This is the fourth installment in our 25 week series exploring the 25 competencies, or soft skills, that our assessments measure. Each week we’ll give you the definition of that competency, explain its value, and give you tips to help you develop it. This week: Teamwork.
Teamwork makes the dream work. Ever true in our workforce today. Almost everything we do requires us to work with others. But what does it really mean to work as a team? Our definition is cooperating with others to meet objectives. Sounds simple enough, but creating a great team takes time and trust.
Most of us have been on a team at some point in our lives, whether a sports team, a work team or a board or video game team. Hopefully the teams you’ve been on have all been great teams, but chances are, you’ve been on at least one team that wasn’t working together very well. There are a lot of different factors that can make a team go sour, clashing personalities, hidden agendas, big egos, etc. In order to have a truly great team, each member must be able to put aside their own wants and needs in order to work toward the greater good.
Those skilled in Teamwork are great at getting everyone to focus on and buy into a common goal. They know what part they are going to play in the bigger picture to get the group as a whole to the objective. Great team players recognize the strengths and weaknesses of those around them and help make sure everyone is given a role where they can shine. They develop respectful relationships built on mutual trust so that each member knows that everyone else is working toward the same end.
A good way to develop your skills in Teamwork is to learn to trust others more. I can be hard to let go and let others on the team take care of certain tasks, but if you insist on doing everything yourself, no one will want to work with you. Part of the fun of being on a team is getting to contribute to the end product and high quality teammates will quickly get frustrated with your need to control and dominate the group. Learning to let go and let others help you will not only make you a better team player, it will also make your life easier.
If you’d like to learn more ways to develop your Teamwork, download our Teamwork Rx PDF here.