\u201cA champion team will defeat a team of champions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
However, as much as we all admire the ideals of teamwork and connectedness there\u2019s also the alternative notion of the \u201crugged individual\u201d or the \u201cprima donna\u201d who stands out from the crowd and succeeds without help from anyone. Consider the following scenario: It seems working with a bonded team of colleagues (doctors, nurses, anaesthesiologists) helps to develop interactive routines that harness the unique talents of each team member. \u201cSo once we get the right people on the bus, let\u2019s make sure they spend some time driving together.\u201d<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Simply working with other people doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re working as a team, real teamwork implies collaboration, communication and the acknowledgement of a common purpose. \u201cA team is a group of two or more people who interdependently seek to meet a common purpose, often through problem solving, in order to meet their own and their organization\u2019s goals. At a minimum, a team should be a cooperative unit and, at its best, a team is a collaborative unit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to research findings, strengths among young adults found that females had higher ranks of teamwork than males. Why is doing volunteer work always encouraged? The answer is simply because it strengthens the community. To build a strong team, trust is essential.<\/p>\n \u201cTrust is a psychological state that implies positive expectations regarding the intentions, attitudes and behaviours of others towards oneself in situations that may imply some uncertainty or ambiguity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the context of organizations, for example, we can look at trust in 3 different forms or stages – Trust based on an:<\/p>\n We also know that an environment with low levels of trust will lead to:<\/p>\n Hence:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there is uncertainty, there must be some elements of trust\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Teamwork also requires the ability of facilitation. Tom Wujec<\/a><\/strong> presents his findings of the \u2018marshmallow problem\u2019 that the group scores much better if executive administrators are put in.<\/p>\n \u2018Because they have special skills of facilitation. They manage the process. They understand the process. Any team who manages and pays close attention to work will significantly improve the team\u2019s performance.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Most of the time that team is nothing but a group of people working in the same office space. Each person has their own strengths and skills. Each could succeed and do great on their own. However, if they worked as an effective team they could accomplish extraordinary results. \u201cTeamwork 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.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So what does it take to build an effective team? According to the TESI<\/a><\/strong> (Team Emotional and Social Intelligence) Model there are 7 skills that will contribute to effective team functioning:<\/p>\n
\nI have written on this topic before, covering Rugby Union, Rugby League, Football and other codes, particulary from the point of view of dismal performance of Australian team success (or lack there of over the last 20 years).
\nI wanted to explore this further, as, as you know from our blog on Level 5 leadership “its not about you any more”<\/a>
\nSo lets take a deeper look!<\/p>\nEffective team vs Star Performer<\/h2>\n
\nImagine you\u2019re a VIP admitted to a hospital with a serious heart condition. You need a lifesaving operation and, because of your wealth and influence, you are given the option of having a world renowned surgeon flown in to operate on you.
\nIn those circumstances we\u2019d all go for the star performer over the resident medical team, right?
\nMaybe not.
\nRobert Huckman<\/a><\/strong> and Gary Pisano<\/a><\/strong> from Harvard Business School challenged the status of freelancing experts by empirically measuring the success rates of more than 200 cardiac surgeons<\/strong> working across 43 different hospitals.
\nThey specifically examined the success rates (patient survival rates) of highly experienced freelancers versus more bonded surgical teams.
\nAfter analyzing more than 38,000 procedures they found the performance of individual heart specialists did improve significantly with practice and experience (one for the prima donnas).
\nBut it was only at the hospital where they did most of their work.
\nWhen the same surgeons left their usual teams to work at different hospitals their success rates returned to baseline.<\/p>\nWhat is the source?<\/h4>\n
\nThe authors concluded that elite performance is not as portable as previously thought and is more a function of the \u201cfamiliarity that a surgeon develops with the assets of a given organisation\u201d- a nice way of saying stars only shine due to their colleagues.
\nHuckman et.al reinforced these findings by citing studies from other professional settings. For example in a study of software development projects, team familiarity (the average number of times that each member had worked with every other member) was a better predictor of project success and on-time delivery than total experience of individual team members.
\nIn a study at NASA, fatigued crews with experience flying together made significantly fewer errors, when placed under simulated pressure, than fresh crews who had never flown together.
\nPositive psychology has always emphasized the personal wellbeing benefits of social relationships and connectedness to others. Now we can say connectedness makes good business sense too \u2013improving organizational performance at the highest levels.
\nPsychologist and business professor, Adam Grant<\/a><\/strong>, summarizes the above findings saying:<\/p>\nWhat is an effective team?<\/h2>\n
\nHence a group is more than a gathering of people and not all groups are teams. Teams are in fact, a very particular form of group in that they\u2019re interdependent and focused on structure and activities.
\nOne of the definitions of team that is used in Psychology is this one:<\/p>\nThe value of teamwork<\/h2>\n
\nEvolutionarily speaking, women, from time to time, were\u00a0in groups, both to protect themselves and for cooperation. Somehow, this case is true for men too. You won\u2019t see an alpha male monkey walking alone without their followers.Once you are in a team, you get stronger.
\nIn addition, studies found that after the 9\/11 incident, the score of strength like leadership and teamwork increased drastically. Hence, without team or friends, surely we couldn\u2019t survive long enough.
\nUnder the VIA (Values in Action)<\/a><\/strong> framework, the strength of teamwork is categorized in Justice. People who have teamwork as their top strength usually are \u2018loyal and dedicated team mates and work hard for the success of the group\u2019. Their main goal doesn\u2019t concern themselves alone but others as well.<\/p>\nTeamwork and Community<\/h2>\n
\nTeamwork is also named \u201ccivic strengths\u201d as they \u201cunderlie healthy community life for successful interaction and belongingness\u201d Not only is it encouraged in the community but elsewhere where different people come together and work for one goal and cooperation and teamwork is needed.
\nDifferent from other strengths that could be cultivated by yourself, teamwork is all about others. Based on the findings of the character strengths in organizations, they found that individually-focused strengths like creativity are unlikely to occur with other-focused strengths like teamwork.
\nWhen you work in a team, you\u2019re shifting the focus from you to others.<\/p>\nTrust as a core ingredient<\/h2>\n
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Facilitator<\/h2>\n
\nAndrew Carnegie once said:<\/p>\n7 Core components of the psychology of teamwork<\/h2>\n
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