Team Work
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
Babe Ruth
Notable Quotes
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
Michael Jordan
"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."
Andrew Carnegie
Key Points
Motivation is never uniform throughout a whole team.
Team development stages first proposed by Bruce Tuckman:
Forming—establishing roles and individual responsibilities.
Storming—structure clarification, team leader emerges, often conflict occurs.
Norming—stabilizing roles and functions of the team-members.
Performing—productivity and efficiency is gaining traction.
Adjourning—the project is completed, team is dismantled.
Characteristics of a Good Team Player:
Thinks in terms of “we/us/our” instead of “I/me/mine.”
Follow through on assigned tasks and on time.
Openly shares information and ideas and supports team members.
Listens intently to team members—employ reflective listening, paraphrasing
Maintains the “can-do” positive attitude in times of challenges.
Remains loyal to the team’s objective and team members.
Guard against “groupthink” that suppresses opposing points of view to preserve group harmony. Appraise and reward the team as a whole for results.
Teams can continuously improve their effectiveness by focusing on improving their functioning in five key areas:
1. Goals: What the team aspires to achieve?
2. Roles: The part each member plays in achieving the team goals.
3. Procedures: The methods that help the team conduct its work.
4. Relationships: How the team members ‘get along” with each other.
5. Leadership: How the leader supports the team in achieving results.
Cohesion—the glue that holds the team together
Suggested Reading
Successful Team Building by Thomas Quick
The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
Points of Reflection
What is the team purpose and primarily objective?
Why were specific individuals selected to join the team?
Have the right people been selected for the team?