4 Conditions for Improved Team Work

Summary: For a team to be effective in completing work a shared understanding of what help is, how help is needed, and expected must be established. There are 4 conditions, that when fulfilled, will increase the trust and output of the team and team-members. 

team building and leadership expert michael cardus

Teamwork is the reciprocal relationships of helping a group of individuals complete a task or project that they could not complete on their own.

Some of your work is not team orientated, and it would be silly for work that can be completed on your own, to have a team work on that project.

Much of the work of Managers, Specialists, and those who oversee large projects require team work. Trust and knowing that the people on your team are working, and giving their best to be helpful is needed for the team to work.

Think about a time that you were on a team and you were doing your best BUT someone else on the team was just slacking, riding the coat-tails of your hard work. That is deleterious to the team and even more impactful on you wanting to do more work.

The reciprocation does not have to be equal by all parties because the skilled knowledge, authority and accountability may not be equal. AND, each team member must feel that they are getting as good as they are giving.

To create a work team environment that is built upon reciprocation of help and attracts the trust that is needed for the team and you to do your best work, role-relationships must be clear and distinct.

The team leader (Managerial-Leader, Project Manager, etc…) is accountable for establishing comfort with the work and team members. They can establish this early (see Step 1 of High Performance Teams) by setting the following conditions for team members to feel comfort in the work and reciprocal helping relationship of the team.

  • What is my role in this team? Which of the many hats do I need to wear with this team-project. Defined roles and how the roles will interact is needed, letting people know who they are expected to be will increase the trust and output of the work.
  • How much control / influence will I have in this team? Do people have to do what I tell them to, will I have to do what people tell me. Defined and shared control + influence of and on the team members will increase trust and output of the work.
  • Will my goals / needs be met by this team? Goals drive everything we do as individuals and teams. People have individual needs and goals they wish to have fulfilled. Knowing what they are and creating a clear connection of how and if they can be met by the group will increase trust and output of the work.
  • What will be the level of intimacy in this team? People want to know how much they will have to share, and what will be expected by the team. Knowing the level of intimacy, sharing personal things, and expected connections with others will increase the trust and output of the work.   

*The above questions are from Edgar Schein, Helping. The comments in italics are my additional thoughts on the questions.

 

What do you think?

How do you define teamwork? How much reciprocation of help do you feel is needed for successful teamwork? With the 4 conditions above, in what ways could you ensure that team members had the needed responses and level of comfort?Team Building Leadership Innovation expert Michael Cardus

michael cardus is create-learning

image by tsaiproject

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