The magic of teamwork is stated simplistically in this calculation: 2+2 = 5. All of us surely remember the story of an old man who called his sons and gave them a stick each. He then asked them to break it and the sons were able to do so easily. The old man now gave them a bunch of sticks and no son was able to break that. This not only shows that unity is strength but also that teamwork helps all of us to achieve better results. Teamwork creates a synergistic effect in action to the effort put by each member of that team. When collective minds work together to achieve a common goal, the outcome is surely better than that achieved by single individuals. Each individual has his or her own strengths. Teamwork brings these diverse strengths together and applies it to the problem to reach the solution. Be it sports, politics or business, teamwork is applicable in every aspect of life and society.
There are many people who have defined the term ‘teamwork’. Some of teamwork definitions are :
“Teamwork is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals.” – Business Dictionary
“Teamwork as the actions of individuals, brought together for a common purpose or goal, which subordinate the needs of the individual to the needs of the group. In essence, each person on the team puts aside his or her individual needs to work towards the larger group objective. The interaction among the members and the work they complete is what is called teamwork.” – Yourdictionary
From the above two definitions, it is clear that the two main aspects of teamwork are common goal or objective and individuals working together. The importance of teamwork in the 21st century is increasing multifold purely because we are becoming technologically advanced and working in a team will only help us to achieve results faster. Not only is the productivity higher but one feels challenged and motivated to achieve better results or make a better decision.
Some of the best teams have certain teamwork skills like co-ordination, communication, clarity of goal, trust and reliability that makes them achieve what the team is set to achieve. While building a team it is necessary to make each and every member of the team feel important and that their contribution will help the team in some way.
There are so many benefits of teamwork. It brings diversity of ideas, fosters growth and development, motivates members, improves productivity, helps members to develop an understating of different point of views, increases moral strength and above all helps you to make better, faster and effective decisions.
Be it a game of cricket or a corporate team, individuals function effectively, putting aside their individual glory and coming together with a clarity of purpose to tackle problems and achieve the team’s goals. It is a result of good teamwork that most projects have been successfully completed; most games have been won and most problems have been effectively tackled and solved.