“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.”
-Xunzi
Seamless, effective, and productive teamwork is the cornerstone of organizational success.
As a matter of fact, this specific teamwork can span different industries and areas, such as sports teams, tech giants, PR agencies, and so much more.
It’s crucial to understand that the chemistry behind exceptional teams lies at the heart of contemporary business strategy!
As Xunzi wisely explains, the most profound understanding of effective teamwork is accomplished through involvement and practical experience.
A fundamental leadership skill applicable to organizations of all sizes, the capacity to construct and guide high-performing teams takes on crucial importance in small to medium-sized companies too.
In these settings, forming and leading effective teams is a top priority. Being able to work well with others, handle distinct tasks, and collaborate across the company are major to ensure rapid task completion and maintain competitiveness.
Related post: How to Master Cross-Promotion: Your Path to Business Success in the Digital Age
In order to grasp the skills required for creating and leading top-performing teams, it’s crucial to define what team effectiveness is. Here is a great definition presented by “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science” (National Academies Press, 2015).
“Team effectiveness, also referred to as team performance, is a team's capacity to achieve its goals and objectives. This capacity to achieve goals and objectives leads to improved outcomes for the team members (e.g., team member satisfaction and willingness to remain together) as well as outcomes produced or influenced by the team. In a science team or larger group, the outcomes include new research findings or methods and may also include translational applications of the research.”
However, effective teamwork usually relies on the presence of these 10 characteristics:
1. Execute A Clear direction:
Organizations often find themselves in a rush to kickstart their projects, hastily assembling groups of individuals before establishing clear objectives and desired results.
In his book titled "Team Renaissance: The Art, Science, and Politics of Great Teams" (Old Man River Publishing, 2013), Richard Spoon emphasizes the significance of defining what the team should achieve and how to measure success. Without this clarity, it becomes nearly impossible to assemble the most suitable team for the job.
As a result, the initial step should be to determine the team’s goals and desired outcomes. This decision provides a solid foundation for guiding the team you ultimately assemble.
Start by envisioning the end point: What specific outcome do you aim for, and what is the rationale behind it? By doing so, you grant the team the flexibility to craft the most effective path to reach that goal!
2. Honest and Transparent Communication:
Good communication is a lot like chemistry. In any team, building strong friendships among members depends on communication. The manner in which team members engage in communication, including how openly and frequently they interact, significantly impacts the team's success.
To put it simply, the more freely team members converse, the more comfortable they become sharing insights and ideas. This underscores why modern businesses place a strong emphasis on communication and collaboration tools.
Listening plays a pivotal role in communication! It's not solely a means of gathering information but also a manifestation of respect.
Therefore, it's essential to convey to your conversation partner that their input is highly valued. Truly listening involves active engagement: paraphrasing, reiterating, and responding to what you hear, seeking clarification, and actively participating in the dialogue.
Don’t forget to engage, participate, and communicate!
3. Foster Taking Risks and Embrace Change:
Teams in general overlook and underestimate the importance risk taking and taking on change.
However, powerful teams support appropriate risk taking and experimentation for change. Also, they look at mistakes as opportunities for learning and developing.
4. Clearly Defined Roles:
Roles within a particular team may evolve to some extent after the team is formed, but it’s vital to have a clear and set understanding of the necessary skills and thinking styles for the team.
For example, if the team's objective is to develop a new product for the market, you'll require someone who is meticulous and methodical (a task-master) to ensure that the team stays on course.
In fact, different roles, require distinct skills and relevance.
You’ll want an explorer, who's a visionary thinker, to help the team explore possibilities and think big. A number-cruncher will be responsible for handling measurements and metrics. While there may be other roles your team needs to fill, it's essential to have a good grasp of these roles before you start recruiting team members.
Once you have a plan in place for these fundamental roles, you can then proceed to select the most qualified team members to carry out the project you have in hand.
5. Embody Mutual Accountability:
Generally in a team, each member takes responsibility individually and collectively. They tend to avoid pointing fingers or placing blame when the team encounters mistakes or failures. There's no need for unproductive self-justifications.
Instead, they come together to celebrate their successes and acknowledge exceptional efforts and contributions from each team member towards the overall team's work.
6. Implement Open Communication:
Communication is like the close relative of teamwork. When it comes to working together in a team, the key is how well team members communicate, not so much what they're talking about.
Researchers from MIT's Human Dynamics Laboratory have found that it's the way people talk and how often they do it that makes a team work well.
In simple terms, when team members freely and frequently share their thoughts, the team becomes more effective.
That's why today's businesses put a lot of emphasis on communication. They invest a significant amount of time and resources in tools that help people communicate and collaborate effectively.
7. Put Forth Common Goals:
An essential hallmark of a successful team lies in the commitment of its members to place the collective goal above their individual interests.
While the attainment of personal objectives can undoubtedly bolster individual morale, the true synergy and prosperity of teams are realized when their members not only grasp the significance of a common mission but also wholeheartedly embrace it. This entails a deep understanding of the shared purpose, a genuine appreciation for the value it brings to the team and its stakeholders, and a wholehearted dedication to collaborating in unison to bring that overarching objective to fruition.
In essence, it is the unity and shared purpose within a team that often prove to be the driving force behind their achievements and overall success.
8. The Power of Varied Opinions:
While it is undeniably important to establish a common goal within a team, this pursuit of unity should not come at the cost of suppressing the array of unique thoughts and perspectives that team members bring to the table.
In fact, fostering a milieu where diverse opinions are not just tolerated but encouraged can significantly enhance the overall performance of the team, endowing it with a distinct competitive advantage.
The presence of divergent viewpoints within a team serves as a catalyst for sparking innovative ideas and nurturing creativity. As a result, embracing and valuing diversity in thought and perspective is not only a means of avoiding stagnation but also a pathway to achieving excellence in problem-solving and innovation.
9. Boost Collaboration:
Successful teams, like TikTok’s leadership, the renowned Beatles duo Lennon-McCartney, or the famous tennis pair Venus Williams-Serena Williams, all have one thing in common: they work closely together.
It's a straightforward concept - the more they collaborate and communicate, the more they achieve!
10. Invest In Team Trust:
In thriving teams, trust plays a vital role, where members trust both their team mates and the team's objectives. These effective teams are driven by their commitment to solving problems.
Trust is deeply connected to transparent communication, and it thrives when team members feel free to voice their ideas openly. This is why organizations often arrange team-building activities that promote interdependence among team members.
Inspiration from: https://mikeschoultz.medium.com/10-team-characteristics-for-effective-teamwork-e0429b362ddd
Serkan Mercan
Serkan is the Lead Designer at Commented. With nearly 5 years of experience as a UI/UX Designer, Serkan has worked on a diverse range of projects in software agencies. He possess previous experience in branding and motion graphics, and have designed posters for art initiatives as well.
