WORK AS A TEAM

Work as a team.

WORK AS A TEAM NOT JUST IN A TEAM

Sometimes, one is tempted to make statements such as ‘I can do it all’, ‘I love doing my things myself’, ‘I am an independent person’ and a host of other such sayings. However, the reality in life is – interdependence is a must, you must work as a team.

As living things, our body depend on an awesome interaction: the teamwork between body parts. In fact, from birth to death, we often depend on others for one thing or the other. My local language has a popular saying: ‘A single tree cannot make a forest’. In essence, there is a limit to what can be achieved on individuality basis, much more can be accomplished as a team, hence, the need for teamwork.

Given the above, relationship must be formed, cultivated, and maintained in almost every aspect of our lives. That likely informed the decision by the management of LBS to make “Group Dynamics and Team Building” a topic for discussion during the brush-up classes.

What is a team?

A team is a group of people with various complementary skills or expertise, working together for a common purpose. It is not enough to work in a team, we must work as a team. In a team, there should be synergy, innovation, each member of the team should ignite the success of others. It should always be a win-win relationship.

Note however, that, the main strength of a team is its vulnerability: DIVERSITY. The fact that we have different expertise makes the team robust, we can look at problems from different perspectives, come up with diverse solutions and ultimately make an optimal decision. However, this same diversity can bring about conflicts.

Why must we work as a team?

1. Learning as a team expand your knowledge. Almost everyone in my class has shown in one way or another that the workload for this MBA program is quite intimidating and can easily be overwhelming. No wonder, the school management already grouped us, so we could maximize the benefit of our diversity.
2. Working in a team gives us the opportunity to let the leaders in us emerge, as leadership behavior is a key determinant of the climate in a team.
3. We can’t avoid conflict when working in a team, but working as a team afford us the opportunity to resolve such conflicts
4. Working as a team increases our collaboration
5. We are more accountable. A good team hold one another accountable for delivering against plans.
6. We build trust in one another
7. It ultimately contributes to our success.

To be a good team member:

• Remember that every member of your team earned the right to be there; we all have skills or expertise that brought us here.
• Listen more to others
• Clarify what people are saying instead of saying you don’t agree
• Keep commitments
• Separate assumption from fact
• Show personal integrity
• Sincerely apologize when you are wrong, take responsibility
• Build each other up and support one another
• Be emotionally aware to help others get back on their feet. Perform unconditional acts of goodness
• Be relevant and challenge yourself to success.

Teamwork no doubts makes work easier in the most efficient and effective way. Don’t just work in a team, work as a team.