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Teamwork is the concept of people working together as a team. The concept has spread from the world of sports where it is well known and accepted, to business, so much so that it is in danger of being considered by some as an empty buzzword, or a form of corporate-speak. In the 21st century, as people are becoming more sophisticated and society is becoming more technically advanced, working as a team makes it easier to accomplish goals.
Some things cannot be accomplished by people working individually. Larger, ambitious goals usually require that people work together with other people. Anyone who has ever been to a job interview will invariably be asked what the concept of teamwork means to them. The reason for this is because companies today want people who are team players, people who are able to get along with their colleagues and work together in a cohesive group. Because teamwork is the desired goal of many organisations today, they will often go to the effort of coordinating team building events in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals.
Skills Needed For Teamwork
There are seven essential skills that one must learn in order to be able to successfully adopt the concept of teamwork. These skills are:-
1. Listening - it is important to listen to other people's ideas. When people are allow to freely express their ideas, these initial ideas will produce other ideas.
2. Questioning - it is important to ask questions, interact, and discuss the objectives of the team.
3. Persuading - individuals are encouraged to exchange, defend, and then to ultimately rethink their ideas.
4. Respecting - it is important to treat others with respect and to support their ideas.
5. Helping - it is crucial to help one's coworkers, which is the general theme of teamwork.
6. Sharing - it is important to share with the team to create an environment of teamwork.
7. Participating - all members of the team are encouraged to participate in the team.
Team Development
The forming-storming-norming-performing model takes the team through four stages of team development and maps quite well on to many project management life cycle models, such as initiation - definition - planning - realisation.
External links
- Developing Teamwork (http://www.developingteamwork.com/cm.pl?cid=wp_teamwork) - A video based learning package designed for organisations wishing to improve the effective use of the intellectual resource of their people. Available for review online free of charge.
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