How to Effectively Work in Teams?
bams
Introduction
Are you like Batman and prefer to work alone? Do you hate it when you have to work in a team because you view every other person as incompetent and a waste of perfectly good Oxygen? If the answers to all these questions have been in the affirmative, you my friend have a problem and one that needs immediate addressing. But before we can move on to how to create synergistically positive teams, let’s explore why team work fails in the first place.
Challenges in Teamwork
There are several reasons why many people are so strongly opposed to team work, the most important being introverted behavior. Introverts normally prefer to do work alone and find it hard to socialize with fellow team members. This makes them feel excluded and hence they lack any sense of loyalty or attachment with their team. Teams also become the victim of social loafing due to which people expand lesser effort based on their belief that the other team members will pick up their slack which negatively affects team productivity. Other problems faced by teams are groupthink which occurs when the ideas and opinions of one person or a few people dominate the entire group’s ideas. People are afraid to contradict these individuals due to many reasons such as lack of confidence, the person’s social standing, etc. Groupthink decreases team creativity and productivity hence making teams less efficient. Another problem which teams often face is lack of clear leadership which leaves people unsure of the team’s purpose and direction. All of these problems create barriers for effective team work and often leave people frustrated with their work teams.
Solutions for Effective Teamwork
Some of the ways we can solve these problems is to firstly make smaller teams. Lesser people make teams less intimidating and hence encourage participation and decrease the chances of groupthink. The roles of each team member should also be clarified from the beginning and group progress should be frequently checked to reduce the chances of social loafing. This also ensures that the team members are aware of the group’s main purpose. A leader should be selected for the team to ensure that the members are working to the best of their capabilities. The team leader will also play the role of conflict manager. Lastly, one person should be assigned the role of the devil’s advocate so each idea is critically examined and to reduce the tendency for groupthink.
Conclusion
Thus with proper management, teams can become effective work units. Remember even Batman sometimes needs Robin.
