developmental stage and pass on to the next, several effective and efficient management techniques can assist a team. (Glenn M Parker, 2008). During the forming stage, team members must begin to get to know one another by learning to trust. Communication between members through conversations and icebreakers is very significant as it allows members to build safe and comfortable relationships with one another. Throughout the storming stage, the team should focus on team building and avoid any conflicting issues that may arise. Teams can use specific strategies such as recognition of members and their efforts and success, recognition of contribution, effective communication, and setting clear visions for the team to follow, to overcome this stage effectively. Team members should also show cooperation and understanding towards one another by always being willing to share and listen to each other’s ideas. Assigning roles and clear task delegation to members of the team can assist in team building as members are being held responsible for their share of the work. To get through the norming stage, team members must show high cohesiveness and harmony. This can be achieved through continuous defining and reminding of the team's goals and values, celebrating any success together, communicating effectively, and giving and receiving feedback from one another to keep improving. To accomplish both the performing and the adjourning stage, a team requires motivation. This motivation can be achieved through mutual accountability. When clear performance goals exist, and members have been given tasks to complete, individuals may feel mutually accountable for their parts and hence this encourages them to perform to avoid letting the team down. Encouragement and praise are also very efficient during this stage. When members are being encouraged and praised by one another, and their work is considered meaningful, they are more likely to increase effective performance (Glenn M Parker, 2008). Overall, there are several management techniques a team has to consider and apply to produce optimum results through effective teamwork.

What roles do members play to operate effectively?

There are several roles individuals in a team must be held responsible for and continue to upkeep while completing their teamwork. The most important role is the role of a team leader. A team leader ensures smooth and effective operations of the team. They ensure that all members have roles delegated to them and that they all actively participate in teamwork. Then we have the team recorder. A team recorder documents the main ideas of the team’s discussion. A timekeeper monitors the time to ensure that all work is being completed as per the deadlines and schedules. A team can also choose to have a researcher or a resource investigator. They explore various platforms and collect specific sources and data that can be helpful for their work. While individuals may have their specialized roles, they all still have to participate as active team members and have equal responsibility as other members.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can gather a firm understanding of how not only the existence of teams but also the formation and the developmental stage of the team is crucially essential in producing optimum and efficient teamwork. Although these stages may cause problems or confusion amongst team members, we can now understand that there are several effective management techniques and practices that can be used to overcome these encounters and in turn produce healthy and hardworking teams.