Teamwork has always been an essential capability for successful enterprises.
Teamwork in the workplace refers to a group of employees working together to complete a specific task or reach a common goal. Practical elements of teamwork may involve brainstorming sessions, maintaining open communication channels, holding regular meetings and engaging in countless other collaborative activities.
Speaking on this the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) X-Academy said, “Attaining successful business tasks and projects are hinged on skilled and committed individuals coming together to achieve common goals. The progressive performance of one’s team whether office based or virtual, and this performance results from an effective teamwork and team-building process.”
It stated that “effective team building and leadership involves empowering team members, providing them with the necessary resources, feedback, and support to succeed, recognising and celebrating team achievements. Ultimately, building and leading highly effective teams require a combination of leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills, as well as a commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
“Managing teams could be quite complex due to the dynamics of human interaction hence, many lofty businesses, projects, and endeavours have failed due to the team leaders’ or managers’ inabilities to develop, innovate, espouse required capacities, and navigate intricate processes and engagements appropriately. There are several critical elements, such as communication, collaboration, leadership, empowerment, innovation, decision-making etc., in building and leading effective teams.”
The Academy added that “great teams do not just happen by accident; they happen because they have great leadership and are developed deliberately to achieve outstanding results.
“It is not enough in any organisation to appoint individuals to a leadership position without knowledge on what it may mean to be a leader. Thus, leaders need to be coached, mentored, encouraged, and appropriately rewarded for their efforts.”
Ways To Achieve Teamwork In Workplace
To achieve a team-centred workplace culture, leadership must make a concerted effort to build a transparent and supportive environment that encourages teamwork at all levels.
Communicate Openly And Transparently: Effective communication is the most important part of teamwork. It involves consistently updating each person and never assuming that everyone has the same information.
Establish A Clear Organisational Purpose: Similarly to communication, there must be transparency regarding corporate purpose. Greater awareness of the company’s core purpose will empower employees to instill this purpose into their work.
Set concrete team goals; Short-term and long-term goals are a prerequisite for inspiring good teamwork. Goals represent direction and allow team members to exercise a level of flexibility and creativity when determining the smartest way to reach their desired outcome.
Promote Ownership And Accountability: Ownership is key when ensuring that each team member feels as if they belong within the greater team. Without accountability, employees can feel lost in the crowd and undervalued in their role.
Delegate Tasks Based On Strengths: Teams that work well together understand the strengths and weaknesses of each team member.
Promote Efficiency And Avoid Micromanagement: A strong and cohesive team develops systems that allow them to collaborate efficiently to complete tasks in a timely manner.
Support Employees In Building Team Cohesion: All workplaces provide challenges, but having a strong team environment in place can act as a support mechanism for staff members.
Reward Teams For Taking Risks: Safe risks can be extremely valuable to overall team success and enhancing employee innovation.
Overall, good teamwork means a synergistic way of working with each person committed and working towards a shared goal. Teamwork maximises the individual strengths of team members to bring out their best. It is therefore a necessity that leaders facilitate and build the teamwork skills of their people if they are to steer a company toward success.
