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Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress;
working together is success.
Henry Ford, US
industrialist
Work style is largely a matter of attitude. A positive mental attitude can not only make work more pleasant, but more productive. When staff think of their job as mundane and trivial, their productivity will decline, and that can spread to other staff. But when staff see themselves as part of the team and realise that what they contribute is important, no matter how small a part of the whole it is, then productivity will rise and that will also spread to other staff.
Staff from all levels can, together, solve larger problems and handle more work than an individual can.
Teamwork means wide access to technical support, a mixture of knowledge, and a multitude of skills.
Mutual support arises among team members when they are committed to one another and not only to the project.
If managers determine that teamwork is appropriate, then
consider which of the following types is best for your
organisation:
Completion of products and projects depend upon the efforts of many people. By sharing skills and knowledge as a team, people can work more effectively than an individual. Bring your staff together to achieve common objectives.
Teams work best when:
Who owns an idea? Many of us want the world to know that the person behind a great idea was really me. Or we want them to know that I had a better idea. Try to resist this temptation.
It can be damaging to team development, and it probably isn't true anyway.
Most new ideas are usually refinements of old ideas. Many are identical to old ideas - these are called "reinventing the wheel" ideas. Realise that your idea, no matter how good, is probably either the product of contributions from many people, or is an old idea that you didn't know about.
Don't be petty about ownership of ideas. Revel in good ones, whether they are yours or not. As a manager your job is to work with and through other people to get work done. To do this you have to be a facilitator who helps a team succeed. Their success is your success. Direct attention away from yourself by teaching what you know to others who can put it to use. Give credit to them for applying what they have learned.
Success has many parents, it is said, where failure is an orphan. Be an orphaned parent of success.
Some managers are hesitant to surrender control to employees especially if they don't know the outcome. On the other hand, some managers delegate too much responsibility to employees which disrupts the roles inside the organisation. Below is a guide of advantages and pitfalls at six different levels of employee involvement. Use it in determining a level of teamwork for your organisation.
Level, Advantages, Disadvantages
1., Managers make decision on their own,, announce them,, and then respond to employees questions, Enhances efficient decision making, Can alienate employees. Management must make all decisions2., Managers make decisions but only after seeking employees' views, Permits input from employees. Staff feels more involved.
Decisions are made quicker. Can waste time and blur focus. Can create employee resentment
3., Managers create temporary employee groups to suggest solutions to problems, Helps avoids use of outside consultants.
Permits a mix of expertise, Can conflict with employees' "regular" work. Can become a substitute for taking action
4., Managers meet with employee groups on a regular basis to identify and solve problems, Taps employee creativity. Doesn't change existing management system, Can lack appropriate skills and knowledge to get things done
5., Managers establish and participate in cross-functional problem-solving teams, Managers/employees understand more about other departments and the overall organisation, Can create departmental conflict
6., On-going workgroups assume more responsibility for issues,, like cost reduction, Greater employee commitment and involvement, Can threaten supervisors and managers
Successful employee teams develop and implement strategy, respond to challenges, improve systems and processes, and have leadership skills. Below are some of the makings of this kind of teamwork.
Successful employee teams:
How do you begin teamwork? Meet with team members to agree upon
protocol. Here is an example of team protocol:
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