On many occasions we have seen how different public figures spoke about the importance of teamwork. From politicians to athletes, they have placed special emphasis on how valuable good teamwork can be.
Winston Churchill once mentioned “If we are together there is nothing impossible. If we are divided everything will fail.Michel Jordan also said the following: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships”. A concept that can also be seen reflected in the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go accompanied”. In this Psychology-Online article, we will delve into the teamwork: what it is, importance, characteristics and advantages.
What is teamwork
Teamwork responds to a organized and coordinated way of working between several people with the aim of achieving common goals. It can be considered a work tool. Through the complementary skills of each member, all team members maintain individual and mutual responsibility to direct all efforts toward a common goal.
From the definition of teamwork, we see that it generates a positive synergy, but to achieve this a great sense of unity must be maintained and with all the members. As a result we find a greater performance, productivity and personal and work satisfaction. Furthermore, in teamwork, leadership is shared by everyone. Therefore, the communication style adopted is very important. The ideal is for it to be open and with constant feedback.
What is the importance of teamwork
Examples of teamwork, such as a company, work organization or a group of friends, play a key role in the development of each of its members. Next, we will see what the importance of teamwork is.
Create union
One of the benefits of teamwork is that Each member of the team contributes their knowledge to everyone and these added together have a greater impact and benefit to achieve the objectives that the group has set for itself.
Participatory and flexible structures
One of the characteristics of teamwork is that leadership is shared. This fact means that there is no hierarchy at work, but rather that each member can contribute their knowledge and opinion equally. In turn, all of this promotes values such as solidarity, cooperation and collaboration, a sense of belonging and prevents burnout or brain drain.
Strengthens responsibility
The fact that each member of the group has an assigned role means that they must respond to their tasks and these are essential to achieve the group objective. So that, each member has a sense of responsibility higher than in other circumstances.
Promotes social skills
Having to be in constant contact with each of the team members means that each of the members must develop and enhance your social skills, such as; , empathy, problem solving, etc. For teamwork to be effective, open communication with constant feedback must be maintained.
Stronger in crisis contexts
Teams that are strong, united and have clear goals are less permeable in contexts of instability or crisis. The synergies created in the team and the commitment acquired empower it in the face of changes that may arise.
Characteristics of teamwork
There are different factors that distinguish good group cooperation. To distinguish them, let’s see what the characteristics of teamwork are:
- Everyone is the engine of the team: It is mainly characterized by having a guide who leads the team but does not control it, that is, the leadership role is shared and each member of the team can contribute their opinion or way of seeing things to achieve the objective.
- Use of collective confrontation: another characteristic of teamwork. When there is a conflict or problem, it is resolved by allowing each member to contribute their idea to solve it.
- Collective spirit: cohesion and cooperation are two fundamental values in teamwork. Everyone united towards the same purpose, generating satisfaction and group unity to carry out the tasks.
- Interdependent work: This is how we work to achieve personal and collective objectives. The responsibility carried out by each member of the group is both individual and collective.
- Fluid communication: The communication used in teamwork is open with all members of the group.
According to Tom Peters, a specialist in business management and for many considered the father of modern Management, he described the five components that a team must have (the five Cs of teamwork) to achieve high performance. These are the complementaritythe coordinationthe communicationthe trust and the commitment.
Team work advantages
Currently, the benefits of teamwork are evident. If the team works in a cohesive, cooperative and organized way, the advantages are both individual and collective. It should be noted that for all of this to be possible, all team members must have understood and accepted the objectives and these must be common. Next, we are going to see the advantages of teamwork, both individual and collective.
Individual benefits
Team work dynamics provide the following individual benefits:
- Feeling of affiliation: all team members feel part of something.
- Greater integration: the people who are part of the team develop interpersonal relationships that promote equity, friendship and collaboration. In this article, we tell you.
- Reduces tension: teamwork helps you work with less tension and stress. As a consequence, frustration among workers also decreases thanks to shared work.
- Greater learning and creativity: knowledge and information is shared within the team. Furthermore, the integration of all the people who are part of the team allows for more points of view.
Benefits for the organization or company
The advantages of teamwork also have an impact on the organization in the company. Let’s see what benefits it brings:
- Greater productivity: thanks to consensus on decisions, the quantity and quality of work is favored, that is, the dynamics of teamwork favor greater performance of the members.
- Greater acceptance: as mentioned above, in teamwork decisions are made by consensus, which means they have greater acceptance than when they are made by a single individual. This impacts both the worker’s motivation and the quality of work.
- Greater commitment: by forming a work team, the collective spirit is strengthened as well as the commitment to the company or organization and the work to be performed. Teamwork accentuates the empowerment and commitment of the company’s staff.
- More effective determination: the flow of knowledge and information in a team is greater. That leads to making better ideas and determinations. Furthermore, by taking into account many points of view, new ways of addressing the different problems and conflicts that may arise during work also emerge.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Golemam, D. (2004). “What Makes a Leader?” In: Harvard Business Review, 1-13.
- Katzenbach, JR and DK Smith (2000), Teamwork: advantages and difficulties Spain: Ediciones Granica, SA Kiechel, W. (2012).
- Uribe-Rodríguez, AF, Rodríguez, AM, & Garrido-Pinzón, J. (2011), “Collateral effects associated with carrying out work in a group of workers in the health sector in Bucaramanga.” In: Puente Magazine, 5.2: 71-75.