Today, many administrations work in groups or teams of individuals working towards achieving a common goal. For a company to be successful, there must be effective teamwork. When great minds are put together, their efforts turn into productive results. To manage a good team, you have to recognize the vital characteristics of effective teamwork. A team can be defined as a group of individuals who toil together to reach a common goal. However, there are specific characteristics that make the team more productive than others. This essay seeks to explore these characteristics and suggestions on how to improve teams’ productivity.
Clear Purpose
A company is either permeated through missions, assumptions, or particular behaviors. According to (Salas et al., 2018), an organization has to have a clear vision that incorporates its underlying values. Some companies make rush decisions on their projects without deciding on the desired outcomes and goals. The company has well-defined mission statements communicated to its team members that keep them engaged and motivated, increasing productivity. Additionally, team members are involved in setting and prioritizing goals that make them better understand what is required of them. The company’s target agreement in healthcare, for example, is attained through a shared dedication to the needs of workers.
Distinct Roles
It is vital in a team for personalities’ roles to be clarified and understood by all parties involved. Even though personal preferences and interpersonal factors can influence role construction, the organization could break through. In addition, in the organization, the teams’ roles were versatile enough to accommodate individual differences and changes. For example, persons in the organization can negotiate their positions to do exceptional and productive tasks. Besides, when the team needed to develop new products for its consumers, it appointed a well-detailed and oriented task manager who was able to keep the team on track. For a successful project, it is wise to choose strong team members to carry out the work.
Open Communication
Communication is essential for building a sensible team. It involves a visible interchange of information, interactions of power, values, and attitudes (Gharaveis et al., 2018). For a team to be effective, it needs a reliable communication process that clearly defines responsibility and delegation. To develop mutual knowledge, individuals have to listen to each other and collaborate in their work frequently. The team enacted these characteristics by freely and regularly communicating with each other. The more freely they talked to their fellow teammates, the more comfortable they were in sharing ideas. These acts are just among the reasons why the organization has been successful. In addition, the team has excellent listening skills and to them, listening is not just about finding out, but it is also a great sign of respect.
Trust
Self-knowledge and competence are the origins of trust. Team members who do not trust one another are a threat to success. By cultivating faith in each individual’s competence and reliability, trust must be established among team members. Individuals who have a high potential for individual learning can often share their abilities without fear of being manipulated (Khan & Mashikhi, 2017). For the company to develop trust amongst its members, it often undertakes team-building exercises and problem-solving activities. These helped in putting every team member in positions of trust. The team members in the organization are allowed to air out their complaints or opinions freely.
Self-knowledge
Each team member contributes to the team a unique character and position, which affects an organization’s functions. Before an individual can become productive, satisfied, and respectful to his mates, he needs to be independent and self-aware (Salas et al., 2018). In the organization, there are four images that each member contributes to the team. These include professional and personal self-image, perception of colleagues’ ideas, understanding of colleagues’ skills and responsibilities, and professional expectations. The team manager stressed the professional’s self-image as the most influential among his teammates and their ability to understand and relate to one another.
Relevant Members
For a team to be competitive, it must have relevant members with the right interactive skills. Outstanding stability between equality and plurality regarding members’ abilities, background, and interests is highly favored (Lacerenza et al., 2018). Homogenous teams in an organization are similar employees who complete their tasks efficiently without conflict with their team leaders. On the other hand, heterogeneous communities combine membership diversity and therefore enable innovation and solving problems.
Commitment
The foundations for better commitment are the ability to trust other team members and self-knowledge. Individual members are given motivation and guidance by agreeing to a standard set of principles and goals. Further to this, commitment is increased when feelings of responsibility for and participation in the organization rise. According to (Wombacher & Felfe, 2017), committed employees were ready to make short-term personal sacrifices with the belief that they could create the greater good. Additionally, commitment gives way to individuals to rise amongst contests and stressful job pressures. The company’s team demonstrated commitment by working for a common objective of inclusive worker care and a shared conviction that the team is the strongest. As a result, team members are more likely to engage individuals in the company and participate in decision-making on issues that directly impact their well-being.
Besides all these excellent characteristics, the team still needs more to improve. The unit can include Fill Functional Roles to shape the way it operates. This approach describes the influence in fulfilling crucial functions and not formal titles (Adler et al., 2018). The organization will tell when a team is not working effectively and determine the positions are lacking. For example, a team diagnosis that is not meeting the organization’s standards may show that social needs are not met. If these conflicts are acknowledged and resolved, there will be productivity. When the requirements are ignored, even the best employees will not facilitate the team’s proper functioning. Once the missing roles are identified, the management can fill them. Filling these functional roles will often transform a hindered and frustrated group into a productive one.
In conclusion, behind every productive organization, there is effective teamwork. When great minds are put together, their efforts turn to fruitful results. A group of focused individuals who aim at achieving a common goal makes the team. For a successful team, there are specific characteristics that should be followed. These characteristics include a clear purpose of the group, distinct roles, trust amongst team members, self-knowledge where each member contributes his skills to the team, relevant members who have proper knowledge of the job, commitment, and fulfilling functional roles.
References
Adler, R., Elmhorst, J. M., & Lucas, K. (2018). Communicating at work: Strategies for success in business and the professions (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Gharaveis, A., Hamilton, D. K., Pati, D., & Shepley, M. (2018). The impact of visibility on teamwork, collaborative communication, and security in emergency departments: An exploratory study. HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 11(4), 37-49.
Khan, S., & Mashikhi, L. S. (2017). Impact of teamwork on employee’s performance. International Journal of Education and Social Science, 4(11), 14-22.
Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517.
Salas, E., Reyes, D. L., & McDaniel, S. H. (2018). The science of teamwork: Progress, reflections, and the road ahead. American Psychologist, 73(4), 593.
Wombacher, J., & Felfe, J. (2017). The interplay of a team and organizational commitment in motivating employees’ inter-team conflict handling. Academy of Management Journal, 60(4), 1554-1581.