Together Everyone Achieves More

 

Have you ever been questioned, or even challenged, on why some members in the project team, albeit contributing less, are sharing the same glorious achievement of the team? Or do you have to deal with some smart alecks with heads so BIG that they refuse to work with the average Joes in a team? If you do, welcome to team management.

Vince Lombardi once said – “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” Sure enough, we all understand the importance of teamwork. Just like we know we can’t grab a ball with one finger, we need all our fingers to do that. However, gathering people into a group is easy; getting them to work together is another thing. Issues related to team dynamics and equity will swarm over and break the team in no time if not managed properly. The key challenge for good teamwork is therefore, well, how to make the team work as a team. No wonder it wasn’t coincidental for Henry Ford to say “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

We’ve heard enough of teamwork. So, what’s the problem?

Maybe, let’s try to take a look at it from the perspective of a fable – “The Belly and the Members”. The moral of the fable is we should never overlook or undervalue the effort and contribution of any member in the team no matter how big or small the role the person plays. It may appear that the belly in the fable is doing nothing other than indulging itself in food while letting other parts of the body doing all the hard work. However, without the belly to consume the food, the body and the other parts of it will soon become too weak to function properly. Just like a linchpin may be small, but it is the only thing that keeps the wheels together. We have seen the replays of the conflict between the belly and the body parts in real life. What can we do so that Together Everyone Achieves More as a TEAM? Below are some suggestions that may help you to improve the situation.

1. Understand the purpose of a team: H. E. Luccock says – “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” A team exists for a purpose. Seek out that purpose and make sure people understand that they get together to achieve a common goal and not the other way round. A team does not exist to serve the objectives of some ambitious team members.
2. Say no to heroism: There are people out there who like to do things in their own ways without sharing a thought for others. They are the lone rangers who see themselves as the best and scoff at others’ capabilities. They enjoy the limelight of individual’s glory. Sniff out such people in the team. Keep tabs on them. Ensure they don’t act like John Rambo. There is no room for heroism in a team.
3. Realize the power of quantity: “A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations, but look what they can do when they stick together!” Although this is a no-brainer, many people are still oblivious to the power of teamwork. There is a limit on what a person alone can contribute. Help the team to understand the value of cooperation. Until everyone sees the benefits of working as a team, people are still operating alone rather than cooperating with one another.
4. Clarify roles and responsibilities: Conflicts like the one between the belly and the body parts in the fable usually arise when the roles and responsibilities of the team members are not clearly drawn. People get confused and start to doubt the contribution of others if they have no clue on who is doing what. Things get worse if there are overlaps in the areas of responsibility. In order to avoid this, you have to define the roles and responsibilities clearly and ensure there is no overlap. Run them through with the team and have them properly documented and disseminated out.
5. Build bonding and trust: The good thing about working in a team is you know that you are not alone. You can always rely on your teammates to give you a helping hand when you are about to fall. However, this does not happen automatically on the first day the team is formed. You will need strong bonding and high level of trust within the team for this to come about. As a leader, you should devote some good amount of time in fostering trust within the team as this is the foundation where excellent teams build on. Among the many things you may do, you should encourage openness and transparency since the key to trust is nothing but honesty.