Any person is able to work in a team, but effective teamwork is the true key to productivity. People working together can bring the best out of each other and produce good results while also creating a positive working environment. Good teamwork is an important goal. Learning how to create good teamwork will help to create a good team.
What is Team Work?
The sum of the efforts undertaken by each team member for the achievement of the team’s objective is called teamwork. In other words, teamwork is the backbone of any team.
Below some important tips for effective teamwork and some online collaboration tools not to be missed!
Understand
What different personalities are you working with?
Be patient and caring.
Teams sometimes need time to get going or get unstuck. As a team leader or any member of the team, be patient. Individual members of the team might not get on board with an idea or decision as rapidly as you so be patient and give them some time.
Appoint a strong leader
A team has no direction without an elected leader. It is vital that this person is efficient and switched on when it comes to delegating tasks to the appropriate team members. This leader must also prioritize team goals over individual goals, ensuring they are committed to getting the job done. Finally, they must be capable of showing direction and increasing the morale of the team.
The Importance of Planning
The old adage – ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ is true when it comes to effective teamwork. You need to know what you want to achieve and the parameters you have to act within, in order to be successful.
Make every team member feel valued
Success as a team can only come when each team member is aware of the importance of their role in the team’s success.
Trust
A strong sense of trust is the foundation of every high-functioning team. Trust is built by doing what we say we are going to do. In other words, integrity builds trust. A team culture that is built on integrity creates a reliability factor that permeates the organization and delivers solid results.
Clear Goals
Make sure that the team goals are totally clear and completely understood and accepted by each team member.
Discuss
Before implementing any new idea, it must be discussed with each and every member on an open platform. Never ever discuss with anyone separately as the other person feels left out and reluctant to perform and contribute to the team.
Communication is key
Communication between employees at all levels is essential for effective teamwork.
Motivation
Motivation comes in many varieties. The individual rewards motivate by ensuring hard-working team members get due credit, and group awards motivate by ensuring no one feels left out.
No “I” or “Me” – Just “We” and “Us”
There is no place for egoism in any team. Overestimated ambitions and selfish approach may ruin everything.
Admit your mistakes
It is human to make mistakes, so you should not be afraid to admit that you have made a mistake. One mistake made and corrected will save every one else in the team from repeating the same mistake. It is true that you can learn from mistakes, which helps you as a person not to repeat them.
Avoid criticism
Stay away from criticism and making fun of your team members. Help each other and be a good team player.
Accountability and consequences
Create systems to track accountability and provide consequences up front so everyone knows what is expected of them.
It’s a mistake to think that putting together a bunch of skilled individuals will automatically create a gifted team.
Explore for ideas and information outside the group
The best teams periodically connect with many different outside sources and bring what they learn back to the team.
Be willing to help others
In a team project, although you are assigned personal tasks you must remember that your overall goal is to contribute to completing the project. This therefore means that if you have finished your workload, you must be willing to help out where needed. This may mean contributing to tasks that are perhaps below your level, but the overall goal must be kept in mind.
Related Reading> How to delegate effectively
Be proactive
Everyone on a team has a responsibility for team success. Be willing to ask the hard question, encourage the team to have better meeting planning, give the feedback and more. Highly effective teams are made up of highly effective, proactive team members.
Effective online Collaboration Tools
Make it easy to work in groups. Host virtual meetings and conference calls, create to-do lists and assign tasks, managed files in a shared folder and much more.
A social network for business, Yammer provides a platform for you to communicate and collaborate privately with your colleagues. You can share documents even chat openly or privately.
Is an instant whiteboard tool for teams and projects.
Great Brainstorming app – collaborate on ideas in real-time. It utilizes a sticker system that is easy for anyone to use – you drop and move buttons and badges just like magnets on a whiteboard.
Is an all-round project management tool. Useful for team project follow-ups and collaboration.
Tools including to-do lists, wiki-style documents, file sharing and messaging, it packs just about everything you need to keep any project running smoothly.
Just one click to start working with anybody, on desktop or mobile is a file sharing and annotating tool that supports many filetypes, even including MS Office documents. The interface is very simple and easy to navigate.
How does your team work best? Do you have any other tips for effective teamwork that you would like to suggest? I welcome your thoughts or questions in our comment box below.
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