Regardless of the size of an entity or the nature of activity which a group of individuals are involved in, teamwork is one of the primary determinant s of a group’s level of success. Although sometimes the size of some responsibilities may force that only a single person works on them, because every individual need to be motivated and encouraged by others, teamwork is an essential concept in any working scenario.
The ability of a team to accomplish a task within the set time limit, utilizing the available resources primarily depend on the ability of such individuals to forego their differences and ego, and work in cohesion by proactively sharing responsibilities.
Hence, regardless of how much it may be hard to bring together individuals of different personalities, aspirations, and abilities, teamwork is the prerequisite of any successful endeavor. For teamwork to be effective in working towards achieving some common goal, it is important for the team players to have a set of skill some of which include listening, questioning, persuading, respecting, helping, sharing and participating.
Therefore, because teamwork is one of the primary determinants of whether an organization will achieve sustainable and good results, it is the duty of all individuals in team to ensure that they posses these qualities, because without them the likelihoods of a team succeeding are minimal.
To be a good team player one has to be ready to compromise, listen, share, question, persuade, share, and respect the opinion or views expressed by other individuals. It is very important for any member of a team to have a sharing heart.
Sharing is an important attribute in a teamwork environment, as it is one of the primary methods that individuals can use to know their limitations, fears, and assumptions. In addition, it is through sharing that a team can come up with new and innovative ideas that can help to improve the diversity, mission, vision, and goals of both an organization and individuals.
On the other hand, sharing is important in teamwork, because it can help a team to solve any underlying conflicts, as silence and avoidance may be a sign of some underlying problem (West 30-35).
Another attribute that is important in teamwork is listening. Listening can help team members to comprehend what others are saying and it is an important tool of making others to feel appreciated. Good listening can also enable members of a team to discover the level of willingness in their teammates’ views and the rational content in the ideas shared by others.
In addition, just like sharing, listening is an important component of any conflict resolving initiative, because it offers teammates a chance of expressing their grievances and creating healthy relationships among members of a team (Victorian Government Department of Human Resources 1-3).
A third important attribute of teamwork is participation. Collaborative participation is one of the primary ways of gauging personal managerial and organizational ability with that of other teammates. In addition, active participation is important in a teamwork environment, because it allows the free flow of ideas in a process called organizational learning (Population Information Program: John Hopkins School of Public Health 1).
In addition to participating, sharing, and listening, questioning is also very important in any teamwork initiative. Questioning provides direction that a team should take, because it helps to determine the level of knowledge of a team; hence, an import management tool. Further, questioning is also important in teamwork, as it can help teammates to evaluate their learning hence, devise methods of filling their personal learning gaps.
Going hand in hand with questioning is persuading. Persuading is important more so when there is need for tasks to be completed within the set time limits. In addition, persuading is one of the primary methods that members of a team can use to convince their teammates to accept their ideas.
This can also be an important attribute to use to ensure new concepts are accepted among teammates, because likelihoods of some team members refusing some ideas are high, considering that team are made of individuals with different personalities, value, and aspirations (Oakley and Krug 1).
A second last attribute that is essential in any teamwork venture is having a helping spirit. Regardless of how much individuals may be experts in their fields of specialization, every person at one point must be in need of help.
Helping and caring for other people should be part and parcel of every teamwork initiative, because every input from each member of a group counts very much. In addition, helping can help individuals to share ideas, learn from each, and create healthy relationships that are essential for the wellbeing of an entire team. The final attribute that is necessary for an effective team is respect.
Respect is the greatest of all these attributes, because without respect one cannot offer a helping hand, cannot share, participate freely, listen, and persuade individuals they are not ready to offer their respect. Respect is essential for effective teamwork, because it can motivate a team to assist each other, to develop their full potentials, and information (Savage 1).
Works Cited
Oakley, Ed, and Krug, Doug. Questioning your way to better teamwork. 2009. Web.
Population Information Program: John Hopkins School of Public Health. Encourage staff Participation and teamwork. 2010. Web.
Savage, Rhonda. The secrets to successful teamwork: trust and accountability. Reliable Plant. 2010. Web.
Victorian Department of Human Resources. Listening and teamwork. The Victorian Government Department of Human Services. 2005. Web.
West, Michael. Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research. Leicester: British psychological Society and Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2004. Web.