Teamwork – Where Individual Egos Are Best Left Behind…

In today’s modern world, where the word “team building” has become a bit of a buzzword, more and more employers are looking for team builders and team workers within their organizations.  People with good teamwork skills work well together creating harmony- allowing for smooth running of the organization. Good teamwork means there is good communication and a sense of belonging between co-workers where they will work well together and contribute to common objectives.  The success of a company depends on the motivation and productivity of its employees and the ability to work in a team will most definitely contribute to that success.

What are the skills required to work in a team?

When people put their individual skills together into one pot, that is team working.  No longer do they think for themselves, or about themselves only, because they also have a responsibility to their team members.  Good teamwork skills lead to harmony among workers and within the workplace and some essential skills for teamwork are include good communication, helping, sharing, being proactive, flexibility. Teamwork skills help get the job done in the most efficient way and makes objectives easier to obtain.  Having a positive attitude is one of many team skills, as is being diplomatic, a good listener, being creative, and being open to other people’s ideas. Sharing information helps you grow and learn and can help meet objectives faster.

Some of the top teamwork skills are qualities that allow you to work in a productive, yet motivating environment. Working well with others during big projects or during routine meetings or conversations with co-workers.  Communication is the most important teamwork skill as is being a good and active listener. Empathy is a top teamwork skill that allows you to better understand the motives and feelings of your coworkers.  

Understanding how the people around you think can help with communication, leading to better collaboration when working in teams.

What are teamwork skills and why are they so important?

The main objective of any business is productivity and staying profitable.  This is achieved with many things, having the right product, resources, customers, sustainable growth, but having the right team of people with the right skills is up there with the top.  If, within the company teamwork skills are rated high, the road to obtaining those objectives will most certainly be easier. Having employees who have the ability to work as a team member should be the company’s number one priority. 

Teamwork skills help:

• Communication
• Create bonds and break down barriers
• Creativity
• Improves morale within the workforce
• Define objectives/goals
• Improve productivity
• Improves problem solving

If there is a collaborative, positive atmosphere within the organization, brought about by good teamwork skills, loyalty and motivation are high.  Relationships between employees are good and they support each other in achieving their and the company’s goals.  

 

How to improve teamwork skills

It’s time to leave your ego at the door when it comes to teamwork.  There is no competition between team members and when objectives are met it’s thanks to everyone on that team.  If you doubt your teamwork skills or want to improve on them, we can give you a few tips:

1.    Have a positive attitude– Don’t be the person in the group who only sees the negative and who everyone dreads being around because of constant complaining.  Try to keep negativity out of the team and help support the morale by being positive – even in difficult situations.

2.   Appreciate the effort of everyone on the team – if you meet objectives and feel you did the biggest chunk of work, you have to suck it up and let your teammates take credit too. A job well done on a team is a job well done by every single person on that team.

3.   Communicate– and then some more. It is what will make or break a team.  It cannot be overemphasized how important communication between people, whatever their relationship is. If communication is lacking then the rest will just fall apart. It doesn’t mean you always have to agree, but expressing opinions and ideas is fundamental and should be encouraged. 

4.   Persuade and guide– learning how to persuade or guide team members is key to meeting objectives. Teamwork skills examples of persuasion and guidance would be if you have some team members who are sitting on the fence in an important decision-making situation. Your team needs them to finish a task in order to meet a goal, and will need someone who can guide and persuade  them. This is a great skill and asset to teams. 

Having good teamwork skills and creating harmony in the workplace is fundamental to any work environment, both for productivity and more importantly, for employee well-being.  Today we all live much more stressed lives where having down time and doing fun activities is often put on the long finger. Why not give yourself (and your employees) a treat, let them know you value them by rewarding them with a few fun hours at the Lockdown Rooms.  Not only will they feel appreciated, but you might be surprised at how an activity like an escape room can create bonding, open relationships and build good rapport between co-workers – a win-win for your company. To get more information why not give us a call or go onto our website and book your Lockdown Room today!