Teamwork is a soft skill that can be hard to master. As much as our culture romanticizes the figure of the lone wolf, the individualistic hero who gets things done on their own, teamwork oftentimes is what really makes the American dream work. No matter what field you’re working in (or plan to enter), having strong teamwork skills will make you a valuable asset. For our latest Career Corner, we’re offering tips on how to sharpen your teamwork skills.
Set Clear Goals
For teamwork to thrive, you and your colleagues have to be working toward something. What are your goals? Why are you working together? What does your team’s success look like? Set clear, REALISTIC goals that your team can accomplish. Make sure you all are on the same page; if there isn’t clarity on this issue, you may find your team working at cross-purposes, pursuing objectives that could conflict with each other. You’ll also want to set deadlines and milestones. Breaking up a big goal into a series of smaller ones is an effective way to motivate a team and give you all a sense of accomplishment as you work your way toward completing all the necessary tasks.
Define Roles and Responsibilities
A good team has strong direction and delegation. People know what they have to do and have ownership over that part of the work. A bad team is poorly organized; nobody’s quite sure who’s responsible for what. Everything becomes seat-of-the-pants and ad hoc; someone will get around to that task eventually. Hopefully.
When working in a team environment, it helps to know what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are. What are they subject matter experts in? What unique skill sets make them “The Person” to handle certain aspects of your team’s work? Put your heads together and talk about what you find interesting about your work, what tasks and initiatives excite you, what challenges you want to take on. Let people take ownership of the things that compel them- they’re going to give you much more of themselves.
“When possible, assemble a diverse group to bring a variety of perspectives, skills, and experiences,” said Gina Pinch, Rio Salado College Faculty Chair for Business, Management, and Public Administration. “This can lead to more creative problem-solving and decision-making.”
As roles get assigned and/or claimed, be on the lookout for biases. For example: women are more likely to feel pressured to be the notetaker in groups than their male colleagues. If you feel your team members are pushing one of your members into a role they don’t want or are ill-suited for, speak up on their behalf.
You may find that the team will have to change roles around or add new ones as you go through the work. It’s important to stay flexible in these moments; a good team can improvise and adapt when necessary.
“You also want to encourage a sense of ownership and accountability among team members,” Pinch said. “When employees take responsibility for their part of a project and understand how their work impacts the entire team, they are more likely to be engaged and committed to the team's success.”
Good Communication Is Key
The key to avoiding group conflict is good communication. Make sure everyone feels heard during group conversations; pay attention to who’s quiet. Sometimes people are quiet because they can’t find a pocket of silence in the conversation to jump in, so you’ll want to invite them in by asking what they think. Teams should regularly check in and update each other about their progress. This is especially important if you’re working on a shared task because it lets people know about what needs to be done and what they can ignore because someone else has got it covered.
If conflicts arise in the group, mediate them with patience and an open mind. Try your best to not take a side; people who feel “ganged up on” will rarely admit they were wrong or backtrack. Sometimes people just need to vent and it blows over. If the personal conflict is strong and doesn’t abate, you may need to bring in leadership to help sort the situation out.
The thing to remember with conflict resolution is that you’re better off focusing on the issue at hand rather than the people. You’re more likely to get people to work with you and see reason if you can frame the conversation around the thing they’re arguing about and not about them as individuals. “You’re wrong” hits a lot harder than “this situation is wrong.”
Be Generous With Credit…
Your team crushed their project. You all exceeded expectations and made a major impression at work. It can be tempting to bask in the spotlight of attention and praise, hogging all the sweet kudos for yourself. Don’t do it! You should always be quick to include your colleagues in your mutual success. Make their names as synonymous with this good turn of events as your own.
The reasons for being generous with taking credit are many. For starters, it engenders goodwill among the people you worked with. Nobody likes getting their contributions downplayed, and you’ll never know where someone with a grudge against you may end up in a few years. That person whom you didn’t speak up for may be your boss one day.
It also shows positive qualities of humility and leadership to be even-handed in these moments. While some people may enjoy a bit of braggadocio, most people find it distasteful. It tells people you don’t work well with others, and could end up isolating you from future projects and positions because you’ve earned a reputation for not working well with others.
Sharing the credit also means that these people will seek you out for future team efforts because you’ve shown yourself to be a true team player. That comfort they’ll feel around you- that trust in your integrity- fosters creativity and collaboration. After all, why would anyone want to put in their best work if someone else is going to take all the credit for it?
Finally: it’s just the right thing to do. Would you want to work in a team and have your contributions completely ignored, or outright stolen by somebody else? Of course you wouldn’t. The Golden Rule will serve you well here.
…And Be Stingy With Blame
Sometimes teamwork goes wrong. Deadlines get missed; a missed detail ruins a project’s development; people aren’t mentally present and putting in a solid effort. When your team is unable to meet expectations, resist the temptation to foist the blame onto the weakest link or deflect all responsibility toward the rest of the group. Even if you are “blameless” in this situation and did your best, you are still a part of this team. Just as you would share in their success, you must share in their failure.
It’s also a bad look to single out a team member for blame because you don’t know WHY they failed to rise to the occasion. Maybe they’re going through a rough time in their personal life? A pet could have died or a close family member became ill. Perhaps they’ve received troubling medical news or are going through financial hardships. Or they could just be feeling blocked creatively. We all go through fallow moments in our lives. Give that “underachiever” some grace; you may need someone else to return the favor when you hit a rough patch.
Never forget that people who have been wronged can have the memory of elephants. If you shirk responsibility and pin everything on your co-workers, they will remember this. Being accountable and transparent will win you more friends and respect in the long run.
Article by Austin Brietta
Career Corner
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