TeamWork

By Mezie Okolo

This word comes from two words put together: Team + Work= TeamWork. It is the collaborative effort of two or more people for the purpose of achieving a common goal in the most efficient and effective manner. But for a team to work, the individuals in the team have to work the team. Nothing works until you make it work. Some of the ingredients in team work include purpose, communication, commitment, collaboration, responsibility, efficiency, and accountability.

Purpose: The purpose of the team must be clearly known to every player. When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. Most teams fail because the players are ignorant of their roles or are not happy with their roles in line with the purpose and they want to play someone else’s role. In a team, you don’t always get to do what you want, when and how...someone makes that call. In a company, it could be the CEO; in a class, it could be the teacher; in a church it could be the senior pastor, in a family it could be the father or in a marriage it could be God based on what His word says. Job roles in a team are usually clearly defined by some authority figure and conflict arises when people overreach or usurp other roles out of ambition, arrogance, or ignorance. Whichever be the case, the team could be stalled.

Communication: Teams work when team communication is understood and adequate. Without communication there is chaos and there is bound to be lapses. Members of a team have to know what to communicate, how to communicate, when to communicate and, what not to say, how not to say it, and when not to say what you shouldn’t say anyways. This is because lots of people don’t know how to communicate even though they know how to talk...talking and communicating are two different animals. Communication can make all the difference as far as team work is concerned. Irrelevant talks are seen as distractions in a team that has a lot at stake.

Commitment: Not only is purpose clear, the team members have to subscribe to the common goal and be committed to it. This will ensure synergism rather than antagonism. Everybody is doing their bit every time and in everyplace to uplift the team and meet goals per time. Again, in a game of soccer, every maneuver or dribble or pass or shootout is done with the goalpost in mind. Every player brings his talent and skills to play and puts in his best to ensure that goals are scored. Along the line, someone may fall or be injured but the game still continues. When they dribble you, you don’t quit, you keep pursuing, attacking or defending as the case may be. Regardless of your position, you all don’t want to concede goals and you all want to score goals. If you don’t achieve that, all the display of skills does not really amount to much. People will say he only displays but cannot score goals. Which team wants to sign up players who don’t know how to kick the ball into the goal mouth across the goal line?

Collaboration: The individuals in the team must understand that they are working together to win together. In a team, individuals don’t win, the team does. You may be the force behind the team but you must guard against competing with your team members. Anytime team mates begin to compete instead of collaborate, the team goes down and loses its place. We have seen this happen in soccer teams in several places across the world. But that happens more among armature players, professionals know better.

Responsibility: The place of team role cannot be over emphasized. Team works and wins when everybody understands his roles and responsibilities and stays in his lane. If it is not in your place to tell me what to do, please do what is in your place to do as part of the team. In America we would say ‘why don’t you mind your business?’. Teams win when individuals mind their business and stop trying to be Mr Lord and Master. So long as you do your part with the understanding that we are all in this together, we are all on the same page and we will get this task accomplished together...that’s the winning attitude right there.

?Efficiency: Resources are limited so teams have to function within budgets. If two people can get a job done why do we need three or four? If your organization can figure out how to get more using less that’s the right thing and the most economical option. Nobody wants to hire people to come and play cards and then draw salaries. Even when the team size is right, there is no need doing a chore a certain way if there are easier, faster and better ways of doing it without breaking banks. So the most efficient team wins all the time. Simple understanding of managerial economics is needed to achieve pareto efficiency.

Accountability: There has to be clear lines of accountability, and everybody has to understand them. There is a team leader and even the team leader reports to some kind of authority. Individuals in a team have to be able to hold themselves accountable and willing to be held accountable too. A lot of people believe this nonsense ‘Nobody tells me what to do’ or ‘I don’t like it when people tell me what to do’ yet they prepared their resumes and applied for jobs and were hired by someone. If someone hired you and could fire you, what do you think will happen if you refuse to do what they tell you? Nobody is ready to accommodate insubordination in the workplace. So, get your acts together, roll up the sleeves and go to work or else you will be kicked out of the team and your position another takes. It is that simple and life will continue without you in that team. In this COVID-19 season, it is a privilege to have a job and if you still do, better be a seasoned and a reasonable team player.

Bye for now

Mezie Okolo, PhD is an Independent Leadership Consultant @The Rite Place. www.mezieokolo.com