The Importance of Teamwork

by Magdalena Fladl, 10.07.2017

Teamwork is of great importance in order to achieve success. As beneficial as teamwork is, being part of a team often involves dealing with conflicts and challenges. Here are some ideas on how to become a highly valued member of the team and how to deal with conflicts.

How to Be an Appreciated Member of the Team

Teamwork is essential to any business, whether it concerns a leading company or a small start up business. Success is often dependent on teamwork. A team that works well together is more likely to achieve notable success. Employees who work in a team are able to figure out how to divide tasks most efficiently in order to benefit from the individual strengths of each employee and how to reduce the employee’s weaknesses as well. Support from colleagues allows an employee to minimize their weaknesses and extend their knowledge about each field of work. Being a part of a team makes working easier and more fun.

Working Environment

Behind every company is a team that faces daily challenges in order to achieve great success. Knowing that you are supported by colleagues and being able to rely on them when you are having troubles or you are at a loss of ideas is the best working environment anyone could possibly have. A positive attitude about work and colleagues makes being at work and being in a team easier and more enjoyable.

Working in a Team

The term “ Two heads are better than one” is often associated with teamwork. Whereas individual employees working alone might get stuck with a particular task at some point, a colleague may be able to come up with ideas on how to fix a problem or when facing a challenge. While it might take an individual person a longer time to figure out how to deal with a task, being supported by a team can shorten the process of figuring out how to accomplish a difficult task. Every employee is an individual with different strengths and weaknesses where the tasks can be divided accordingly within a team to each employee, which is the best way to accomplish tasks successfully.

Building Up A Team

Working in a team does not only mean having to work together. Being part of a team requires constant effort, and there are several important skills a member of a team should be aware of. Are you a team player?

Open Communication

It is of great importance to be able to communicate accurately with other team members. Open and honest communication is essential in a team in order to be able to share ideas, discuss problems that might occur and defining assignments clearly. Communication does not only help improve the working environment, but also builds up a trustful relationship between the team members. Every single member of a team has different tasks to do, and they should be able to rely on each other when it comes to accomplishing tasks precisely and on time.

Conflict Management

Every team probably comes to a point where a workplace conflict can’t be avoided anymore.

There is an infinite number of reasons for conflicts between team members. Whether it’s because of misunderstandings in a conversation or a personality clash, which often occurs because of envy and jealousy especially when a team member feels like not receiving enough recognition for their work or being treated unfairly. Other reasons for interpersonal conflicts might be because of prejudices due to race, sexuality, religion and social status. Sometimes disagreements and misunderstandings can’t be avoided entirely but there are several ways to get rid of those conflicts as well:

• Have an open and honest conversation about the issues that occurred
• Try to negotiate to find a solution suitable for every team member
• Be patient and open to accept different opinions and ideas

Social Behavior

Being a part of a team also means that you treat your team members in a polite and friendly way. A good team member should always show respect and be tolerant about differences of each kind. It is important to show personal thoughts, feelings and opinions on issues and tasks with the other team members as well, which can only be done when there is a foundation of trust. Another important part is to take responsibility for everything you do and not to blame others for failing at a task.

Support

A good team consists of individuals supporting and motivating each other in the best way possible. Offering support when someone needs help, being patient and simply listening to issues other team members might have to deal with or encouraging others to improve their skills and knowledge is what a good team member should be like.