Monday, October 13, 2008

Teamwork

Teamwork can be easy when there is a good rapport and understanding between people in the team, but can suffer when one or more persons in the team do not interact harmoniously with the rest of the team. One reason for this can be that one team-member joined the team at a time when the rest of the team-members already developed a small "team culture", and bonded with each other deeply, and resist the idea of a new member becoming a part of the team. In this case, the new member has no option but to "bow" before the "team culture" to become accepted as a team player. Hazing in college campuses are a ritual that a new entrant must endure before becoming accepted as a part of the existing culture.

Team-building activities such as picnics and outings are invaluable in getting various members of the team to bond with one another.

3 comments:

zamoradesign said...

Having a framework to implement the "teamwork" mindset should be considered. When the organization creates a system for creating and maintaining these teams, then all participants are given the opportunity to succeed.

Not only does the process for joining a team become easier and less complicated, but the process to address issues of conflict have an avenue to be presented. All of the members of the team have an understanding that there are rules in place to make sure the “team” succeeds. Being mindful of these rules by all members creates a sense of equality that will surely foster innovation and creativity.

PinkLady said...

It is true that it is very difficult to join a team when the rest of the team members have already developed a team culture. The new member is usually regarded an an outsider and it's difficult for them to connect with everyone else. It's like that right now in my work group as we have many new people, but the rest of us have already become very close. It's difficult for us to accept these new people into our group. As a result, I see that the new team members have bonded amongst themselves and so now there are two groups within the team.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I believe that a few bad apples are unavoidable. When things are running smoothly, one person can always come along and disrupt any harmony that has been established.
On a football team, players are constantly relying on others to score touchdown, or prevent others from scoring depending on whether you are on offense or defense. When there are any divisions among team members it can be distracting to the rest of the team, and players can lose their focus from the objective – winning games.
This analogy can also be applied to the business world because sometimes teams encounter divisions that can distract them from their objectives.