Is it me, or are there are times when it doesn’t feel like teamwork has much to do with anything in the workplace?
It’s hard to spot teamwork when you’re beavering away alone at your computer meeting a tight deadline or grabbing a sandwich to eat solo at your desk. Sometimes it seems like work is a choice between going it alone or being in competition with colleagues.
In this context, why do so many business books, business gurus and and well us at MyChocolate, bang on about teamwork?
Is teamwork
In a word, yes!!
To remind you of the importance of teamwork, here are the best 5 reasons why we at MyChocolate think working as a team is essential:
- Teams are more successful at implementing complex plans and strategies. Because you can play to individual strengths, a team can tackle projects far more efficiently than a group of individuals working alone
- Teams come up with more creative solutions with their combined grey matter. And as teams continue to work together, many of them find that their individual work benefits from their new ability to see things from other member’s perspectives.
- Working in teams is an extremely effective way to ensure that objectives are met, and according to the latest research, spending time improving the way your business uses teams plays a very important part in increasing productivity. This is probably to do with a feeling of collective ownership and pride in the work that naturally develops when individuals are collaborating.
- Teams are more enduring than individuals. If you have one person who is responsible for a project, the loss of that person can send the project into a tailspin. When you rely on a team, the loss of one individual may be difficult, but the work of the team will continue.
- Cohesion as a team means a far nicer office culture; minimal back-stabbing and maximum solidarity. We know which workplace we’d rather work in! And while each company will have its own unique culture of either encouraging or discouraging team work, the onus is on all of us to do our part. So go on! Share that chocolate.
[Image provided by John Loo via flickr ]
